Looking Ahead: Men's Golf to Kick Off 2026 Fall Season in Iowa

Coming off a Summit League Championship in his first year, coach Dr. Ekren Miller is looking to repeat the team’s success. The Bison will start the fall stretch of the season in Riverside, Iowa, at the America Needs Farmers Fall Classic. The event tees off on September 8 and will finish the following day. Fourteen teams will be fighting for victory in Iowa this week; most notably for the Bison, border rival South Dakota will be making the trip.

Looking at the North Dakota State roster for the upcoming season, we see many new faces. The Bison added three freshmen to the team, those names being Elias Ekern, who averaged a 72 across his high school career. Peyton Albers led Waunakee Community High School to back-to-back team championships as well as taking home the 2025 individual championship. Albers is a multi-time All-State and All-Conference golfer. The final freshman the Bison added was Henry Johnson; some may remember his brother, Jack Johnson, who finished as an All-Summit League golfer three times for NDSU, spanning from 2020 to 2024. Henry qualified for the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur and is a four-time All-Conference nominee. 

The new faces have big shoes to fill as the Bison lost Rylin Petry, Gabe Benson and Jake Skarperud, due to graduating last spring. This leaves juniors Sean Moore, Carter Spalding and a new transfer from Dr. Miller’s former school, Bedmiji State, Brogan Paschal, as the team’s veterans. This is a very young Bison team; there are no seniors on the roster. Dr. Miller and the Bison will be looking for strong production from their young guys to repeat a successful season.

The sophomores who will need to step up for Dr. Miller earned experience last year. These names include familiar faces like Joey Mackinac, Carter White and Andrew Ballou. Ballou was the headliner of last year’s freshman class, ending his season with multiple top-12 finishes. Readers should look for him to be a leading face for the Bison this season. 

Coming back to the season opener, coach Dr. Miller has announced the starting lineup. Once again, hammering on the fact that this is a young team, all three freshmen will be starting on the opener, as well as Ballou, Carter White and Sean Moore, who will be looking to take the role as the veteran leader in the clubhouse. 

Looking towards the rest of the season, NDSU has five more fall tournaments with trips to Kansas, Madison, New York, Iowa and ending the season, as always, in Mexico for the final tournament of the fall. The Bison took home two tournament victories in the fall season last year and will be relying on youth development to repeat that success.