Matthew Kress (left) & Jack Turner (right) shake hands during the 2026 SEC Championship.
Gator trio collect All-SEC honors
Thursday, May 7, 2026 | Men's Golf
Jack Turner (First Team), Matthew Kress (Second Team) and Luke Poulter (Second Team) all earned conference recognition.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Florida men's golfer Matthew Kress, Luke Poulter and Jack Turner collected All-SEC honors the league office announced Thursday. Turner was named to the First Team while both Kress and Poulter to the Second Team.
The No. 2 ranked Gators were tabbed the No. 1 seed for the Columbus Regional yesterday and a top seed for the fifth time. The three-day, 54-hole event, starts on Monday, May 18 at OSU Golf Club (Scarlet Course) in Columbus, Ohio hosted by Ohio State University. At the conclusion of play, the top five teams as well as the low individual finisher not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. from May 29-June 3. The Columbus Regional will feature a field of 13 teams.
Both golf programs earned No. 1 seeds for regionals for the second time in program history with the first-ever being in 2017. Florida is one of three schools (Arkansas & Texas) to have both have a top seed this year.
Turner adds to his impressive resume with his third career All-SEC honor (Freshman Team 2024 & Second Team 2025). The junior has been the top player for the Gators and was also selected to participate in a second straight Arnold Palmer Cup later this summer. He has team-bests in stroke average (70.8), top5s (3), top10s (4), top25s (9), birdies (104), under par rounds (18) and tournaments (7). He tied for 7th at the SEC Championship at 8-under and went 2-0-1 in match play with the clinching point in the semifinals for the second straight year and took down Tommy Morrison of Texas.
Collecting his second career conference accolade (Freshman Team 2023), Kress has had a consistent spring performance. The senior owns a pair of T3 (-6) finishes and in his last two starts went T11 (-3) and T17 (-5) at the SEC Championship with a match play victory in the quarterfinals. He has a stroke average of 71.2 with a team-high three top5s and seven top25s. Kress ranks second on the team in birdies (94) and par or better rounds (16).
Poulter earns his first All-SEC distinction and was also chosen for his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Cup. In eight tournaments this season, he has finished par or better in seven with three recent outings of -4, -3 and -6. Outside of a T55 in the second event of the season, the junior has placed T16 or better. Poulter is second on the team in stroke average at 71.1 and won both his matches to help Florida win the East Lake Cup in the fall.
2026 All-SEC Honors
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jake Albert, Auburn
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Matt Comegys, Texas
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Wells Williams, Vanderbilt
COACH OF THE YEAR
Chris Malloy, Ole Miss
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Jack Turner, Florida
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma
Tom Fischer, Ole Miss
William Jennings, Alabama
Christiaan Maas, Texas
Frankie Harris, South Carolina
Wells Williams, Vanderbilt
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn
Jase Summy, Oklahoma
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
Matthew Kress, Florida
Luke Poulter, Florida
Gerardo Gomez, Arkansas
Luke Potter, Texas
Daniel Bennett, Texas
Lance Simpson, Tennessee
Erich Fortlage, Arkansas
Cayden Pope, Auburn
Jake Albert, Auburn
Cameron Tankersley, Ole Miss
Tommy Morrison, Texas
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jake Albert, Auburn
Logan Reilly, Auburn
Shiv Parmar, Texas A&M
Jon Ed Steed, Vanderbilt
Dan Hayes, LSU
The No. 2 ranked Gators were tabbed the No. 1 seed for the Columbus Regional yesterday and a top seed for the fifth time. The three-day, 54-hole event, starts on Monday, May 18 at OSU Golf Club (Scarlet Course) in Columbus, Ohio hosted by Ohio State University. At the conclusion of play, the top five teams as well as the low individual finisher not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. from May 29-June 3. The Columbus Regional will feature a field of 13 teams.
Both golf programs earned No. 1 seeds for regionals for the second time in program history with the first-ever being in 2017. Florida is one of three schools (Arkansas & Texas) to have both have a top seed this year.
Turner adds to his impressive resume with his third career All-SEC honor (Freshman Team 2024 & Second Team 2025). The junior has been the top player for the Gators and was also selected to participate in a second straight Arnold Palmer Cup later this summer. He has team-bests in stroke average (70.8), top5s (3), top10s (4), top25s (9), birdies (104), under par rounds (18) and tournaments (7). He tied for 7th at the SEC Championship at 8-under and went 2-0-1 in match play with the clinching point in the semifinals for the second straight year and took down Tommy Morrison of Texas.
Collecting his second career conference accolade (Freshman Team 2023), Kress has had a consistent spring performance. The senior owns a pair of T3 (-6) finishes and in his last two starts went T11 (-3) and T17 (-5) at the SEC Championship with a match play victory in the quarterfinals. He has a stroke average of 71.2 with a team-high three top5s and seven top25s. Kress ranks second on the team in birdies (94) and par or better rounds (16).
Poulter earns his first All-SEC distinction and was also chosen for his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Cup. In eight tournaments this season, he has finished par or better in seven with three recent outings of -4, -3 and -6. Outside of a T55 in the second event of the season, the junior has placed T16 or better. Poulter is second on the team in stroke average at 71.1 and won both his matches to help Florida win the East Lake Cup in the fall.
2026 All-SEC Honors
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jake Albert, Auburn
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Matt Comegys, Texas
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Wells Williams, Vanderbilt
COACH OF THE YEAR
Chris Malloy, Ole Miss
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Jack Turner, Florida
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma
Tom Fischer, Ole Miss
William Jennings, Alabama
Christiaan Maas, Texas
Frankie Harris, South Carolina
Wells Williams, Vanderbilt
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn
Jase Summy, Oklahoma
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
Matthew Kress, Florida
Luke Poulter, Florida
Gerardo Gomez, Arkansas
Luke Potter, Texas
Daniel Bennett, Texas
Lance Simpson, Tennessee
Erich Fortlage, Arkansas
Cayden Pope, Auburn
Jake Albert, Auburn
Cameron Tankersley, Ole Miss
Tommy Morrison, Texas
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jake Albert, Auburn
Logan Reilly, Auburn
Shiv Parmar, Texas A&M
Jon Ed Steed, Vanderbilt
Dan Hayes, LSU
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