(DALTON, Ga.) – For the second consecutive year, the No. 9 Truett McConnell University men’s golf team is headed to the NAIA National Championships on May 21-24 at the Dalton Country Club in Dalton, Ga.

The Bears will be the only team to represent the Appalachian Athletic Conference at nationals after earning their automatic bid at the AAC Tournament, where TMU was crowned the back-to-back undisputed AAC Tournament and Regular Season Champions. TMU is set to tee off at 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday and 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

TMU’s five-man roster will include Nate Thornton, Jackson Stone, Peyton Shedd, Ty Cranford and Vicente Smith. The Bears had a successful 2024 season, starting the season at No.5, the highest NAIA ranking in TMU history, and are heading into national championship play ranked at No. 9 according to the final NAIA Rop 25 Poll.

The Bears finished in the top five in all but three of their 11 tournaments, recording two first place finishes as a team, including the conference tournament title. Most notable, Thornton was individually crowned AAC Tournament Champion and AAC Player of the Year, while three Bears were named to the All-Conference First Team and All-Tournament Team (Stone, Shedd and Thornton), and one Bear named to the All-Conference Second Team (Cranford). Head Coach Steve Patton was featured being named the AAC Coach of the Year.

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