Illinois State has been tabbed the favorite in both men's and women's golf by a vote of head coaches. The Redbirds received nine of a possible 10 first-place votes in men's golf for 99 total points. The ISU women's golf team had 11 of a possible 12 first-place nods for 143 total points.  

The top three teams in the men's poll are Illinois State (99 points), Southern Illinois (86 points), and Valparaiso (80 points).  Following Illinois State (143 points) in the women's poll are Missouri State (127 points) and Bradley (114 points).



MEN'S GOLF
Illinois State is the top-rated MVC program (23rd in the region and 151 in the NCAA).  Southern Illinois (189) and Valparaiso (192) are both in the Top 200 nationally.  Murray State, meanwhile, picked up the league's lone team championship in the fall, winning its own event (The Buddy) in mid-October.   

The MVC's top-rated men's golfer in the fall was Valparaiso's Anthony Delisanti.  The senior is a three-time all-MVC selection, the 2023 MVC Golfer of the Year, and the 2022 MVC Newcomer of the Year.  During the fall, he posted a 69.08 stroke average through 12 rounds.  He posted 18-hole scores of 70 or better nine times, which included a 63 (7-under-par) at the Ram Masters Invitational in September.  He was medalist at that event.  Delisanti joined former Bradley standout Connor Hamm as league players to win an individual title at an event (Hamm, who transfered after the fall, was a two-time medalist last fall for Bradley.)   Delisanti ranks 15th in the region and 116th nationally.   Illinois State is the only MVC school with two golfers who rank among the Top 5 in the MVC player standings (TJ Barger, 2nd; Alex McCulla, 5th).

The 2025 MVC Men's Golf Championship will be at Des Moines Golf and Country Club (April 20-22) in Wes Des Moines, Iowa, and Drake is the host institution.  Teams will play 18 holes each day.  

Southern Illinois earned the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship title with an eight-stroke victory over second-place Missouri State.  SIU's Edouard Cereto was medalist.  Caleb VanArragon of Valparaiso was voted by coaches as Golfer of the Year; Cereto was tabbed Newcomer of the Year; and Ray Kralis of Illinois State was named the 2024 Coach of the Year by his peers. 



WOMEN'S GOLF
This year, Illinois State's women's team is the top-rated MVC program in the NCAA rankings, clocking in at No. 99 as a team through four fall tournaments.  The Redbirds were one of four MVC women's programs to win an event, taking its own tournament title in the Redbird Invitational in September and the Loyola Parkinson Family Invitational in October.  Bradley won the A-Ga-Ming Invitational in early September and the Coyote Creek Classic in early October.  UIC won its season-opening event at the Point O'Woods Women's Collegiate in Michigan in September.  And Indiana State earned the team title at Evansville's Braun Intercollegiate in October.  The MVC has six women's teams in the Top 200 of the NCAA rankings, including Illinois State (99), Missouri State (135), Bradley (146), Drake (158), Murray State (190), and Belmont (199).

Individually, Illinois State holds four of the top five positions on the MVC leaderboard, topped by Jinyoung Yun.  She ranks 29th in the region and sported a 72.0 stroke average in the fall.  ISU teammates Morgan Jones (2nd), Elise Fennell (4th), and Jessica Jolly (5th) represent Illinois State on the player leaderboard.  Missouri State's Jiayi Zhang ranks 3rd in the MVC and headlines the Bears' roster.  Tierney Baumstark of Missouri State is 6th in the MVC rankings.  Only Illinois State, Missouri State and Bradley have two or more golfers in the league's Top 10.  Bradley is represented by Caroline McConnell (8th) and Allison Pacocha (9th).  Notably, eight different MVC golfers earned medalist honors in a tournament this past fall.

The 2025 MVC Women's Golf Championship will be at the par-72, 6,176-yard layout at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill.  Indiana State is the host school. Teams will play 18 holes each (April 13-15).  

In 2024, for the second time in the last three years, Illinois State took home the MVC Women's Golf Championship, topping the field of a dozen schools at the tournament hosted at Annbriar. The Redbirds held a seven-stroke lead after the first 18 holes, and never trailed again in the program's 15th MVC Championship – most in MVC history.  Kate Petrova of Evansville earned individual medalist after a three-hole playoff (against Ali Schrock of Illinois State).  Petrova birdied hole No. 18 on the third attempt, while Schrock had a par).  Jinyoung Yun of Illinois State was Golfer of the Year; Jillian Cosler of Bradley was Newcomer of the Year; and Breanne Hall of Illinois State was tabbed Coach of the Year.