Simon Fraser comes into this year’s edition of the tournament looking to claim its second conference championship in as many years after winning a two-hole playoff with Western Washington to take top honors last season. The Red Leafs are aiming for their fourth GNAC title overall and, should they accomplish the feat, would become just the second program in conference history to win back-to-back titles along with the Vikings.

Simon Fraser comes into the tournament as the topped-ranked team in the Clippd rankings, checking in at No. 70 as of April 17 while leading the conference with an average of 291.2 strokes per round. The Red Leafs have been on a roll this season, finishing in the top 10 in seven of their eight regular season tournaments, including a pair of wins at the SMU Bishop Fall Invitational and Western Washington Invitational to open the campaign.

The Red Leafs are well positioned to defend their 2023 title and enter the GNAC Championships with three of their five golfers in the top 10 of the conference. Redshirt freshman Denby Carswell leads SFU and the GNAC coming into the tournament with a 72.3 stroke average and has notched three top-10 results this season. He’s followed by senior Micahel Crisologo with a 72.6 average that ranks second in the conference while freshman Justin Bjornson checks in at No. 10 with a 73.9 average.

Western Washington is no stranger to claiming top honors in Coeur d’Alene, having won the GNAC Championships a record 10 times since the tournament’s inception in 2007-08. The Vikings finished level with the Red Leafs last year, narrowly losing out on the title in a two-hole playoff, and will be looking for revenge this year as they come into the tournament ranked No. 89 in the Clippd rankings and are second in the conference with 292.8 stroke average.

The Vikings are looking for their first GNAC title since 2022 and are led by junior Seth King coming into this year’s edition of the tournament. King is first on the squad and fourth in the conference with a 73.3 stroke average through 22 rounds this season and has notched a pair of top-10 finishes at the Western Washington Invitational and the Nighthawk Invitational. Fellow junior Ryan Ho is right behind King, ranking fifth in the conference with a 73.5 average. Sophomore Peter Dionne-Yahr makes it three Vikings ranked in the top 10 of GNAC golfers with a 73.6 stroke average that’s good for eighth in the conference. Dionne-Yahr’s resume this season also includes top-10 finishes at the Western Washington and Nighthawk Invitationals.

Northwest Nazarene will be looking to continue its climb up the field this season after taking third place at the 2023 GNAC Championships and fifth at the 2022 edition. The Nighthawks come into next week’s championships ranked fourth in the conference with an average of 295.7 strokes per round and are the third-highest ranked GNAC team in the Clippd rankings at No. 107. The Nighthawks are looking for their first GNAC Championships title since 2014 and their second overall.

Senior Grayson Giboney has led the charge for NNU this season, compiling a 73.1 stroke average that ranks third in the conference while tallying a pair of top-five finishes at the Nighthawk Invitational and the NNU Nighthawk Challenge. 2021 GNAC Freshman of the Year Lane Strand will join Giboney on the course next week despite playing in just two tournaments this season, compiling a 73.3 stroke average through four rounds in the process. Cole Evarts will also feature for the Nighthawks and comes into the tournament with a 74.9 average that ranks third on the team.

Saint Martin’s is led by one of the top golfers in the conference in senior Max Turnquist. On the heels of a trip to the NCAA West/South Central Regional last year, Turnquist leads the Saints once again with a 73.5 stroke average that ranks sixth in the GNAC. Turnquist has notched a pair of top-10 finishes this season, including a win at the Saints’ own SMU Bishop Fall Invitational where he tied for the lowest three-round score with a 6-under-par 210 before winning a one-hole playoff.

Fellow senior Kyle Erwin will return to Coeur d’Alene after finishing in a tie for 20th last season. Through 26 rounds this season, Erwin has compiled a 74.5 stroke average that ranks second on the team only to Turnquist. Freshman Nick Ennis will make his first appearance at the GNAC Championships next week as he comes into the tournament during a debut campaign where he has averaged 75 strokes per round.

As a team, the Saints check in at No. 114 in the Clippd rankings and rank fifth in the conference with a 296.6 stroke average through a conference-high 26 rounds this season. The Saints will also be looking for their second conference title in program history with their last coming in 2021.

Montana State Billings comes into the GNAC Championships looking to compete for its first conference title in program history. The Yellowjackets finished the regular season ranked third in the conference with a 295.6 stroke average through 25 rounds and are ranked No. 117 in the Clippd rankings as of April 17. The ‘Jackets will be looking to back into their early-season form next week after opening their season with a run of five top-10 finishes, including three top-three results.

Senior Liam O’Halloran leads MSUB into the tournament with a 73.8 stroke average that ranks ninth in the conference. O’Halloran has notched three top-10 results this season, including top-five finishes at the Hardrocker Fall Invite and the Beartooth Invitational. The Montana State Billings lineup for the GNAC Championships also features fellow seniors Lucas Howell and Carson Garner who join O’Halloran in the top 15 most efficient golfers in the conference. Howell checks in at No. 12 with a 74.1 average while Garner ranks 14th with a 74.4 stroke average.

The GNAC Championships begin Monday at 7:30 a.m. (Pacific) with the second round beginning at 1:00 p.m. (Pacific). The third and final round will start Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. The team champion will receive the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.