Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina's
Chase Cline was today named to the 2024-25 Southern Conference All-Freshman team as selected by the league's head coaches and announced as part of the postseason awards released by the SoCon office following last week's conference championship event.
Cline is the seventh Catamount men's golfer to earn SoCon All-Freshman team plaudits since the honor was first handed out in 2009. It's also the fifth straight year WCU has landed an individual on the league's all-rookie team. He joins teammates
Josh Lendach (2023) and
Jace Butcher (2024) in collecting All-Freshman honors over the past two seasons.
Originally from Chapin, S.C., Cline played in all 10 of the team's events on the season, posting a seasonal scoring average of 72.80 over 30 total rounds as a part of WCU's scoring five. His stroke average led the Catamounts through the 2024-25 season and ranked 14th in the Southern Conference seasonal rankings – the second-best freshman, trailing only UNCG's Jake Lewis, who captured SoCon Freshman of the Year honors. A combined 27 of his 30 rounds were shot in the 70s, with a trio in the 60s during his rookie season.
Cline carded his collegiate career-low round of 69 three times during the 2024-25 campaign, each coming at events hosted by the Catamounts. He posted consecutive rounds of 1-under par 69 at the JT Poston Invitational at the Waynesville Inn & Golf Club (par-70) back in mid-September 2024 and closed the Peoples Golf Championship at Sea Palms (par-71) in St. Simons Island, Ga., with a 2-under round of 69.
Cline's 72.80 on the year ranks as the 16th-best single-season in program history and debuts him inside the Top 10 on WCU's career scoring charts.
Cline posted a pair of Top 10 finishes, with four inside the Top 15 in tournament play during his rookie season. He finished in a ninth-place tie at the JT Poston Invitational before posting his first podium finish with a runner-up tally at the spring-opening Los Vaqueros Intercollegiate at the Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. He bested a pair of nationally-ranked individuals on the way to his second-place tally, charting a team-best 13 birdies and was one of just 12 golfers in the field to eagle.
Cline earned the first SoCon Men's Golfer of the Week accolade following his runner-up finish south of the border, the second of two weekly plaudits for the Catamounts in 2024-25.
His other two top finishes came at The Johnson Group Carolina Cup, where he closed his tournament with six birdies and the team's lone eagle to advance into a 13th-place tie that landed the Catamounts a runner-up placement. He also finished tied for 14th in his first-ever appearance in the Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship, tied for third in the tournament field with a team-best 14 birdies over the 54-hole event.
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
2024-25: Chase Cline
2024-25 Southern Conference Men's Golf Postseason Awards
2024-25 Southern Conference Player of the Year: Kristian Bressum, Sr., ETSU
2024-25 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year: Jake Lewis, UNCG
2024-25 Southern Conference Coach of the Year: Matt Davidson, Furman
2024-25 All-Southern Conference Team
Kristian Bressum, Sr., ETSU
Yannick Malik, Jr., ETSU
Clark Akers, Jr., Furman
Harris Barth, Jr., Furman
Will Morlan, Sr., Furman
Colin Dutton, Sr., UNCG
Jack Marcotte, Gr., UNCG
Camden Braidech, So., Chattanooga
Garrett Engle, Sr., Chattanooga
Braedon Wear, Sr., Chattanooga
2024-25 All-Freshman Team
Gavin Tiernan, ETSU
Ludvig Josefsson, Furman
Jake Lewis, UNCG
Ethan Whitaker, Chattanooga
Chase Cline, Western Carolina
