VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 59 Valdosta State men's golf team heads to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the 2026 Shark Invitational at Grande Oaks Golf Club hosted by Nova Southeastern.
 
The tournament will be 54-holes beginning with 36-holes on Mar. 23 and concluding with 18-holes on Mar. 24.  The 15-team field features No. 4 Florida Southern, No. 15 Nova Southeastern, No. 16 Barry, No. 19 Saint Leo, No. 23 Rollins, No. 27 Flagler, No. 28 Lynn, No. 37 Palm Beach Atlantic, No. 44 Eckerd and No. 50 Tampa among teams in the top 50 of the Clippd rankings.  
 
Embry-Riddle is 51^st, while VSU is 59, Wilmington (Del.) is 98^th and Mississippi College is 106.  In addition, Eastern Florida State College also is competing and is No. 8 nationally in the junior college rankings.  The Grande Oaks Golf Club is 6,750-yards and a par 71.  There will be 36-holes scheduled for Monday and 18 on Tuesday for the 54-hole tournament. 
 
The Blazers feature a lineup this week of junior Alexander Nilehn, junior William Carestam, junior Nick Mueller, senior Joshua Burki and junior Adam Waller.  VSU finished eighth at the First Federal Southeastern Collegiate last time out at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta.  VSU carded an even par 864, while Nilehn continued his strong play this season, finishing tied for sixth with a 6-under 210 score.  
 
Nilehn is 83^rd nationally and 26^th in the region with a 72.0 adjusted scoring average.  He has one top three finish and three top ten finishes for the season.  Carestam has a 72.7 stroke average in 24 rounds this season and has one top ten finish, most recently in the Southeastern Collegiate where he finished tied for ninth with a 5-under 211.  
 
This marks the first time VSU has competed in the Shark Invitational (spring) in some time as the Blazers normally have played in the Bobcat Invitational following hosting the Southeastern Collegiate.  
 
VSU was one of 11 teams from the South Region under consideration in the first NCAA Region Rankings which were released on Mar. 14.  In alphabetical order, the initial ranking comprised of Barry; Embry-Riddle; Florida Southern; Lee; Lynn; Nova Southeastern; Palm Beach Atlantic; Rollins; Saint Leo; Valdosta State and West Florida.  The next two region rankings (Mar. 27 and Apr. 10) will be in seeded order, while the official 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Golf selections will be made on Apr. 26, 2026, by press release by the NCAA.
 
The NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently from the South and Southeast Regions. Ten teams and the top four individuals not with a team will be selected from each region to compete in one of four 54-hole regional tournaments, each consisting of 20 teams and eight individuals total from the two regions. 
 
This year, the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Super Regional is scheduled for May 7-9 at Valdosta Country Club in Valdosta.  There will three automatic qualifiers for the South Region, the winners of the Gulf South Conference, Sunshine State Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).  
 
A total of seven teams, including the top two individuals not with a team from each regional (regardless of region) will advance to the finals. Tiebreakers and playoffs will be used to determine advancement to the finals, as well as team and individual champions.  The 2026 NCAA Division II National Championship is set for May 18-22 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev.  
 
Click here for links to live results and check back with vstateblazers.com on both Monday and Tuesday evenings for complete recaps and results of the tournament.