Akina Named 2026 NCAA Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine Recipient
CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Kihei Akina of BYU has been named the recipient of the 2026 NCAA Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine.
BYU’s first Mickelson Award recipient, Akina led the Cougars with 11 top-10 finishes this season, including seven inside the top five and T8 at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship on Monday. All seven top-five finishes came in an eight-tournament stretch from October 28 through finishing second at the Big 12 Championship on April 29. The Alpine, Utah, native recorded his first two collegiate victories back-to-back at the R.E. Lamkin Invitational on March 10 with a 14-under 202 (67-71-64) and the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational on March 24 with a 21-under 195 (65-67-63), the program’s best individual 54-hole score since the 1999-2000 season. Ranked seventh via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd and 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR®), Akina was selected for the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup on May 5, named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big 12 on May 11, and received PING All-West Region honors on May 30.
Jake Albert of Auburn, Nguyen Anh Minh of Oregon State, Carson Bertagnole of North Carolina, and Jon Ed Steed of Vanderbilt joined Akina on the GCAA All-Freshman Team.
About Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award
The Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award is presented annually to the most outstanding freshman golfer in NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, and NJCAA Divisions I and II. The GCAA began awarding the Freshman of the Year in 1992, and Mickelson’s name has been on the award since 2004. StrackaLine has been the presenting sponsor of the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award since 2021.
Previous Recipients
2025 - Daniel Bennett, Texas
2024 - Jackson Koivun, Auburn
2023 - Ben James, Virginia
2022 - Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
2021 - Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida
2020 - Ricky Castillo, Florida
2019 - Cole Hammer, Texas
2018 - Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State
2017 - Norman Xiong, Oregon
2016 - Sam Horsfield, Florida
2015 - Scottie Scheffler, Texas
2014 - Robby Shelton, Alabama
2013 - Brandon Stone, Texas
2012 - Justin Thomas, Alabama
2011 - Patrick Cantlay, UCLA
2010 - Chris Williams, Washington
2009 - Morgan Hoffmann, Oklahoma State
2008 - Rickie Fowler, Oklahoma State
2007 - Jamie Lovemark, USC
2006 - Jonathan Moore, Oklahoma State
2005 - Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State
2004 - Anthony Kim, Oklahoma
2003 - Alejandro Cañizares, Arizona State
2002 - David Skinns, Tennessee
2001 - Camilo Villegas, Florida
2000 - Ricky Barnes, Arizona
1999 - David Gossett, Texas
1998 - Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech
1997 - Edward Loar, Oklahoma State
1996 - Tim Clark, NC State
1995 - Tiger Woods, Stanford
1994 - Maarten van den Berg, Miami (OH)
1993 - Chris Riley, UNLV
1992 - Jimmy Flippen, Virginia
About StrackaLine
Since 2007, StrackaLine has been the trusted Greens Guides and Yardage Book supplier to the touring professionals, collegiate teams, and all levels of amateur golf. StrackaLine’s USGA compliant greens guides offer a level of detail and accuracy not available anywhere else for the most precise green reading. The yardage books include complete tee-to-green measurements for every hole. StrackaLine is committed to elevating the overall level of play and lowering scores for golfers all around the world.