By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The 2022-23 academic year marked the 75th anniversary of the Ohio Valley Conference, which began in 1948 and currently ranks as the eighth-oldest NCAA Division I conference.
As part of the celebration of the storied accomplishments of the league, a committee working in conjunction with current and former schools captured the “best-of-the-best” in each sport and celebrate the top athletes in league history with the 75th Anniversary Teams across all OVC sports. A similar listing was compiled during the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the league.
The Skyhawks claimed four spots on the OVC 75th Anniversary Team for the sport of men’s golf, including one UT Martin Athletics Hall of Famer.
Brendon Caballero (2011-15)
Caballero was the program’s first-ever three-time All-OVC recipient and was also an OVC All-Newcomer as a freshman. He led the Skyhawks in scoring average in each of his four seasons, capping off his illustrious career by becoming the first UT Martin representative to claim OVC Championship medalist accolades. The Brentwood, Tenn. native won six tournaments during his collegiate career (four in his senior season alone) and was a five-time OVC Golfer of the Week. Following his OVC medalist victory in 2015, he became the first Skyhawk to bring home OVC All-Tournament honors twice in a career (also accomplishing that feat following a runner-up finish in the event in 2013).
Hunter Richardson (2014-18)
Richardson was the first Skyhawk to garner All-OVC accolades in four consecutive seasons (including an OVC Freshman of the Year award) and is the only UT Martin honoree to be named OVC Golfer of the Year twice. He won the OVC Championship in back-to-back years, which were part of his 12 career victories – which ranks third all-time in NCAA history (behind only Arizona State’s Phil Mickelson and Utah State’s Jay Don Blake). An integral contributor to the program’s first OVC title during his sophomore season, the Clarksville, Tenn. product shattered an OVC record with 15 Golfer of the Week awards. He became the first Skyhawk to play in a PGA Tour event when he took part in the Barbasol Championship in July 2019.
Nick Wolf (2017-21)
Wolf was a three-time All-OVC selection as well as an OVC All-Newcomer, joining Caballero and Richardson as the only three Skyhawks in school history to accomplish both those feats. He was a Golf Coaches Association of American PING All-East Region honoree as a senior in 2020-21, helping UT Martin to its second OVC championship in program history. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native was named OVC Golfer of the Month in October 2020 and was voted OVC Golfer of the Week twice as a senior. During his final season as a Skyhawk, he notched a pair of tournament wins and ranked second in the OVC with a 71.1 scoring average.
Jerry Carpenter (2002-20)
A two-time OVC Coach of the Year, Carpenter was at the helm of UT Martin’s first-ever OVC golf championship in 2016. That was one of his 24 career tournament victories as head coach, which ranks 24th all-time in the history of NCAA Division I men’s golf. Hailing from Newbern, Tenn., Carpenter presided over 30 OVC postseason honorees, including three straight OVC Championship medalists (2015-17) and three consecutive OVC Freshmen of the Year (2013-15). He was inducted into the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021 and the OVC Hall of Fame earlier this month.
Below is a listing of the top men’s golf student-athletes and coaches in OVC history:
Ron Acree, Murray State (1965-68)
Brett Alexander, Middle Tennessee (1998-2000)
Russ Barger, Eastern Kentucky (1983-84)
Erik Barnes, Austin Peay (2007-10)
Anthony Bradley, Austin Peay (2011-14)
Brandon Brown, Eastern Kentucky (2003-04)
Brendon Caballero, UT Martin (2011-15)
Cameron Carrico, Murray State (2008-11)
John Coleman, Western Kentucky (1950-53)
Evan Davis, Belmont (2020-22)
Robert Dinwiddie, Tennessee State (2002-05)
Matt Gallant, Austin Peay (2002-04)
Larry Gilbert, Middle Tennessee (1962-65)
Billy Graham, Murray State (1961-63)
Marty Graham, Middle Tennessee (1955-58)
Gary Head, Middle Tennessee (1960-63)
Skeeter Heath, East Tennessee (1973-76)
Marco Iten, Austin Peay (2013-14)
Dustin Korte, Austin Peay (2009-13)
Erik Lindwall, Eastern Kentucky (2015-19)
Jesus Montenegro, Jacksonville State (2018-21)
Larry Mullen, Murray State (1963-67)
Joe Muschong, Morehead State (2020-22)
Nick Newcomb, Murray State (2008-10)
Patrick Newcomb, Murray State (2009-13)
Bruce Oldendick, Eastern Kentucky (1984-87)
Hunter Richardson, UT Martin (2014-18)
Larry Ringer, Murray State (1965-67)
Craig Rudolph, Austin Peay (1985-88)
Jimmy Smith, Austin Peay (1965-68)
Bill Spannuth, Morehead State (1968-72)
Scott Stallings, Tennessee Tech (2005-07)
Bobby Wadkins, East Tennessee (1970-73)
Rick Whitfield, Western Kentucky (1967-70)
Danny Willett, Jacksonville State (2006-08)
Nick Wolf, UT Martin (2017-21)
Jared Wolfe, Murray State (2007-10)
Coaches of Note
Buddy Hewitt, Murray State
James Hobbs, Jacksonville State
Johnny Moore, Middle Tennessee
Bobby Nichols, Tennessee Tech
Pat Stephens, Eastern Kentucky
Rex Chaney, Morehead State
Jerry Carpenter, UT Martin
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information