photo by: Kā‘anapali Golf Courses

Kansas' Gunnar Broin on Monday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Lahaina, Hawaii.

It was a one-place improvement from last season, but the 44th-ranked Kansas men’s golf team still fell short of qualification for the NCAA Championship as it finished tied for 10th in regional competition in Bremerton, Washington, on Wednesday.

As a team, regional No. 8 seed KU shot 21-over and fell 21 strokes short of the fifth-place mark, as the top five teams in the regional — Florida, Arizona State, Colorado, USF and South Carolina — advanced to nationals in Carlsbad, California, later this month.

The Jayhawks are in the midst of a streak of nine straight regional appearances but are still looking to move on from regional play for the first time since 2022.

“We just didn’t have it this week,” KU coach Jamie Bermel said in a release on Wednesday. “As the head coach, the buck stops with me and we were not ready to play this week. We just looked worn down and not focused. When you’re in a Regional and play poorly, you question everything about the preparation. We are a much better team than we showed today.”

Graduate student Gunnar Broin, the only player listed as a senior on this year’s KU roster, led the Jayhawks by shooting par. He was 1-under on Monday, 1-over on Tuesday and even on Wednesday, which was good for 19th place overall.

“Gunnar was solid all week at even par,” Bermel said. “He had a balky putter and just couldn’t get much to go in. Three-year starter and really developed as a player and a person. We’re going to miss him in the locker room, but I think he’s ready for professional golf and taking the next step. He graduated a proud Jayhawk.”

The top individual performer among non-qualifying teams was also the regional champion, Braxton Watts of Utah, who shot 6-under each of the final two days to finish at 12-under.

Trailing Broin for KU were junior Luke Honner and sophomore Max Jelinek, who tied for 37th at 5-over. Junior Will King, sophomore Noah Holtzmann and freshman Ty Lasley also golfed for the Jayhawks over the course of the event.

It was a bit of an uphill climb for KU after a tough start to its opening round on Monday, as five players shot a combined 8-over in the first four holes. Bermel said in a press release that his golfers seemed “very tight and nervous” in the early going. Broin completed a strong round under par and Lasley recorded three birdies late, but the Jayhawks were still ninth at 9-over.

Honner fired a bogey-free round the next day, but KU’s efforts to improve its positioning on the second day were undercut somewhat by late slides for Jelinek, Lasley and especially King.

KU shot 5-over on Wednesday, which was good enough to maintain its spot in 10th, although Oral Roberts went 10-under to surge all the way up from last place, and three of its golfers birdied the 18th hole to secure the tie with the Jayhawks.

Florida and ASU were in a class of their own, more than 20 strokes ahead of the remaining schools.

The result for KU meant the end of a distinguished career for Broin, who along with King had powered the Jayhawks to their first team title in three years back at the Hawkeye Invitational in April. Broin also qualified for and played in the U.S. Open as an amateur over the summer of 2024.