For someone who had already made history as a Cowboy and was already leading the names as the next big thing in college golf, Preston Stout wasn’t missing much. Until the Oklahoma State junior created history once again at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

With a 14-under 274 finish, one shot ahead of Alabama’s William Jennings, he swept the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. However, he is not done yet. After Monday’s thriller, Stout is ready to tackle more challenges as the team enters the semifinals, and he may have a reason why.

“Kind of just soaking in it a little bit, dinner and stuff. After that, just lock back in,” he told Golf Channel in his post-game interview. “Focus on the bigger picture and why we’re really here is to win the Team National Championship.

“This (individual win) is obviously nice. Something I wanted to do this week. But our biggest goal is to defend our national championship from last year. That’s what we’re going to go do.”

Oklahoma State has won 12 NCAA titles, but never back-to-back like Houston and Yale. This certainly might be the stage to prove himself as the college golf will see one of the biggest matches in history, which last happened at Riviera in 2012.

Then, Texas’ Jordan Spieth got the better of his childhood friend Justin Thomas from Alabama to win the championship game 3-2. Now, it will happen with college No. 1 Jackson Koivun of Auburn matching up against the second, Stout, in the semifinals.

Stout and Oklahoma State faced Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Virginia in the knockouts to claim the 2025 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship title. They faced Florida in the quarterfinals, which included a strong squad featuring Ian Poulter‘s son, Luke, Noah Kent, and others. And the results were not half bad.

Stout faced Matthew Kress in a Match Play Singles contest. They ended the match in a tie. However, Oklahoma State dominated the fixture and won 4.5 – 0.5 against Florida. The entire squad finished the match undefeated, which meant that they are currently at the top of the leaderboard as well.

However, individually, Stout achieved something remarkable at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. And even though he wasn’t the first one to reach the goal, it was still an extremely special feat for him and his coach.

Preston Stout already knew he was going to win the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship individual title before he teed off

Stout’s coach, Alan Bratton, revealed, “It’s hard to do things that haven’t been done at Oklahoma State. I told him, ‘You keep making history,’ and he just said, ‘Coach, that’s what we do.'”

After finishing third in the tournament last year, Stout became the tenth amateur golfer from the Oklahoma State team to claim the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. The team has previously seen PGA Tour champions and current LIV Golf pros like Matthew Wolff (2019) and Charles Howell III (2000) claim the title.

The 21-year-old had some tough competition on the field. Other than Jennings from Alabama, he battled other top amateur golfers like Koivun and Josiah Gilbert from Auburn. And Stout didn’t even have the best start to the tournament.

He shot a 1-over 73 in the first round on Friday, May 29, 2026. Despite scoring four birdies, a bogey on the 3rd, and two double bogeys on the 6th and 13th holes pushed his score down. He was already falling behind on the leaderboard by the end of the day. However, Stout quickly picked up pace from the second round.

In the following 54 holes, he had conceded just four more bogeys. His best performance came in the third round on Sunday, May 31, where he shot a flawless 7-under 64. It included a remarkable par-5 10th hole eagle. In the end, Stout only needed to match Jennings’ efforts on Monday to stay at the top of the leaderboard and take home the title.

By winning the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship, he booked a place in the U.S. Open this year. He will also get to play in the U.S. Amateur Championship and the 2027 Masters Tournament. Both qualifications are subject to his amateur status during that period.

Interestingly, Stout recently got a taste of professional golf after playing the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Although he finished 136th on the leaderboard, he might be eager to turn pro soon and join the best golfers in the world to push his limits. We will have to wait and see whether he remains an amateur golfer until his Augusta National visit or turns pro early. Michael La Sasso gave up his ticket to the Masters Tournament to join LIV Golf earlier this year. So you never know what can happen.