Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina's Jace Butcher was today named to the Southern Conference Men's Golf All-Freshman team as selected by the league's head coaches and announced as a part of the postseason awards unveiled by the conference office.
 
Butcher is the sixth Catamount men's golfer to earn SoCon All-Freshman team honors since the award was first handed out in 2009. It's also the fourth straight year that WCU has landed an individual on the league's all-rookie team. He joins teammate Josh Lendach who was on last year's all-freshman squad.
 
Butcher competed in nine of the team's 10 stroke-play tournaments and its one match-play event this season. The Kennesaw, Ga., product posted a seasonal scoring average of 74.12 over 26 combined rounds, finishing fourth on the Catamount squad. Butcher closed his rookie season ranked 39th in the Southern Conference in overall scoring average, the fourth-best freshman in the league this season.
 
With a combined 24 of his 26 rounds carded in the 70s or better, Butcher fired three rounds in the 60s this season including a career-low round of 67 on the second 18 holes at the Phoenix Invitational in the fall semester. Butcher recorded his career-best, 54-hole score of 5-under-par 208 at Elon's tournament, tallying his career-best finish in a tie for 12th. His 208 was among the Top 20 three-round scores in program history. In his collegiate debut, the first-year striker carded a 3-under-par tournament score of 213, while posting a Top 20 finish with a 16th-place tie at Wisconsin's Badger Invitational.
 
In WCU's team win at the Sweetens Cove Match-Play tournament, Butcher finished all-square in his opening match against Bowling Green before winning his semifinal match against Belmont, 2-up. In the abbreviated nine-hole championship match, Butcher finished 1-up as the Catamounts claimed the tournament hardware after sharing the overall team championship at the weather-altered event.
 
For the Catamounts, Butcher was among four freshmen on the roster that saw tournament action in their rookie seasons. He was flanked by Cataula, Ga., product Andrew Korytoski (74.31) who also competed in 26 rounds this season. Capping the freshman foursome were two Floridians in Michael Bevins (74.13 in 8 rounds) of Fort Myers and Estero native Dalton Payne (76.00, 11 rounds).
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountMGolf).
 
WCU on the SoCon All-Freshman Team
2011-12: JT Poston
2018-19: Tumi Kuld
2020-21: Pierre Villaneix
2021-22: Jake Peacock (Freshman of the Year)
2022-23: Josh Lendach
2023-24: Jace Butcher 
 

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2023-24 Southern Conference Player of the Year
Mats Ege, R-Sr., ETSU
 
2023-24 Southern Conference Co-Freshman of the Year
Jenson Forrester, ETSU and Kelvin Hernandez, UNCG
 
2023-24 Southern Conference Coach of the Year
Jake Amos, ETSU
 
2023-24 All-Southern Conference Team
Matthew Dodd-Berry, So., ETSU
Mats Ege, R-Sr., ETSU
Algot Kleen, Jr., ETSU
Harris Barth, So., Furman
Tobias Jonsson, Sr., Mercer
Symon Balbin, Sr., UNCG
Randall Hudson, Sr., UNCG
Paul Conroy, Sr., Chattanooga
Samuel Espinosa, Sr., Chattanooga
John Houk, Sr., Chattanooga

2023-24 SoCon All-Freshman Team
Jenson Forrester, ETSU
Kelvin Hernandez, UNCG
Taylor Kuehn, Samford
Ward Harris, Chattanooga
Jace Butcher, Western Carolina