VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's golf team is gearing up for the 2026 Gulf South Conference Championship, set for Apr. 20-22 in Dickson, Tenn., at GreyStone Golf Club.  
 
The championship will consist of three rounds with one round each day as the winner will earn the league's automatic qualification to the NCAA South/Southeast Regional, set for May 7-9 at Valdosta Country Club in Valdosta, Ga.  
 
The Blazers enter 55^th nationally in the latest Scoreboard Powered by Clippd rankings.  The conference championship field includes; No. 1-ranked West Florida, No. 2 Lee, No. 55 Valdosta State, No. 63 Union, No. 81 Trevecca Nazarene, No. 86 Delta State and No. 95 Montevallo for teams ranked in the top 100.  Mississippi College and Christian Brothers round out the nine-team field.  Click here for the link to live scoring of the championship.
 
VSU enters tenth in the latest NCAA South Region rankings as the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Golf selections will be announced on Apr. 26, 2026, by press release from the NCAA.  West Florida leads the final publicly announced rankings, followed by Florida Southern, Nova Southeastern, Saint Leo and Lee rounds out the top five.  Barry is sixth, followed by Rollins, Palm Beach Atlantic, Lynn and Valdosta State is tenth while Eckerd is 11^th.  
 
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.  
 
This marks the first time the conference tournament has been at GreyStone Golf Club.  Last season, the Blazers finished fifth in the GSC championship with a 912 score at Tunica National Golf Club in Tunica, Miss.  VSU has won five league titles in program history (1989, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000) and its last top three finish came in 2019 in Mobile, Ala., finishing runner-up.  West Florida has won the last three league titles and 21 for its history, marking the most in league history.  

For the Blazers, the lineup features junior William Carestam, along with junior Alexander Nilehn, junior Adam Waller, senior Elad Sebbag and freshman Kaleb Shiver.  Senior Joshua Burki will be going as well as a substitution if needed.  This season, Carestam is 91^st nationally according to the latest Scoreboard Powered by Clippd rankings and 28^th in the region with a 72.2 adjusted stroke average.  Nilehn is 97^th nationally and 30^th in the region with a 72.3 adjusted average.  
 
Overall, Nilehn has a 72.8 stroke average for the season in 30 rounds and ten tournaments.  He has fired 27 rounds in the 70s and a low-round of 66.  Carestam has a 72.7 stroke average this season with 25 rounds in the 70s, playing in 30 tournaments and five in the 60s with a low-round of 68.  
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com each day for complete recaps of the championship.