After another hot and humid Iowa summer, the calendar now flips to autumn, where many folks in Iowa City are gearing up for football.
But just down the street is the James M. Hoak Family Golf Complex, the home of the Iowa men’s and women’s golf teams. Their focus is on the links, where they hope to engineer bounce-back campaigns in 2025-26.
Benites looks to spark women’s turnaround
Following their 14th place finish in the Big Ten Championship last season, the Hawkeyes look to improve under 15th-year head coach Megan Menzel.
Third-year Ximena Benites looks to build on her outstanding previous season that included a 74.81 average and two top-10 finishes. Benites also led the team in birdies with 77, including one eagle. Benites is the top candidate to fill in the shoes of former ace Paula Miranda, who graduated last year.
This season’s roster features four seniors, one of which being Riley Lewis who totaled an average of 76.37 and a top-20 finish last year. Another fourth-year is Kaitlyn Hanna, who tallied a 78.66 average and one top-20 finish.
Adie Maki, who transferred from Loyola Chicago last year, ended her inaugural campaign in Iowa City with a 78.11 average and three tournament appearances. Shannon Vogler made two tournament appearances last season with a 76.17 average and aims to finish her Hawkeye career strong.
Iowa also brings in two new first-year players who already have long resumes of success.
Cailyn Rogers is a first-year player from Lexington, Kentucky. As a freshman in high school, Rogers was named the Kentucky Player of the Year and won five tournaments. The Kentuckian also won titles at the NB3 Long Drive tournament and Hurricane Junior Long Drive tournament.
Another newcomer is Sunny Tianlang Wang. Hailing from Beijing, China, Wang brings her four top-10 finishes and career-low round of 66 to Iowa City.
Men’s team features young talent
This 2025-26 men’s golf team will aim to improve on their 14th place finish at the Big Ten Championship under 12th-year head coach Tyler Stith.
The lone fourth-year, Gage Messingham, led the Hawkeyes with the lowest average last season at 72.2. The Colorado native started all tournaments last season and is due for an outstanding senior season.
Third-year Maxwell Tjoa comes into this season off a team best six-over par performance in the Big Ten Championship. Tjoa carries a lot of potential, which he showed in his 33 rounds last season.
Second-year Chance Rinkol also showed a lot of promise in his first season with the Hawkeyes and was named Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. With a 74.7 average and seven rounds at par or better, Rinkol is a potential name to watch.
The men’s team’s two new first-year players are also bound to make an immediate impact. Iowa signed Oklahoma State transfer Grant Grudgel in May as he looks to start his collegiate golf career. A redshirt first-year, Grudge won the Saguaro Amateur in January, his first competition after suffering a wrist injury the prior fall.
The other new face in town is first-year Kansas native Bennet Warren. Warren was the top ranked junior in the state of Kansas and ranked No. 60 nationally and No. 33 in his class.
Schedules at a glance
The men’s team will open their season with a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Visit Knoxville Collegiate on Sept. 5-7, while the women’s squad begins their fall slate with the Boilermaker Classic on Sept. 1-2 in West Lafayette, Indiana.