LOUDON — Tennessee golf wrapped up the third round of the 2025 NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California, with a 30-over-par showing, falling 19 strokes short of the cut line in May.
After an offseason of growth and two major invitations punched, the Vols — under the direction of eighth-year head coach Brennan Webb — are aiming high.
“We’re here to win a national championship and nothing short of that,” Jackson Herrington said.
The 2025 fall season teed off at Tennessee National Golf Club on Sept. 5 and ended on Sept. 7 with the Vols hoisting a trophy. Tennessee walked away as team champions with a 19-under-par performance.
It was a kickstart to the aspirations that the Vols want to achieve this season.
“It certainly is the goal,” Webb said. “There’s no doubt about it. That’s why we’re all here, and we’re certainly capable of that. Obviously, you need a little luck when it comes to the right time, but put ourselves in position to do that.”
A year ago, Tennessee shot four-under-par in the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, finishing third place overall with two top-10 individuals. Fast forward to 2025, the Vols shaved off 15 strokes en route to the title win and doubled the amount of top-10 finishers with four.
“It’s development,” Webb said. “I think more than anything, it’s just growing up and maturing, handling the pressure of being at home and having to deal with the expectations that come with being an athlete at Tennessee. And last year was a really, really young team, and we struggled early, for sure, got it kind of figured out towards the end of the year at the right time.”
Lance Simpson and Herrington are leading the charge. This summer was a busy one for the pair, both earning major invites as a result of individual tournament play.
Simpson was a participant in the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with an eight-under-par qualifier round to punch his ticket. He eventually missed the cut after two rounds, shooting 12-over at 74-78 — but is now back on the college circuit, chasing that goal.
“This summer was a lot of fun, but this whole time this summer, I just wanted to come and compete with all my buddies,” Simpson said. “And especially my senior year, I just wanted to play with all my friends in the national championship.”
Herrington’s journey took a dramatic leap in August. After spending his freshman season trying to pencil in consistent outings, the Dickson, Tennessee, native shone in the U.S. Amateur Championship.
The lefty, who earned the moniker “Fridge,” rustled through match-play to earn a spot as one of the final two golfers standing. Herrington fell in the championship round to a high school senior, and Georgia commit Mason Howell, but earned exemptions into the 2026 Masters Tournament and U.S. Open.
“We’re playing for something bigger than us here,” Herrington said. “We’re playing for not just ourselves, but the university and all these other guys. So I think it’s I think it’s pretty special to be able to do that, and especially at a great university with all these great guys.”
Tennessee golf showed during the opening weekend that it has the tools to do so. That’s in part to the championship pedigree on the roster in the form of Auburn transfer Reed Lotter — who was part of the Tigers’ 2024 national championship team.
And Lotter has been using that experience to get in Webb’s ear about what it takes.
“He’s already kind of just a couple of times like, ‘Hey, we’ve got it better than they did. We’re just as good as those guys were,’” Webb said. “All those things that kind of just help and lead into that confidence.
“When you’ve had a guy that has done it and been a part of it, it certainly speaks louder.”
Lotter made his fall debut by shining as co-champion of the field with a seven-under-par showing. He competed as an individual after failing to make the team qualifier, which is a highlight of the depth that Webb has this season.
And that continues down the list to true-freshman Chase Kyes, who was rated as the No. 1 golfer out of high school according to Junior Golf Scoreboard. His collegiate debut started off with a 66 — which ties Simpson’s best round of golf last season.
“It wasn’t just one guy carrying us all the way around,” Webb said.
With the offseason behind, and golf fully underway, the season has a backbone of success under its belt. Webb is reminiscent of his 2023 squad that finished 10th in the NCAA Championship. It featured a squad of Korn Ferry Tour participant Bryce Lewis and All-SEC golfer Jake Hall.
“I think this speaks a little bit more of who we are,” Webb said. “It reminds me a lot of the team two years ago with some senior leadership — and that was a top-10 team in the country — and I think we’re certainly at least that.”
