Graduate student Paul Chang and senior Ben James were named on May 6 to the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel Postseason Watch List, which includes 15 golfers from across the country. Virginia is the only team with more than one player featured on this year’s list for one of college golf’s most prestigious honors.
The Fred Haskins Award recognizes the outstanding college golfer of the year and commemorates Fred Haskins, a club professional known for mentoring amateur golfers. The award’s voting process is managed by the Haskins Foundation in Columbus, Georgia, and involves college golfers, coaches, and members of the golf media.
James has been a two-time finalist for the Haskins Award in both 2023 and 2025. He appeared on both preseason and spring watch lists this season. He finished in the top five at all nine regular season tournaments he played in and placed fifth during stroke play at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournaments. James currently holds first place in PGA Tour University rankings, second place on World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), and second place on Scoreboard Individual rankings.
Chang recently earned ACC Golfer of the Month after consecutive wins at both the Calusa Cup and Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Tournament. He became Virginia’s first golfer to win medalist honors in back-to-back tournaments. At this year’s ACC Championships, Chang tied for ninth in stroke play before going undefeated through match play rounds—helping clinch Virginia’s second straight ACC Championship by halving his final hole against Stanford’s Dean Greyserman. Chang is ranked fourteenth in PGA Tour University rankings, twentieth in WAGR, and twelfth on Scoreboard Individual rankings.
The ten finalists for this season will be announced Friday, May 22. Finalists along with their coach will attend “Haskins Honors” at Grand Blanc Maison on Wednesday, May 27—a special event hosted by several organizations including The Back of the Range and former winner Ben Crenshaw.
