University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana's Potgieter Named To Pair Of All-America Teams
6/10/2026 6:26:00 PM | Golf
Senior standout named to both Golfweek, PING All-America teams
LAFAYETTE – A magical season continued Wednesday for UL's Malan Potgieter, as he received two of the highest honors in collegiate golf.
The senior from Kirkwood, South Africa, was named to both the PING and Golfweek magazine's All-America teams, after a record-setting season that included three individual wins, a spot in the NCAA national championships and what is believed to be an all-time collegiate golf record.
Potgieter was chosen to the third team on both the PING and Golfweek All-America listings announced on Wednesday by the Golf Coaches Association of America and the magazine respectively. He became UL's first-ever honoree by Golfweek and the first to make one of the PING/GCAA top three teams since Craig Perks and Trey Coker earned third-team honors in 1990 and 1992 respectively.
The GCAA has been naming All-America teams since 1958 with PING sponsoring the award since 1991. Perks, Coker and Mike Heinen (1989) are the only Ragin' Cajun players to make one of the GCAA's top three teams. Richard Ainley was the last honoree by the GCAA, earning honorable-mention All-America in 2001 and joining Mike Genovese (1989) and Paul Davenport (1990) as UL honorable mention selections. Golfweek has been naming its All-America team since 1999.
"What a fitting and deserved honor for Malan," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman, "after what was a historic season for our program. It's been a long time since a Cajun earned this honor, and ironically Richard Ainley was from the same continent. This season was a very special one for Malan, for me and for our program."
Potgieter was the only Sun Belt Conference player and the only player from a Louisiana school named to the two lists. Arkansas State's Thomas Schmidt was an honorable mention selection on both teams and LSU's Jay Mendell, a Lafayette native and son of former Cajun golfer John Mendell, was an honorable mention on the Golfweek squad.
Potgieter is currently traveling with the South African National Team, and will make his final appearance as a collegiate player June 29-July 5 when he is one of 12 members of Team International at the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup competition Tralee Golf Links in County Kerry, Ireland. Potgieter is the first Sun Belt player ever to participate in what is commonly called the Ryder Cup of collegiate golf.
The four-time All-Sun Belt pick most recently competed in the NCAA National Championships at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa North Course in Carlsbad, Calif., where he finished 32nd individually with a 68-68-79-215 score and missed by one stroke advancing to the final round of competition. He was the first Cajun to make the national field since Matt Trevino in 1996, and his finish was the highest for a UL player since Davenport finished eighth in 1990. He is only the fifth Cajun to finish in the Division I top 40 individuals.
It was at the national championships that Potgieter continued a streak that is thought to be the longest in collegiate golf history. He had played three straight rounds without a bogey at the NCAA Athens Regional in sharing medalist honors and earning a spot in the national field as the only one in the 450-player field to go bogey-free in any of the six regionals.
He then went bogey-free in the first two NCAA Championship rounds, and his streak eventually reached 93 holes before his first postseason bogey in the third round. Golf Channel reported that the previous collegiate record was 76 holes by Alabama's Bobby Wyatt in 2014.
During the regular season, Potgieter had three individual wins, at the Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek in Choudrant (203, -13) before winning UL's own Louisiana Classics individual title (201, -15) in becoming the first player in the 41-year history of that event to win back-to-back titles. He added to that win total with a 66-65-68-199 (-14) score at the Athens Regional, the low 54-hole score of his career.
Potgieter finished his senior season with a 69.56 stroke average and with a four-year career 71.29 average, both UL school records and among 11 season or career marks he broke in the Cajun record book this spring. He also had nine top-four finishes out of 11 team events as a senior and shared the national lead with six top-three finishes along with leading or sharing the team lead in all 11 fall and spring tournaments.
In February between those seasons, he tied for sixth at the Africa Amateur Championships representing his home country.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to have Malan call me coach, and to see the passion he has for our university," Sliman said. "I truly feel Malan's performance over his career will spark and motivate our current and future rosters to strive to perform like he did at the highest level of collegiate athletics. He will be missed for sure."
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.
The senior from Kirkwood, South Africa, was named to both the PING and Golfweek magazine's All-America teams, after a record-setting season that included three individual wins, a spot in the NCAA national championships and what is believed to be an all-time collegiate golf record.
Potgieter was chosen to the third team on both the PING and Golfweek All-America listings announced on Wednesday by the Golf Coaches Association of America and the magazine respectively. He became UL's first-ever honoree by Golfweek and the first to make one of the PING/GCAA top three teams since Craig Perks and Trey Coker earned third-team honors in 1990 and 1992 respectively.
The GCAA has been naming All-America teams since 1958 with PING sponsoring the award since 1991. Perks, Coker and Mike Heinen (1989) are the only Ragin' Cajun players to make one of the GCAA's top three teams. Richard Ainley was the last honoree by the GCAA, earning honorable-mention All-America in 2001 and joining Mike Genovese (1989) and Paul Davenport (1990) as UL honorable mention selections. Golfweek has been naming its All-America team since 1999.
"What a fitting and deserved honor for Malan," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman, "after what was a historic season for our program. It's been a long time since a Cajun earned this honor, and ironically Richard Ainley was from the same continent. This season was a very special one for Malan, for me and for our program."
Potgieter was the only Sun Belt Conference player and the only player from a Louisiana school named to the two lists. Arkansas State's Thomas Schmidt was an honorable mention selection on both teams and LSU's Jay Mendell, a Lafayette native and son of former Cajun golfer John Mendell, was an honorable mention on the Golfweek squad.
Potgieter is currently traveling with the South African National Team, and will make his final appearance as a collegiate player June 29-July 5 when he is one of 12 members of Team International at the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup competition Tralee Golf Links in County Kerry, Ireland. Potgieter is the first Sun Belt player ever to participate in what is commonly called the Ryder Cup of collegiate golf.
The four-time All-Sun Belt pick most recently competed in the NCAA National Championships at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa North Course in Carlsbad, Calif., where he finished 32nd individually with a 68-68-79-215 score and missed by one stroke advancing to the final round of competition. He was the first Cajun to make the national field since Matt Trevino in 1996, and his finish was the highest for a UL player since Davenport finished eighth in 1990. He is only the fifth Cajun to finish in the Division I top 40 individuals.
It was at the national championships that Potgieter continued a streak that is thought to be the longest in collegiate golf history. He had played three straight rounds without a bogey at the NCAA Athens Regional in sharing medalist honors and earning a spot in the national field as the only one in the 450-player field to go bogey-free in any of the six regionals.
He then went bogey-free in the first two NCAA Championship rounds, and his streak eventually reached 93 holes before his first postseason bogey in the third round. Golf Channel reported that the previous collegiate record was 76 holes by Alabama's Bobby Wyatt in 2014.
During the regular season, Potgieter had three individual wins, at the Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek in Choudrant (203, -13) before winning UL's own Louisiana Classics individual title (201, -15) in becoming the first player in the 41-year history of that event to win back-to-back titles. He added to that win total with a 66-65-68-199 (-14) score at the Athens Regional, the low 54-hole score of his career.
Potgieter finished his senior season with a 69.56 stroke average and with a four-year career 71.29 average, both UL school records and among 11 season or career marks he broke in the Cajun record book this spring. He also had nine top-four finishes out of 11 team events as a senior and shared the national lead with six top-three finishes along with leading or sharing the team lead in all 11 fall and spring tournaments.
In February between those seasons, he tied for sixth at the Africa Amateur Championships representing his home country.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to have Malan call me coach, and to see the passion he has for our university," Sliman said. "I truly feel Malan's performance over his career will spark and motivate our current and future rosters to strive to perform like he did at the highest level of collegiate athletics. He will be missed for sure."
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.
Players Mentioned
/ Golf
Monday, May 11
Monday, March 02
Monday, March 04
Monday, March 06
