NORMAN, Okla. – UCLA rising senior Alex Papayoanou has been recognized as a Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar for the first time in his career, as announced Monday by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

The Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars from the 2025-26 golf season are all sophomores, juniors or seniors. These student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of their team’s competitive rounds and logged a stroke average under 76.0 in NCAA Division I competition, in addition to maintaining a cumulative career GPA of 3.2 or better. All recipients must be of high moral character and be in good academic standing at their university.

Papayoanou, who hails from The Woodlands, Texas, and will be a senior for the Bruins this fall, secured Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar recognition after having been selected to the Academic All-Big Ten Team in the spring of 2025 and 2026. Last season, he played in 11 tournaments for UCLA and helped the Bruins advance to the NCAA championship match at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

Papayoanou recorded a 72.9 scoring average over 34 rounds and nine starts. He finished the year with one top-10 finish, three top-20 finishes, six rounds under par and four rounds under 70. He shot a season-best 67 in the second round of three at The Goodwin (March 27, 2026). Papayoanou finished in a tie for 19th place at The Goodwin, carding 2-under 208 (68-67-73). In addition, he shot 4-over 214 at the Big Ten Championships in Oregon (May 2026), posting round scores of 74-68-72. He shot 3-over 291 in four days of stroke play at the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad and posted a 3-2-1 record in match-play competition.

For the fourth consecutive season, UCLA has produced a Gobalt Golf All-America Scholar honoree. Pablo Ereño was recognized as a Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar selection in 2023, 2024 and 2025 (graduated in 2025).