Auburn golfer Jackson Koivun named ASWA Amateur Athlete of the Year

At this point, it might be easier to list the awards and accolades that Jackson Koivun hasn’t achieved in his three-year Auburn University golf career.

The 21-year-old junior is a two-time national champion, having led the Tigers to their second NCAA team title in three years earlier this month in California. He’s twice been SEC Player of the Year and twice been named winner of both the Ben Hogan Award and Haskins Award as college golfer of the year.

On Friday, he was named the recipient of the 2026 Jack Nicklaus Award, making him the first player in collegiate golf history to win all three player of the year awards more than once.

Koivun has won the SEC individual championship three times in as many seasons. In 2025, he received the Mark H. McCormack Medal for achieving the No. 1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings at season’s end.

In April, Golf.com listed him as arguably the greatest amateur player of his generation, ahead of such recent NCAA luminaries (and current pros) as UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay, Texas’ Jordan Spieth and Arizona State’s Jon Rahm.

It’s for those reasons and others that Koivun is the runaway winner of the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Amateur Athlete of the Year for 2025-26. He easily outdistanced several competitors in voting by ASWA members, receiving nearly three times as many first-place votes as the next-highest finisher and only two fewer than the other 13 nominees combined.

Auburn golf coach Nick Clinard called Koivun “an elite competitor.”

“The guy competes on every shot,” Clinard said. “He's extremely focused, he's extremely driven. He has an achiever mindset — he doesn't take a shot off, ever. His positivity, his optimism, all the intangible stuff that you really need to be a great, great player, he has it.

“… I'd say he's one of the better athletes to probably ever go to Auburn. I think the record speaks for itself. I don't know if the Auburn family really realizes how special he is. … It’s been a blessing and a privilege to be on a front row seat just to watch it.”

Born in California but raised in Chapel Hill, N.C., Koivun said he “fell in love” with Auburn during an unofficial recruiting visit while still in high school. He called his decision to play his college golf on the Plains the “best decision of my life.”

Koivun’s individual on-course highlights are too numerous to list them all, but here’s one that might illustrate his greatness. In February, he recorded back-to-back rounds of 62 at the Amer Indi Invitational in Hawaii, breaking the NCAA’s 36-hole record of 18-under par, set at the 1996 Pac-10 championship by Tiger Woods. His three-round total of 25-under bested the Auburn school 54-hole record by seven strokes.

At the most-recent NCAA championships, Koivun finished just tied for 10th during the four rounds of stroke play. However, he turned the switch back on during three rounds of match play, besting NCAA individual champion and World No. 3 Preston Stout of Oklahoma State 1-Up in the semifinals, then never trailed against UCLA’s Baylor Larrabee in the championship round.

The national championship capped off a college career that Koivun called “perfect.”

“I've done almost everything I've wanted to do, and I've had so much fun doing it,” Koivun said. “Meeting so many people, playing so many good golf courses, and just growing with my team and coaches and everything like that — it's just been perfect.”

Koivun has already earned his PGA Tour card by achieving a high-enough point total in the University Accelerated Program. On Father’s Day weekend, he’ll play in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in suburban New York.

After that, it’s likely Koivun will turn pro. And when he does, he’ll do so with as sterling a set of credentials as any amateur golfer in recent history.

“Honestly, I want to be the No. 1 player in the world,” Koivun said. “It’s a pretty lofty goal, but I feel like if I work hard enough and play like I know how I can play, I can definitely accomplish it. There's plenty of very, very good golfers out there, but I feel like I can get to that goal.”

Koivun will be honored Sunday night at the annual Alabama Sports Writers Association Convention at Jacksonville State. The convention is presented by ALFA Insurance, the Mobile Sports Authority, the Panini Senior Bowl, the Paul W. Bryant Museum, the Alabama High School Athletic Association and Jacksonville State University.

— Story by Creg Stephenson, AL.com

Amateur Athlete of the Year

2025 Jackson Koivun
2024 Johni Broome
2023 Nick Dunlap
2022 Trey Cunningham
2021 Bryce Young
2020 DeVonta Smith
2019 Derrick Brown
2018 Casey Mize
2017 Minkah Fitzpatrick
2016 Jonathan Allen
2015 Derrick Henry
2014 Amari Cooper
2013 Jameis Winston
2012 Brooke Pancake
2011 Trent Richardson
2010 Cam Newton
2009 Mark Ingram II
2008 DeWanna Bonner
2007 Pat White
2006 JaMarcus Russell
2005 DeMeco Ryans
2004 Jason Campbell
2003 Philip Rivers
2002 Andree Pickens
2001 Gabe Gross
2000 Gabe Gross
1999 Chris Samuels
1998 Tee Martin
1997 Tim Hudson
1996 Meredith Willard
1995 Ronald McKinnon
1994 Jay Barker
1993 Niesa Johnson
1992 Dee Foster
1991 Tim VanEgmond
1990 Phillip Doyle
1989 Gary Hollingsworth
1988 Derrick Thomas
1987 Mike Turk
1986 Cornelius Bennett
1985 Bo Jackson
1984 Rowdy Gaines
1983 David Magadan
1982 Randy Campbell
1981 Ed Lett
1980 Rowdy Gaines
1979 Joe Cribbs
1978 Reginald King
1977 Ozzie Newsome
1976 Harvey Glance
1975 Leon Douglas
1974 Jerry Pate

Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral is the online home of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

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