Purdue’s Herman Sekne voted Golfer of the Year
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By the Bigten.org
ROSEMONT, Ill. –The Big Ten Conference announced the men’s golf All-Conference teams and individual award winners on Tuesday, as voted on by the conference coaches following the 2024 Big Ten Men’s Golf Championships. Purdue’s Herman Sekne was selected as the Big Ten Golfer of the Year, Illinois’ Max Herendeen was named the unanimous Freshman of the Year and Northwestern’s David Inglis earned unanimous Coach of the Year honors.
Sekne placed among the top five in five of nine tournaments this season, including a first-place finish at the Windon Memorial Classic. A native of Oslo, Norway, he capped his season tied for fifth at the Big Ten Championships and earned a spot on the All-Championships Team. Sekne was also recognized with the Big Ten’s Les Bolstad Award, given to the conference player with the lowest stroke average during the 2023-24 season. The three-time All-Big Ten First Team selection is just the second Boilermaker to be named Golfer of the Year, joining Lee Williamson (2002).
Herendeen was voted the unanimous freshman of the year after carding 10 top-20 finishes during the 2023-24 campaign. The Bellevue, Wash., native opened his collegiate career by earning medalist honors at the 2023 Sahalee Players Championship and helped the Illini to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships. Herendeen is the eighth rookie to take home the honor for Illinois and first since Jerry Ji (2020).
Inglis, a unanimous pick, earned his first coach of the year recognition afterleading the Wildcats to five top-3 finishes over the course of the season, culminating in winning Northwestern’s first Big Ten Championship since 2006. He had four top-10 finishers at the championships and coached Daniel Svärd to his second straight individual title. Northwestern wrapped up the 2023-24 season with a 280.8 scoring average and a No. 28 national ranking. Inglis is the third Wildcat head coach and first in over 20 years to receive the distinction, joining Jeff Mory (1994) and Pat Goss (1997-99-00-01).
The All-Big Ten First Team features Illinois’ Jackson Buchanan and Herendeen, Michigan’s Hunter Thomson, Northwestern’s Daniel Svärd and Ethan Tseng, Ohio State’s Neal Shipley, Purdue’s Sekne and Wisconsin’s Cameron Huss. Buchanan, Herendeen, Svärd, Shipley, Sekne and Huss were unanimously selected.
Earning All-Big Ten Second Team laurels were Illinois’ Ryan Voois, Indiana’s Drew Salyers, Michigan State’s Ashton McCulloch, Minnesota’s Ben Warian, Northwestern’s Cameron Adam and James Imai, Ohio State’s Maxwell Moldovan and Purdue’s Nels Surtani.
The Big Ten also recognized 14 Sportsmanship Award recipients, honoring golfers who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship, ethical behavior, academics and citizenship.
2024 Big Ten Men’s Golf Honors
Golfer of the Year: Herman Sekne, Purdue
Freshman of the Year: MAX HERENDEEN, ILLINOIS
Coach of the Year: DAVID INGLIS, NORTHWESTERN
All-Big Ten First Team
JACKSON BUCHANAN, ILLINOIS
MAX HERENDEEN, ILLINOIS
Hunter Thomson, Michigan
DANIEL SVÄRD, NORTHWESTERN
Ethan Tseng, Northwestern
NEAL SHIPLEY, OHIO STATE
HERMAN SEKNE, PURDUE
CAMERON HUSS, WISCONSIN
All-Big Ten Second Team
Ryan Voois, Illinois
Drew Salyers, Indiana
Ashton McCulloch, Michigan State
Ben Warian, Minnesota
Cameron Adam, Northwestern
James Imai, Northwestern
Maxwell Moldovan, Ohio State
Nels Surtani, Purdue
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Timmy Crawford, Illinois
Noah Gillard, Indiana
Ian Meyer, Iowa
Armand Papaziani, Maryland
Jack O’Donnell, Michigan
Brad Smithson, Michigan State
Jacob Pedersen, Minnesota
Hamish Murray, Nebraska
James Imai, Northwestern
Jacob Tarkany, Ohio State
Jake Griffin, Penn State
Peyton Snoeberger, Purdue
Xavier Marcoux, Rutgers
Blake Wisdom, Wisconsin