UF MGOLF: Castillo, Pagdin Earn Ping All-Region Honors

Post-season awards grow for this duo as sophomore Ricky Castillo and freshman Joe Pagdin were named to the Division I PING All-Region Southeast Team.

NORMAN, Okla. – Sophomore Ricky Castillo and freshman Joe Pagdin have been named to the Division I PING All-Region Southeast Team, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced Saturday.

Castillo and Pagdin are two of 26 golfers named to the Southeast Team. A total of 153 student-athletes were honored across six different regions. This marks Castillo’s second PING All-Region recognition after being named to the Southeast Team in his freshman campaign, while it is Pagdin’s first.

Castillo is in the midst of what is shaping up to be a stellar sophomore campaign. He leads the Gators roster with a 71.22 stroke average and seven top-25 finishes in only nine events. The sophomore has attacked the spring season with precision, never once finishing outside of the top 25. His late round heroics in the NCAA Cle Elum Regionals were astronomical in the Gators final push to qualify for Championship play. This honor accompanies Castillo’s Southeastern Conference accolades, where he was named First-Team All-SEC earlier this month.

Pagdin’s inaugural campaign has been nothing short of historic as his efforts already earned him SEC Freshman of the Year. As a key member of all nine Florida lineups, the freshman claims a team-high three top-10 finishes. His best performance occurred at the Calusa Cup where he shot 1-under par to tie for fifth individually. In his next tournament, the SEC Championship, Pagdin recorded a team-best seventh place finish.

SOUTHEAST TEAM

Cole Anderson, Florida State
Garrett Barber, LSU
Albin Bergstrom, USF
Ricky Castillo, Florida
Ford Clegg, Mississippi State
Spencer Cross, Tennessee
Reid Davenport, Vanderbilt
Evan Davis, Belmont
Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida
Ryan Hall, South Carolina
Van Holmgren, Florida Gulf Coast
Andrew Kozan, Auburn
Bryce Lewis, Tennessee
William Moll, Vanderbilt
Vincent Norrman, Florida State
Joe Pagdin, Florida
John Pak, Florida State
Trent Phillips, Georgia
Thomas Ponder, Alabama
Matthew Riedel, Vanderbilt
Brett Roberts, Florida State
Michael Sakane, Jacksonville
Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt
Jackson Suber, Ole Miss
Davis Thompson, Georgia
Hunter Wolcott, Tennessee