SPARTANBURG, S.C. (April 30, 2024) – A week after sweeping the team and individual titles at the Southern Conference Championship, the ETSU men's golf team cleaned up in the postseason awards.
 
The league office announced its awards for the 2023-24 season on Tuesday with five Buccaneers receiving honors, including Mats Ege being named Player of the Year, Jenson Forrester claiming Freshman of the Year honors and Jake Amos being tabbed Coach of the Year. In addition, Algot Kleen and Matty Dodd-Berry joined Ege on the all-conference team.
 
For the second straight year, Ege – who is currently ranked No. 9 in the PGA Tour University ranking – received the Player of the Year honor. Ege is the seventh player in SoCon history to receive the accolade in the back-to-back season and joins Buccaneer greats Adrian Meronk, Chris Wisler and David Christensen to win the SoCon award back-to-back years. Overall, ETSU has won 16 of the 36 SoCon Player of the Year awards. Ege posted nine top-10 finishes in 11 total tournaments played, while capturing three wins in 2023-24. Of the 33 rounds played, Ege generated 28 sub-par scores, had a score of 81-under in relation to par and registered a scoring average of 69.00. To go with a second straight win at the SoCon Championship, Ege also won the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate and the Wake Forest Invitational.
 
Forrester has had a strong rookie campaign where he played in 10 of the 11 tournaments en route to generating a scoring average of 72.53. Forrester posted four top-25 finishes, including a season-best 12th-place showing at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate where he shot a 2-under-par 214. In the spring opener at Puerto Rico, Forrester shot a season-best 6-under-par 210 to finish tied for 30th. Last week, Forrester finished tied for 15th at the SoCon Championship. This marks the second straight year (Dodd-Berry) and ninth time in program history where ETSU had a SoCon Freshman of the Year recipient. Forrester, who also earned a spot on the all-freshman team, earned co-Freshman of the Year honors with UNCG's Kelvin Hernandez.
 
For the third time in the last four years, Amos was pegged Coach of the Year by his peers. Amos saw his Blue & Gold win three tournaments this season, while also enjoying a season-best ranking of No. 8 in the country. The Bucs won the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate and SoCon Championship in 2023-24. To go with the team titles, the Bucs also collected six individual wins this season. In 11 tournaments played, the Bucs recorded six top-three finishes. Overall, Amos is the sixth coach to win SoCon Coach of the Year honors at least three times and the third Buccaneer leader to accomplish the feat.
 
Kleen earned his second straight all-SoCon honor after generating a scoring average of 70.30 this season. Kleen had three top-five finishes and seven top-10 showings in 11 tournaments played, including a win at the historic Golf Club Georgia Collegiate where he fired an 11-under-par 205. The 11-under was the second straight week where Kleen totaled that score as he also accomplished the feat at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate where he finished runner-up. Kleen, who was also named to the 2024 Ben Hogan Watch List and 2023-24 Final Fall Haskins Award Watch List, placed 10th at the SoCon Championship at 1-under-par 215.
 
Dodd-Berry, last year's SoCon Freshman of the Year, received his first all-SoCon honor. Dodd-Berry earned co-medalist honors at the SoCon Championship last week with Mats Ege, marking his first collegiate win. The Buccaneer duo fired 13-under-par 203, resulting in Dodd-Berry's lowest 54-hole collegiate total. Dodd-Berry also generated his lowest 18-hole score at the conference championship after opening with a 7-under 65. Dodd-Berry played in 10 of the 11 tournaments this season for the Blue & Gold and recorded a 71.37 scoring average. In the fall, Dodd-Berry finished fourth at the Windon Memorial where he shot a 10-under-par 203 and placed tied for 15th at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate.
 
Click here for a full listing of the SoCon award winners.
 
The Bucs now await their NCAA Regional destination, which will be announced Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the Golf Channel.
 
For more information about ETSU men's golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and select men's golf.