The Little Rock men’s team and the Morehead State women's team have been picked as the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference golf favorites in a vote of league head coaches released on Friday.
On the men’s side, the defending champion Trojans picked up 10 of 11 first-place votes and 100 points in being picked first for the second year in a row. SIUE picked up the other first-place vote and 88 points in being predicted second. UT Martin was tabbed third (84) and followed by Morehead State (74), Southern Indiana (58), Tennessee Tech (55), Lindenwood (51), newcomer Western Illinois (29), Chicago State (27), Tennessee State (22) and Eastern Illinois (18).
The women’s vote was separated by just one point, as defending champion Morehead State received five first-place votes and 61 points while Little Rock received the other four first-place votes and 60 points in being picked second. Tennessee Tech was tabbed third (50) and followed by league newcomer Western Illinois (41), Lindenwood (32), Eastern Illinois (29), Chicago State (24), Southern Indiana (14) and Tennessee State (13).
Western Illinois became a full-time member of the OVC on July 1 and will participate at the Championship for the first time in 2024. Chicago State is playing as an affiliate with the OVC for the 2023-24 academic year.
The OVC Women’s Golf Championship will be contested April 14-16 at Tunica National in Tunica, Mississippi; it marks the first time the event has been held at that venue. The men's championship will be held on the Fighting Joe Course at RTJ at The Shoals in Muscle Shoals, Alabama from April 21-24.
Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Golf Championship once again this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up (or next highest finisher if the runner-up is also a reclassifying team). For men’s golf, which uses match play to determine its champion, if the winner and runner-up are both reclassifying teams, the representative would be the next highest seed going into match play.
2023-24 OVC Golf Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
Men’s Predicted Order of Finish
1. Little Rock (10 first-place votes) – 100 points
2. SIUE (1) - 88
3. UT Martin - 84
4. Morehead State - 73
5. Southern Indiana - 58
6. Tennessee Tech - 55
7. Lindenwood - 51
8. Western Illinois - 29
9. Chicago State - 27
10. Tennessee State - 22
11. Eastern Illinois - 18
Women’s Predicted Order of Finish
1. Morehead State (5 first-place votes) – 61 points
2. Little Rock (4) - 60 points
3. Tennessee Tech - 50
4. Western Illinois - 41
5. Lindenwood - 32
6. Eastern Illinois - 29
7. Chicago State - 24
8. Southern Indiana - 14
9. Tennessee State - 13