BYU freshman Kihei Akina was named the recipient of the 2026 NCAA Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine.

Akina became the first player in BYU program history to receive the honor after leading the Cougars with 11 top 10 finishes during the season, including seven top five results and a tie for eighth at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship.

The Alpine, Utah native earned his first collegiate victory at the R.E. Lamkin Invitational in March after finishing at 14 under par with rounds of 67, 71, and 64. Two weeks later, Akina captured the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational at 21 under par with rounds of 65, 67, and 63, marking BYU’s lowest 54 hole individual score since the 1999 and 2000 season.

Akina’s seven top five finishes came during an eight tournament stretch beginning in late October and continuing through a runner up finish at the Big 12 Championship in April.

The freshman finished the season ranked seventh in the Scoreboard powered by Clippd rankings and 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He also earned selection to the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup, Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors, First Team All Big 12 recognition, and PING All West Region honors.

Auburn’s Jake Albert, Oregon State’s Nguyen Anh Minh, North Carolina’s Carson Bertagnole, and Vanderbilt’s Jon Ed Steed joined Akina on the GCAA All Freshman Team.

Recent Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award Winners

2026 – Kihei Akina, BYU
2025 – Daniel Bennett, Texas
2024 – Jackson Koivun, Auburn
2023 – Ben James, Virginia
2022 – Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
2021 – Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida
2020 – Ricky Castillo, Florida
2019 – Cole Hammer, Texas
2018 – Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State
2017 – Norman Xiong, Oregon

Source:

GCAA