RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's golf team learned on Wednesday that Jorge Martin Sampedro was voted the 2026 Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Year.
 
Additionally, Rodolphe Cicala, Esteban Gonzalez, and Brock Porter, along with Sampedro, were named to the SLC All-Academic Team.
 
To be eligible for the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better with at least one semester completed at the nominating institution and must have played in at least 50% of the team's competitions. To be eligible for Student-Athlete of the Year, the minimum GPA is 3.50 along with the other requirements.
 
Sampedro was an automatic selection for the All-Academic Team after earning the SLC Conference Golfer of the Year, Freshman of the Year, All-Conference First Team honors. He finished the season ranked 341^st in Scoreboard rankings with a team-best scoring average of 71.5 through 12 events. 
 
Sampedro posted six top-10 finishes, including a third place finish at the SLC Championship and a 10^th place finish at the NCAA Bryan Regional. His 10^th place finish at the regional earned him a spot to the NCAA Championships, marking the first in the program to do so since 1978. He also set a program single round record with a seven-under 63 at the JT Poston Invitational where he also set a three-round program record with a 203.
 
Cicala also was an automatic selection after being named to the All-Conference First Team. He posted a scoring average of 72.6 while recording 13 rounds of even par or better in 12 events. 
 
Cicala posted six top-20 finishes as he finished tied for 18^th at SLC Championship and added a 19^th place finish at the All-American Intercollegiate, a 15^th place finish at the Military City Collegiate, a 10^th place finish at the Compadres Collegiate, a sixth place finish at the Monterrey Collegiate Classic, and a fourth place finish at the JT Poston Invitational.
 
Gonzalez posted a 73.1 scoring average through 12 events for the Vaqueros. He posted four top-20 finishes this past season, including an eighth place finish at the SLC Championship.
 
Porter finished the season with a 74.3 scoring average through 12 events in his freshman season. He recorded three top-25 finishes, including a season best eighth place finish at the All-American Individual tournament. 
 
Sampedro, Cicala, Gonzalez, and Porter helped UTRGV to the program's first-ever SLC Championship and NCAA Regional and were all in the lineup in the team's other win this past season at the Compadres Collegiate.
 
 
2026 Men's Golf All-Academic Team
Jorge Martin Sampedro, UTRGV
Rodolphe Cicala, UTRGV
Esteban Gonzalez, UTRGV
Brock Porter, UTRGV
 
Davis Seybert, East Texas A&M
Janis Erll, East Texas A&M
Nicke Kaajavirta, East Texas A&M
Matt Walters, East Texas A&M
 
Brendon Willey, Houston Christian
Roy Barrera, Houston Christian
Mason Napier, Houston Christian
Carter Patterson, Houston Christian
Brooks Pawlak, Houston Christian
 
Alexander Kolodziejski, UIW
Cole Cantu, UIW
Francisco Toboada Diaz
Joel Talusen, UIW
Thomas Chalk, UIW
 
David Schneider Jerez, Lamar
Nathan Woodham, Lamar
Filip Widepalm, Lamar
 
Jude Bourque, New Orleans
Garrett Trahan, New Orleans
Max Feistmantl, New Orleans
 
James Bould, Nicholls
Ehtan Marx, Nicholls
Jack Moro, Nicholls
Chase Pochylko, Nicholls
 
David Marsh, Southeastern
Landon East, Southeastern

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