Meet the golfers on the 2023-24 Annika Award preseason watch list

College golf is back, which means it’s time to look at Player of the Year candidates.

The Annika Award presented by Stifel honors the player of the year in college men’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media.

Last year, Rose Zhang dominated college golf, earning the Annika Award for the second straight year. She went on to win her first start as a professional at the Mizuho Americas Open and is now a part of the United States Solheim Cup team.

On Monday, the Annika Foundation announced its 2023-24 Annika Award preseason watch list. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the Annika Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel writers.

Here’s a look at the 25 golfers on the preseason watch list.

Kajsa Arwefjall, San Jose State

The preseason second-team All-America selection, is ranked 33rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and is a fifth-year senior. In her career, she has one tournament title, 18 top-10s and seven other top-20 finishes.

Amari Avery, USC

Avery has won four times for the Trojans and carded 11 top-10 finishes. This summer, she made match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur and also played in the U.S. Women’s Open. She’s a two-time All-American, earning third-team honors last season.

Zoe Campos, UCLA

Campos was a first-team All-America selection last season and played in the U.S. Women’s Open. She was also on the 2023 Palmer Cup team. She had two victories last season as a sophomore.

Hannah Darling, South Carolina

Darling, a junior, is a two-time All-American and has nine top-five finishes in her first two seasons at South Carolina. She also advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s Amateur Championship in 2022.

Megha Ganne, Stanford

Ganne won her first collegiate tournament in the first start of her sophomore season in the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach. She has the skill to win many more tournaments, as well.

Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, Texas A&M

Garcia-Poggio is ranked second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before hitting a shot for Texas A&M. She finished fourth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2023.

Charlotte Heath, Florida State

Heath, a reigning first-team All-American, won the Smyth Salver finishing as the low amateur at the AIG Women’s Open. Last season, she set a new single-season stroke average mark at 70.56 and has 16 top-10 finishes in three years.

Rachel Heck, Stanford

Heck won the Annika Award in 2021 before her Stanford teammate Rose Zhang won the past two years. Heck is finally healthy after two years of battling injuries and sickness, and she was a semifinalist at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Oklahoma State

Last year, Hinson-Tolchard finished fourth at the NCAA Championship, two shots behind Rose Zhang. She’s also a preseason second-team All-American.

Rachel Kuehn, Wake Forest

Kuehn’s career is one for the record books. She’s a four-time All-American, two-time ACC Golfer of the Year and won the national championship last year with Wake Forest, leading the Demon Deacons to the first title in school history.

Mackenzie Lee, SMU

Lee was stellar as a freshman for the Mustangs, as she was second on the team with a 71.78 scoring average. Lee placed in the top 10 in eight competitions during the season. She finished with the second lowest scoring round in program history

Andrea Lignell, Ole Miss

Lignell was one of the finalists for the Annika Award last season, where she earned first-team All-America honors and finished third at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Ingrid Lindblad, LSU

Lindblad, the top-ranked player in WAGR and winner of the Mark H. McCormack medal, is a four-time first-team All-American. She was low amateur at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open and is a two-time SEC Player of the Year.

Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State

The reigning SEC Player of the Year has a breakout season as a sophomore. Lopez Ramirez is a two-time All-American and won three times, including the SEC Championship and NCAA Westfield Regional. She also had eight top-five finishes in 12 events.

Caitlyn Macnab, Ole Miss

One of college golf’s major transfers, Macnab heads to Ole Miss from TCU, where she played in 23 tournaments, having a 71.73 stroke average. She collected 11 top-10 finishes the last two seasons with the Horned Frogs and is a member of the South African national team.

Caley McGinty, Ohio State

McGinty is back for her final season at Ohio State, and the preseason second-team All-American won one time for the Buckeyes last year and carded the lowest round (9-under 63) in program history.

Ashley Menne, Arizona State

Another preseason second-team All-American, is a three-time All-America selection and was on the Palmer Cup team this summer and won the Arizona Women’s Amateur.

Anna Morgan, Furman

Furman has had a stellar career for Furman, and last year was the best yet. She was the 2023 Southern Conference Female Athlete of the Year, SoCon Player of the Year and All-SoCon selection for the third-straight season.

Tunrada Piddon, UCF

The graduate student from Bangkok had a stellar senior season. She won the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate, was first on the team in scoring average with a 71.68 and had six top-10s and two top-20 finishes.

Kiara Romero, Oregon

Romero, an incoming freshman, is expected to make big waves this season. This summer, she captured the U.S. Girls’ Junior title and made it to match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Amanda Sambach, Virginia

A reigning first-team All-American, Sambach enters her junior year off a three-win sophomore season, including in the Annika Intercollegiate, and a season where she set a school record for single-season stroke average (71.31).

Megan Schofill, Auburn

Schofill, who has finished runner-up twice at the SEC Championship, claimed her place on the golf throne this summer when she captured the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles.

Latanna Stone, LSU

Stone has been incredibly consistent over her career at LSU, and she had another strong summer, culminating in her runner-up finish at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Jeneath Wong, Pepperdine

As a freshman, Wong earned honorable mention All-America honors. This year, she heads into the season off match play appearances at the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Lottie Woad, Florida State

As a freshman, Woad had the fourth-best single-season scoring average (71.06) in school history. She had eight top-10 finishes in 11 starts and became a focal point in the Seminoles’ lineup.