Message. For JAWS, turn virtual PC Cursor on if ne**************@***ch.edu · Tue, Jun 2 at 4:09 PMMessage BodyJune 2, 2026For Immediate ReleaseJanae Leovao Earns WGCA All-America HonorSenior helped lead the program to unprecedented heights in 2025-26FRISCO, Texas (EMUEagles.com) – For the first time in program history, an Eastern Michigan University women’s golf has earned All-America honors as Janae Leovao was named Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-America Honorable Mention, the association announced, June 2. Leovao was instrumental in helping the Eagles not only qualify for the NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history but guided the team to the NCAA Championships and NCAA Match Play where the 27th-ranked team tied for third by reaching the semifinals. In her lone season with the Eagles, Leovao (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino/Long Beach State) finished ranked No. 43 in the final Scoreboard/Clippd national rankings after her play helped the team on a magical postseason run. The senior transfer, who averaged a program-record 71.8 strokes per round, appeared in 12 tournaments for the Eagles and captured wins in the first two tournaments of the season, including The Southern (Sept. 8-9) and the Leadership & Golf Invitational (Sept. 15-16) to mark the first time in program history the Eagles opened a season with back-to-back individual and team champions. Throughout the season, Leovao posted strong finishes, including top 20 performances in all five spring events. When the schedule turned to the postseason, Leovao was instrumental in pushing the Eagles for a deep run. She opened by tying for ninth place at the Mid-American Conference Championships (April 26-28) to help Eastern earn its first berth into the NCAA Regionals. The Eagles headed to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional as the fifth-seeded team and emerged as the fourth-place finisher with Leovao tying for seventh. Eastern then took part in the NCAA Championships for the first time with Leovao tying for 23rd at the national tournament to help the Eagles to a fifth-place finish and a spot in NCAA Match Play where No. 5 Eastern upset No. 4 University of Texas, 3-1, before falling to No. 1 Stanford University in the semifinal. In match play, Leovao was drawn to play the top two players in the collegiate game as she handed the 2026 champion, Farah O’Keefe (Texas) a 5&4 loss before being 1-down to No. 2 Paula Marin Sampedro (Stanford) through 16 holes when the match was halted. Overall, Leovao was named to the All-MAC First Team and was a three-time MAC Golfer of the Week. For the year, she held an adjusted average of 70.8 strokes while holding a record of 809-143-27 in all competitions. Leovao was one of seven players not on a ‘Power 4′ team to earn All-America honors from the WGCA with five of those players named to the honorable mention list. Veronika Kedronova of Kent State University and Eunseo Choi of Pepperdine University were both selected to the second team while the honorable mention group included Leovao, Pinky Chaisilprungruang of the University of North Carolina Charlotte, Kylee Choi and Jeneath Wong of Pepperdine, and Thanana Kotchasanmanee of Princeton University. The three lists included representation from 28 schools with 12 seeing multiple honorees, including national champion Stanford and national runner-up University of Southern California, both of whom had five All-Americans. The University of Florida, Pepperdine, Texas, and Wake Forest University each had three All-Americans while two honors were earned by University of Arkansas, Auburn University, Iowa State University, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, and Texas A&M University. To be considered for All-America status, players’ credentials were reviewed by the WGCA Awards Committee members. Each reviewed the tournament profiles of all candidates and made comparisons between players based upon national rank, head-to-head results, adjusted scoring average, tournament wins, win-loss record, and spring versus fall results. Each player under consideration for the honor must have competed in a minimum of 15 rounds during the competitive year, including NCAA Regional Championships, when applicable.
About the Women’s Golf Coaches AssociationThe Women’s Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women’s collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 750 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.
2025-26 WGCA Division I All-AmericansFirst TeamMarie Jose Marin • ArkansasRianne Malixi • DukeAvery Weed • Mississippi StateKiara Romero • OregonMegha Ganne • StanfordPaula Marin Sampedro • StanfordMeja Ortengren • StanfordAndrea Revuelta • StanfordFarah O’Keefe • TexasVanessa Borovillos • Texas A&MCatherine Park • USCJasmine Koo • USC Second TeamPaula Francisco • FloridaSophia Fullbrook • Florida StateVeronika Kedronova • Kent StateMarie Madsen • NC StateMarta Silchenko • Oklahoma StateEunseo Choi • PepperdineKelly Xu • StanfordLauren Kim • TexasCindy Hsu • TexasBailey Shoemaker • USCKylie Chong • USCMacy Pate • Wake Forest Honorable MentionCharlotte Beck • ArizonaPatience Rhodes • Arizona StateReagan Zibilski • ArkansasAnna Davis • AuburnBalma Davalos • AuburnPinky Chaisilprungruang • Charlotte Janae Leovao • Eastern MichiganMegan Propek • FloridaSiuue Wu • FloridaNichakorn Pinprayoon • Iowa StatePimkwan Chookaew • Iowa StateMegan Streicher • North CarolinaKajasalotta Svarvar • Ole MissKylee Choi • PepperdineJeneath Wong • PepperdineThanana Kotchasanmanee • PrincetonVariana Heck • South CarolinaEila Galitsky • South CarolinaKyra Van Kan • TennesseeMadison Messimer • TennesseeCayatana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio • Texas A&MPimpisa Sisutham • UCFElise Lee • USCJaclyn LaHa • VirginiaChloe Kovelesky • Wake ForestMorgan Ketchum • Wake Forest
