BETHANY, W.Va. - The Bethany College men's and women's golf teams led by fourth-year head coach Kailey Pettit are ready to tee off the 2025-26 season.

Coach Pettit enters her fourth season as the head coach of the golf programs and welcomes back 10 letterwinners, one All-President Athletic Conference selection, and five Academic All-PAC honorees from last season. In 2024-25, the men's golf team earned their first tournament win under Coach Pettit at the Geneva Quad-Match on September 23, and finished seventh overall in the PAC Championships while the women's golf team competed individually for the conference title in both the fall and spring championships.

Returning for the women's team are Academic All-PAC sophomore Natalie DuShole (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBouf) and Academic All-PAC graduate Olivia Masciantoni (Georgetown, Pa./Southside). DuShole appeared in eight tournaments and averaged 96.4 strokes in 11 rounds last season. She shot a season-best 15 over against Wheeling and was fourth among individual players and 23rd overall at the 2025 PAC Championships with a four-round total of 388. Masciantoni competed in nine rounds through six tournaments last season with her best performance coming against Wheeling as she shot 104. She also played in the PAC Championships where she carded a score of 117 in the second round of the Fall portion of the tournament.

Back leading the Bison men this year is All-PAC junior Jude Smith (Weirton, W.Va./Weir). Smith earned his second-straight all-conference honor after appearing in 10 tournaments last year where he shot 13 rounds and posted a scoring average of 79 strokes per round. He shot a season-best 74 in each of the final two rounds of the PAC Spring Championships, carded 76 at the Washington & Jefferson Invitational last season, and finished third at both the Geneva Quad-Match and the Geneva Men's Invitational in the spring with scores of 78.

Junior Payton Hildebrand (Wellsburg, W.Va./Wheeling Central Catholic) also returns for the Bison after appearing in nine tournaments and shooting 11 rounds for a scoring average of 80. Hildebrand took the top spot to lead the team in the Geneva Quad-Match by carding a score of 73, a team-best on the season, and also took first in the Geneva Men's Invitational after firing four over. He also helped lead the Green and White in the PAC Fall Championships by shooting 77 in the opening round.

Samuel Phillips (Charleston, W.Va./Herbert Hoover) rounds out a strong junior class after playing 13 rounds through 10 tournaments in 2024-25. The Academic All-PAC honoree penciled a season-best 79 at the Grove City Fall Invitational, earned sixth place at the Geneva Men's Invitational with a score of 81, and averaged a score of 83.9 on the season.

Nash Hays (Heath, Ohio) and Lincoln Pablo (Tulalip, Wash./Heritage) are both poised for big years after breakout freshman seasons. Hays competed in 10 rounds and 13 tournaments where he averaged 89.6 strokes per round including shooting a 79 in the opening round of the PAC Fall Championships and an 86 in the Washington & Jefferson Invitational. Pablo, an Academic All-PAC selection, shot nine rounds in seven tournaments on the season and notched an 85 at the Grove City Spring Invitational.

Graduate Troy Hixson (Grove City, Ohio/Bishop Ready) returns for one last season while sophomores Cooper Poe (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia), Caleb Mouton (Denham Springs, La./Walker), and Colby Vega (New Cumberland, W.Va./Oak Glenn) round out the team's returners.

The women's team opens the 2025 season on Saturday, September 6 as they travel to Hermitage, Pennsylvania to compete in the Thiel Invitational hosted by Thiel (Pa.) College at 1 p.m. at Avalon at Buhl Park Country Club. The men's team begins on Monday, September 8 as they travel to Latrobe, Pennsylvania for the Saint Vincent Invitational hosted by Saint Vincent (Pa.) College at 11 a.m. at the Latrobe Country Club.