University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
NCAA Regionals
Men's Golf Advances Into NCAA Championships in Carlsbad
May 18, 2026 | Men's Golf
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The UCLA men's golf team registered a second-place finish out of 13 teams at the NCAA Corvallis Regional on Wednesday, securing its second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, Calif., later this month.
UCLA shot 14-under 838 through the three-day event at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore. The Bruins needed to finish among the top five teams at the NCAA Regional and entered the morning in fourth place on the 13-team leaderboard.
The Bruins carded 5-under 279 on Wednesday, moving into second place. Oklahoma (34-under 818) finished in first place, followed by UCLA, Arkansas and Purdue, respectively. San Diego won a tiebreaker against Liberty to earn the fifth-place spot and advance into the NCAA Championship field.
UCLA logged its best team finish at an NCAA Regional since 2013, when the Bruins finished in first place at the NCAA Tempe Regional. Last spring, the Bruins advanced into the NCAA Championship field with a third-place finish at the NCAA Auburn Regional.
"It's tough to put into words how excited and how proud I am of our guys," UCLA fourth-year head coach Armen Kirakossian said. "It's always an intense and stressful week. There are so many emotions that you have to deal with, but that is also what makes it such a special week. It's unlike any other golf tournament that there is, really, it's hard to explain it. You just come together as a team. That's what you want. They fight for each other until the end. That can put you in a really good position to advance, and our guys did that. We left it all out there and that was good enough for our team to advance."
The top five-finishing teams from each of six regional sites have advanced to the NCAA Championship field, which will take place from May 29 through June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. All 30 teams will compete in stroke play from Friday, May 29, through Sunday, May 31, with the top 15 teams moving into the next stage on Monday, June 1. Match play competition is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, and Wednesday, June 3.
Bruins' senior Kyle An had an impressive showing for UCLA at the NCAA Corvallis Regional, finishing in a fifth-place tie with a score of 6-under 207. An shot 1-under 70 on Wednesday afternoon and will be competing at the NCAA Championship event for the second-straight year.
Freshman Tyler Loree had the Bruins' best Round 3 performance, carding 3-under 68. Loree and freshman classmate Josh Kim finished in a tie for 13th place on the individual leaderboard (4-under 209) across all three days.
Sophomore Baylor Larrabee shot even par (213) at the three-day event, finishing 1-under 70 on Wednesday. Junior Alex Papayoanou carded 2-over 73 in the final round on Wednesday.
Loree rebounded with under-70 scores on Tuesday and Wednesday after having carded 3-over 74 on Monday. The freshman from Kula, Hawaii, shot 4-under 67 in the second round and 3-under 68 in Wednesday's final round.
"I am so proud of how we responded to our first round," Kirakossian said after Wednesday's action had concluded. "We had gotten off to a really nice start and at some point – I think we had the lead in that first round. But we had a little slip-up on the final four holes in the first round. It wasn't like we had one guy who had a major problem, but it was each guy having a little type of slip-up at the same time, and we kind of plummeted down the leaderboard. We found ourselves in 10th after the first round. We really were not that far back of fifth place, but we didn't feel great to have that finish and be so far down the leaderboard. But it's just such a big credit to our guys to not let that discourage them. We came out next day with a really big round and went back up on the leaderboard. I think that second round helped to ignite our confidence. Today in our final round, it was so intense and there is so much pressure. You can't practice for that type of pressure. The only way that you can know what the pressure is like in that final round is if you have been in it before."
Larrabee and An were UCLA's two players competing this week who had participated in last season's NCAA Regional at Auburn University and in the subsequent NCAA Championship field in Carlsbad, Calif.
"We had three guys competing today who have never competed in a regional tournament," Kirakossian said. "We had some big shots, made some birdies and putts, and we moved up the leaderboard. I think that made a huge impact for us, as we were climbing up that leaderboard. That gave us the confidence we needed that we would be OK. While it is never easy and it's always stressful until that last putt is in the hole, and the scorecard is signed, I was confident and knew our guys would fight, no matter what. I knew our fight was going to be enough. I'm really proud of the guys, and we're excited to get back to La Costa. We got a little taste of it last year in Carlsbad, but the course really kicked out butt. So this year, we know a little more about what to expect, and we'll prepare the best we can and put ourselves in the best position possible to have as much success as we can."
UCLA's Day Two Recap
Tuesday, May 19
The UCLA men's golf team elevated itself into fourth place at the NCAA Corvallis Regional on Tuesday, through two rounds at Trysting Tree Golf Club.
The Bruins shot 8-under 276 on Tuesday, climbing from 10th place into fourth place on the team leaderboard. Senior Kyle An had a strong afternoon for UCLA, shooting 4-under 67 and moving into the top 10 slots on the tournament's individual leaderboard. Freshman Tyler Loree also shot 4-under 67.
The third and final round of the NCAA Corvallis Regional gets underway on Wednesday morning. The top five teams, out of 13, will advance to the NCAA Championship field (May 29-June 3). The Bruins are scheduled to tee off from the 10th hole at approximately 8 a.m. (PT).
One day after opening the tournament at 1-under 283, the Bruins improved their day two performance by seven strokes. UCLA, now at 9-under 559, leads fifth-place Arkansas by one stroke (8-under 560) and a pair of sixth-place teams, Georgia Southern and Liberty, by three strokes (5-under 562).
Oklahoma concluded the second day of action in first place, at 28-under 540. Following the Sooners, in order, are second-place Purdue (20-under 548), third-place Oregon State (13-under 555) and fourth-place UCLA (9-under 559).
An finished Tuesday's second round with one eagle and two birdies – and no bogeys. An scored an eagle on the par-5 16th hole (UCLA began the day from hole No. 10). An has carded 5-under 137 through the first two days (T-9th).
Loree totaled five birdies and one bogey in the second round. He's currently in a tie in 29th place on the individual leaderboard (1-under 141 through two rounds).
Freshman Josh Kim (T-14th) shot 2-under 69 on Tuesday, while sophomore Baylor Larrabee finished 2-over 73. Junior Alex Papayoanou rounded out UCLA's five golfers with a score of 2-over 73.
UCLA's Day One Recap
Monday, May 18
UCLA finished in a tie for 10th place out of 13 teams through the first round of the NCAA Corvallis Regional on Monday at Trysting Tree Golf Club.
The Bruins shot 1-under 283 on Monday, tied with Texas Tech, and three strokes behind the two teams currently tied for fifth place (Charlotte and San Diego). The top five teams at the NCAA Corvallis Regional, through three rounds (Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday) will advance to the NCAA Championship field in Carlsbad, Calif.
Purdue finished the opening round as the leader, carding 12-under 272, while Oklahoma and Arkansas (9-under 275) were in a tie for second place.
Entering Tuesday's second round of action, eight teams are bunched up within seven strokes of each other (teams from fourth place through 11th place).
Bruins' freshman Josh Kim finished 2-under 69 in the first round. Senior Kyle An and sophomore Baylor Larrabee carded 1-under 70 on Monday. Sophomore Tyler Loree finished 3-over 74, and junior Alex Papayoanou concluded the day at 6-over 77.
Kim registered four birdies and two bogeys on the first day of the NCAA Corvallis Regional. Larrabee had five of his first six holes, opening the morning from the 10th hole. He concluded the afternoon with six birdies and five bogeys. An had four birdies and three bogeys.
UCLA returns to action on Tuesday at 8:55 a.m. (PT) from the 10th hole. The tournament continues with 18 holes each on Tuesday and Wednesday. The top five teams through Wednesday will advance to the NCAA Championship field (takes place in Carlsbad from May 29 through June 3).
