School-Record Five Cajuns Named To Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar List

NORMAN, Okla. – Led by three-time honoree Eli Ortego, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns golf team placed a school-record five players on the 2024-25 Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars list for NCAA Division I, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced on Tuesday.

Joining Ortego on the list were two-time recipient Burke Alford, Kyle Bennett, Jean Louis du Plessis and Carter Schmitt.

Ortego, who finished second on the team in scoring average (72.15), scored a pair of top-5 finishes for the Ragin' Cajuns, including tying with Arkansas State's Jack Maxey for first at last week's Sun Belt Conference Championships (70-69-71-210).

Ortego tied his 54-hole career low (5-under-208) and finished tied for fifth at the Git-R-Done Invitational (64-74-70) with his opening round 7-under-64 scored as the second-lowest of his career.

Alford, a senior from Shreveport, earned All-America Scholar honors for the second straight year after posting a 73.73 average in 15 rounds of play. Alford fired a season-low 5-under 67 at the Trinity Forest Invitational and posted a 54-hole low score of 216 at the Everett Buick GMC Classic.

Bennett, earning All-America Scholar honors for the third time after twice being named at New Orleans, played in 27 rounds for the Ragin' Cajuns and posted a scoring average of 73.78. Bennett recorded 14 rounds of par or better during the season, including a team-best 10 consecutive rounds. The Zachary, La., native had three top-10 finishes during the season, highlighted by a third-place finish at the Border Olympics.

Du Plessis appeared in nine events in his inaugural season at Louisiana, earning a top-20 finish at the Aggie Invitational in April. On the season, du Plessis posted a 75.33 average in 27 rounds of play for the Ragin' Cajuns and posted a 54-hole season-best score of 4-over-220 at the Sun Belt Conference Championships.

Schmitt recorded 30 rounds of play during his first season at Louisiana, averaging 74.33 per round with a top-20 finish. The Baton Rouge native opened with 16^th-place finish in his debut at the Git-R-Done Invitational, where he posted a low round (4-under-67) and 54-hole score (1-over-214).

To be eligible for Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, or receiving their associate's degree and in their last year of athletic eligibility in the NJCAA.

In addition, they must participate in 50 percent of their team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 76.0 in NCAA Division I, and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university.

Louisiana was one of 24 NCAA Division I schools to have at least five recipients, joining Ball State (5), Baylor (5), Cincinnati (5), College of Charleston (6), Colorado State (5), Duke (5), Georgia Southern (6), Hawai'i (6), Holy Cross (5), Houston Christian (5), IU Indy (5), Lipscomb (5), Loyola Chicago (5), LSU (5), Marquette (5), Marshall (5), Mississippi State (6), North Alabama (5), Northwestern (5), Radford (5), Rice (5), UCONN (5), and Vanderbilt (5).

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LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS ALL-AMERICA SCHOLARS
2024-25 – Burke Alford, Kyle Bennett, Jean Louis du Plessis, Eli Ortego, Carter Schmitt
2023-24 – Burke Alford, Jake Marler, Eli Ortego
2022-23 – Eli Ortego, Matt Weber
2020-21 – Hudson Dubinski, Bjorn Gudjonsson, Hunter Hammett
2019-20 – Hudson Dubinski, Bjorn Gudjonsson, Hunter Hammett, Jack Tolson
2018-19 – Jack Tolson
2016-17 – Ragnar Gardarsson, Thomas Strandemo
2015-16 – Ragnar Gardarsson
2014-15 – Thomas Strandemo, Christian Verrougstraete
2011-12 – Philipp Fendt, Andrew Noto
2010-11 – Philipp Fendt
2007-08 – Morgan Landry, Michael Smith
2006-07 – Morgan Landry, Michael Smith
2004-05 – Steven Pena
2003-04 – Tobias Winberg
1999-00 – George Cestia
1998-99 – George Cestia
1997-98 – John Mendell
1994-95 – Bjorn Knutsson
1992-93 – Trey Coker, Mike Etherington

School-Record Five Cajuns Named To Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar List

Players Mentioned

Burke Alford

Kyle Bennett

Jean Louis du Plessis

Eli Ortego

Carter Schmitt

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