Men's Golf NCAA Regional Announcement
 
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – Kelvin Hernandez of the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's golf team has earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Winston-Salem Regional, announced on Wednesday on the Golf Channel.

Hernandez will compete at the Winston-Salem Regional, from May 18-20 at Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, North Carolina. The NCAA Regional will consist of three rounds with one round on each of the three days.

Hernandez earned the automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Regionals after securing first place in the 2026 Southern Conference (SoCon) Championships on Wednesday, April 29 at Solina Country Club in Columbia, South Carolina. The junior fired off rounds of 67-72-65, setting a new course record in the final round. In addition, his 65 round score is a new season-best and matches his career-best. In addition, he was named to the All-SoCon Team after a stellar season and leading the Spartans with a 72.15 stroke average.

UNCG finished in fourth place in the SoCon Championships behind a nine-over-par (861) with round scores of 289-290-282.

This is the second consecutive year a Spartan earned the SoCon Championships player title and fourth time in program history. Former Spartan, Colin Dutton earned first place in the 2025 SoCon Championships, marking the first time UNCG has ever received the individual title back-to-back years.

The 2026 NCAA Regionals will mark the 10^th time in UNCG program history that the Spartans have made an NCAA Regionals appearance as either a team or individual. Hernandez' spot in the NCAA Regionals will be the fifth time in program history a Spartan has earned the bid as an individual.

The last time Hernandez competed in the NCAA Regionals was in his freshman season in 2024, where he finished tied for third with a six-under-par (207). He finished as the top individual not on an advancing team at the NCAA Regionals to advance to the NCAA Championships. Hernandez' spot in the NCAA Championship marked the first time in the UNCG Division I era a Spartan advanced to the finals.  
 
The 14 teams in the Winston-Salem Regional include: Virginia, Ole Miss, Pepperdine, Georgia Tech, Southern California, Wake Forest, Mississippi State, Little Rock, N.C. State, Kentucky, Houston, Richmond, Navy and Presbyterian. The five individuals will be: Emil Riegger (Maryland), Tyler Jones (Western Carolina), Harris Bath (Furman), Kelvin Hernandez (UNCG) and Dewi John (Charleston Southern).

From the SoCon, Chattanooga as a team, Kelvin Hernandez (UNCG), Harris Barth (Furman) and Tyler Jones (Western Carolina) as individuals will all represent the conference this year in the NCAA Regionals.

Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted May 18-20. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The top five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.

The 2026 NCAA Championships will be held from May 29-June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.