Hunter Epson Named Big West Men’s Golfer of Year Highlighting Five All-Conference Selections for the Beach

Hunter Epson Named Big West Men’s Golfer of Year Highlighting Five All-Conference Selections for the Beach

5/12/2021 1:01:00 PM | Men's Golf

Clay Seeber named Tri-Freshman of the Year, Michael Wilson named Coach of the Year

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Complete Big West Conference Release (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West Conference announced the Men's Golf All-Conference Awards on Wednesday afternoon and Long Beach State dominated the accolades with five players named all-conference, while also sweeping the major awards. Senior Hunter Epson was named Men's Golfer of the Year, while Clay Seeber was selected as one of three freshman named Tri-Freshman of the Year, and Michael Wilson earned Coach of the Year honors.

Additionally, Epson and Seeber were also named to the Big West All-First Team, while Isaac Rodea collected All-Second Team accolades. Both Hunter Reed and Tyler Schafer were Honorable Mention selections.

Epson becomes just the second Long Beach State men's golfer to earn Big West Golfer of the Year honors in program history, and the first since Mike Miles won the award in 1982. The senior out of Long Beach, Calif., earns the honors after being named Big West Men's Golfer of the Month on two occasions this season.

He heads into the NCAA Tournament with three top five finishes including a top five showing at the Big West Conference Championships. Epson opened the 2021 campaign with a season-low 9-under par performance at the Nick Watney Invitational in which he shot a 69-70-68 for 207 for a tie for fourth place. Epson matched his 9-under par season-low several weeks later at the Sacramento State Intercollegiate where he shot 72-67-68 for 207 and came in tied for third place.

Seeber, a freshman from Newport Beach, Calif., was one of three men's golfers selected as Big West Tri-Freshman of the Year after turning in a solid rookie season. Seeber recorded three top 10 performances including a runner-up finish at the Big West Conference Championships in which he shot a 2-under par (71-72-72) for 214. His season-low 10-under par came at the Sacramento State Intercollegiate where he shot an impressive 66-68-72 for 206 and finished second in the event.

Wilson was named Big West Coach of the Year after leading Long Beach State to its third Big West Conference Championship in program history. Wilson's honors make him the fourth LBSU coach in program history to win the award as he joins the likes of Del Walker (1982, 1986, 1994), Bob Livingstone (2000, 2006), and Mickey Yokoi (2012).

In just his fourth season at the helm, Wilson led Long Beach State to one of its best seasons as the Beach captured the Big West Conference Championship for the first time since 2004 and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. This season, Wilson's Beach turned in six top 10 finishes after competing in eight tournaments.

In addition to the major awards and First Team honors, Long Beach State also saw Isaac Rodea named to the All-Second Team. Rodea, a sophomore from San Diego, Calif., posted three top 10 showings this season including a season-best sixth-place finish at the Sacramento State Intercollegiate in which he shot 74-67-70 for a 211, 5-under par showing. He also helped the Beach to their Big West Conference Championship finish as he finished in a tie for seventh place with a 1-over par.

Rounding out the Beach's Big West All-Conference selections were Hunter Reed and Tyler Schafer who were both Honorable Mention selections. Reed, a senior from Encinitas, Calif., turned in his best performance of the season at the Big West Championships as he shot 74-71-72 for a 217, 1-over par to tie for seventh.

Schafer, a junior from Long Beach, Calif., kicked off the season with a 2-under par showing at the Nick Watney Invitational after firing a 76-70-68 for 214 to finish in the top 25. In his last performance, he posted his best finish, a tie for seventh place, with a 1-over par 217 (77-69-71) to help Long Beach State capture the Big West Conference Championship and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Long Beach State will be back in action on Monday, May 17 at the Cle Elum Regional first round in Cle Elum, Wash. The three-day regional will conclude on Wednesday, May 19.