VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's golf team heads to the 2026 Saint Leo Invitational in Dade City, Fla., at Lake Jovita Country Club Monday and Tuesday.  The 18-team field will play 36-holes Monday and then 18 on Tuesday to conclude the tournament.
 
This year's edition features No. 2-ranked Lee, No. 4 Florida Southern, No. 19 Nova Southeastern, No. 21 Saint Leo, No. 22 Barry and No. 23 Rollins for teams ranked in the top 25 of the Clippd rankings.  Lynn is 37^th, followed by No. 40 Palm Beach Atlantic and No. 47 Tampa are in the top 50.  No. 54 Eckerd College, No. 55 Embry-Riddle, No. 72 Carson-Newman and No. 79 Valdosta State are in the top 80.  The rest of the field includes; Montevallo, Delta State, Trevecca Nazarene and Kentucky Wesleyan.  University of South Florida will have two individuals playing in the tournament as well.
 
The Blazers are coming off a tie for seventh finish at the Matlock Collegiate last week where junior Alexander Nilehn finished eighth with a 2-under 214 score.  The Blazers fired a team score of 886 and tied with Palm Beach Atlantic, while the Blazers beat Lynn, Embry-Riddle, Barry, USC Beaufort and Tampa who all were ranked ahead of VSU.  
 
For this week's tournament, head coach Jared Purvis' lineup has Nilehn at the top spot, followed by junior William Carestam, senior Joshua Burki, junior Adam Waller and senior Elad Sebbag as all five played in the tournament last week.  
 
This week, freshman Kaleb Shiver earns a spot as an individual.  He played in one tournament in the fall at the Fripp Island to Bermuda Invitational in Beaufort, S.C., finishing with a 235 score on rounds of 78, 81 and 76. 
 
This season, Nilehn has a 72.5 stroke average and is ranked 127 nationally to lead the team and he is 35^thin the region.  Carestam has a 72.7 average and is 176^th nationally and checking in at 41^st in the region.  Both Carestam and Nilehn have played 18 rounds, while Burki has played 15 and has a 74.9 stroke average for the year.  Waller has played nine rounds this season and Sebbag has played 12 with a 73.7 stroke average.  
 
VSU has been a mainstay in this tournament over the years and finished tenth last season with an 878 score.  Waller is the only Blazer who competed in the tournament last year, as he finished tied for 42^nd with a 221 score on rounds of 76, 68, 77.  VSU finished fifth in 2024 at 7-under 857 with Waller, Burki and Nilehn each competing.  Waller finished at 3-under 213, while Nilehn, playing as an individual, finished 4-under 212 and Burki finished with a 219 score.
 
The tournament this week will feature live scoring.  Click here for live results and check back with vstateblazers.com for complete recaps each day of the tournament.