Big Ten Announces 2026 Women's Golf All-Conference Teams

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Headlined by the reigning Player of the Year, and the medalist from last weekend’s conference championships, the Big Ten Conference announced its 2026 Women’s Golf All-Conference honorees on Wednesday. The teams are determined by a vote by the league’s 18 head coaches.

The ten First Team All-Big Ten recipients all currently rank among the Top-75 individuals in women’s college golf, led by Oregon’s Kiara Romero, the 2025 Big Ten Player of the Year and current No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

She is joined on the First Team by all five starters from the USC Trojans roster that won the 2026 Big Ten Championship at Oakmont Country Club last weekend: medalist Jasmine Koo, Catherine Park, Bailey Shoemaker, Kylie Chong and Elise Lee. Ohio State’s Nellie Ong, UCLA’s Jen Lee and Kacey Ly, and Oregon’s Tong An round out the group. The All-Big Ten First and Second Teams include honorees from nine different conference universities.  

This season the conference also introduced its inaugural All-Freshman Team, a quintet that includes Purdue’s Luana Valero and Ohio State’s Sophie Eppelstun, who both posted Top-5 finishes at the Big Ten Championships.

Additionally, each team selected a Sportsmanship Award winner who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

The Big Ten Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year honors will be voted on and announced following the conclusion of the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships.

The NCAA Championships field will be announced on the Golf Channel on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT/1 p.m. PT with qualifiers split into six regional sites. Regional play will take place May 11-13, while the tournament championship will begin on Friday, May 22, and continue through Wednesday, May 27, at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. Northwestern won the 2025 NCAA title in Carlsbad, the Big Ten’s first since Purdue in 2010.

First Team All-Big Ten (All listed alphabetically)

Tong An, Oregon

Kylie Chong, USC

Jasmine Koo, USC

Elise Lee, USC

Jen Lee, UCLA

Kacey Ly, UCLA

Nellie Ong, Ohio State

Catherine Park, USC

Kiara Romero, Oregon

Bailey Shoemaker, USC

Second Team All-Big Ten
Samantha Brown, Purdue

Madison Dabagia, Indiana

Sophie Eppelstun, Ohio State

Paula Balenzategui Garcia, Michigan State

Sophie Han, Oregon

Taylor Kehoe, Michigan State

Dianna Lee, Northwestern

Isabella McCauley, Minnesota

Mariana Mesones, Minnesota

Meghan Royal, UCLA

All-Freshman Team
Sophie Eppelstun, Ohio State

Sarah Hammett, USC

Sophie Han, Oregon

Kacey Ly, UCLA

Luana Valero, Purdue

Sportsmanship Award Honorees

Illinois: Anna Ritter

Indiana: Sheridan Clancy

Iowa: Lily Huether

Maryland: Anna Pillard

Michigan: Mara Janess

Minnesota: Madison Le

Michigan St: Shannon Kennedy

Nebraska: Hannah Kono

Northwestern: Lauren E. Lee

Ohio State: Sophie Eppelstun

Oregon: Darae Chung

Penn State: Mara King

Purdue: Ashley Kim

Rutgers: Grace Lu

UCLA: Kacey Ly

USC: Catherine Park

Washington: Carmen Lim

Wisconsin: Alexia Siehl

###