The Kansas Wesleyan men's golf team finished the fall season on a strong note and coach Jefferson Cook is optimistic that the Coyotes will continue their surge this spring.

KWU plays its first match of 2026 at the Friends Gentle Creek Invitational on Monday and Tuesday in Prosper, Texas.

The Coyotes were third at the Kansas Conference Match Play event in October, dominating Southwestern in the third-place match.

"The fall went relatively well considering the circumstances of having a new coach," first-year coach Jefferson Cook said. "Everybody was getting used to the new way of doing things and getting used to a new person in charge but I think overall it was a great season for us.

"We struggled a little bit at the beginning but in the end dominating our third place match up against Southwestern was a great way to end the fall. We are definitely looking forward to continuing with that momentum going into this spring."

Five golfers who led the way during the fall season will likely do so this spring – senior Jackson Malone, junior Hank Reeg, junior Joey Wisocki, senior Derek He and freshman Kaden Mellott.

"We have a pretty diverse team as far as talent and skill level goes," Cook said. "I would say there's always going to be a spot for anybody to go and get on that top five but definitely those guys that have been leading us will be really good for us this spring."

Cook said freshman Kaden Blagg could be in contention for one of the top five spots each time out and is not alone.

"He started every fall tournament," Cook said. "He's going to be another anchor for us and was always in the conversation going into the top five. There's a lot of guys who are coming in this semester feeling a little bit more comfortable than they did in the fall so it's really kind of a toss up to see who's going to be a part of that top five."

The tournament in Texas will be a challenge, Cook said.

 "It'll be a great test for us; there's a lot of really good teams going, and I think we're going to be able to really continue with the drive that we had from the fall," he said.

The Coyotes finished third in the KCAC Championships last spring at Garden City. Cook expects KWU, Friends and Sterling to again battle for conference supremacy in 2026 tournament that is scheduled for April 20-22 in Garden City.

"We're usually in the top three and have been for the last few years," he said. "Teams that could be sneakily pretty good are Southwestern and maybe even Oklahoma Wesleyan. We haven't seen a whole lot of (OKWU) but they have been good in the past, so they could be up there too."