University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Wednesday, April 23
Madison, Miss.
8:30 a.m.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

at

SBC Championships

Eli Ortego at the 2025 SBC Men's Golf Championships

Ortego Shares SBC Individual Title; Cajuns Fall to Seventh at SBC Championships

4/23/2025 11:22:00 PM | Golf

NCAA Championship teams, individuals to be released April 30

MADISON, Miss. – Senior Eli Ortego recorded a 1-under-par 71 to finish to share individual medalist honors with Arkansas State's Jack Maxey while the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Golf team fell to seventh place during the final round of stroke play at the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Men's Golf Championships on Wednesday at Annandale Golf Club.
 
Louisiana, ranked No. 68 nationally in the Scoreboard rankings which were released on Wednesday, posted a final round score of 1-under-287 and finished at even-par 864 for the three-day event.
 
Coastal Carolina, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern and Troy earned the top four spots in the 54-hole stroke play portion of the event and advanced to Thursday's Match Play semifinals. The winner of Match Play will earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
 
Ortego, who finished at 6-under-par 210, joined former Ragin' Cajuns Trey Coker (1993), Greg Sonnier (1996) and Richard Ainley (2000) in claiming individual SBC honors for Louisiana. Maxey claimed the overall title after defeating Ortego on the third hole in a sudden death playoff.
 
The senior made the turn at 1-under-35, which was capped by an eagle on the par-5, No. 18. Ortego added birdies at both the par-5 No. 7 and 11 holes and at the par-4 No. 3. Ortego produced his second top-5 finish during the 2024-25 season and first since finishing tied for fourth at the Git-R-Done Invitational during the fall.
 
Malan Potgieter joined Ortego in the top-5 for Louisiana after recording a 2-under-70 in the final round and finishing one stroke behind at 5-under-211 for the tournament. The junior finished tied for third overall in the field and finished in the top-5 for the sixth time in 2024-25 and eighth in his career.
 
Jean Louis du Plessis carded an even-par 72 in the final round for the Ragin' Cajuns and finished at 4-over-220 for the event with Carter Schmitt recording a 2-over-74 to finish at 8-over-224. Kyle Bennett produced a 3-over-par 75 in the final round for Louisiana and finished at 10-over-226.
 
Teams and individuals for the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championships will be announced on Wednesday (April 30) between 12-1 p.m. CT on the Golf Channel. Regional play will take place May 12-14 at six regional sites with the top five teams at each regional plus the low individual not on an advancing team qualifying for the NCAA Championships on May 23-28 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
 
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
 
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (@RaginCajunsGolf) or check RaginCajuns.com for Louisiana golf updates.
 
2025 SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 21-23, 2025
Madison, Miss. (Annandale GC)
Par 72, 7,157 yards
 
TEAM RESULTS
1. Coastal Carolina 285-285-280-850; 2. Arkansas State 278-288-285-851; 3. Georgia Southern 288-284-284-856; 4. Troy 286-291-281-858; 5. James Madison 286-296-280-862; 6. Texas State 297-281-285-863; 7. Louisiana 286-291-287-864; 8. Southern Miss 290-297-281-868; 9. South Alabama 296-297-278-871; 10. Georgia State 293-289-296-878; 11. Marshall 297-298-284-879; 12. ULM 292-292-296-880; 13. Old Dominion 301-293-292-886; 14. Appalachian State 296-300-295-891.
 
LOUISIANA INDIVIDUALS
T1. Eli Ortego 70-69-71-210; T3. Malan Potgieter 70-71-70-211; T41. Jean Louis du Plessis 72-76-72-220; T58. Carter Schmitt 75-75-74-224; T63. Kyle Bennett 74-77-75-226.
 
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