FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University men's golf team is set to open the 2025-26 season on Sunday, Aug. 31, at the Red Bandanna Invitational, hosted by Boston College at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y. 

The Pioneers posted a stellar first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), finishing a close second in the MAAC Championship. SHU tallied a team score of 864 (E) in the three-round tournament, falling just two strokes of Fairfield at 862 (-2). 

Prior to the MAAC Championship, SHU recorded three team wins, tripling its mark from the 2023-24 season. The Pioneers topped the field at the Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational, SHU Spring Break Men's Invite and Abarta Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational. 

The Pios return a pair of All-MAAC First Teamers in Mike Rothberg and Pablo Lacayo. In addition to being an All-MAAC recipient, Rothberg also collected DI PING All-Region honors last season. The senior led the team with a 73.0 adjusted average over 24 rounds, earning one win and one MAAC Golfer of the Week award. 

Lacayo finished third on the Pios with a stellar 73.6 adjusted average. The senior from Managua, Nicaragua, finished a season-best third at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate and was fourth at the season-opening Red Bandanna Invitational.

Sacred Heart added five newcomers in the offseason, four first years and one transfer. Jon Bushka is the lone transfer this season, coming from nearby Fairfield. 

SHU is slated to play in six tournaments during the fall slate, beginning with the Red Bandanna Invitational this weekend. The Pios then host the SHU Fall Classic on Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 8-9, at the Great River Golf Club. 

The Pioneers will have a few weeks off before taking part in the Ryan Lee Intercollegiate on Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 22-23, in Wethersfield, Conn. From there, SHU will take part in the UConn Invitational on Sunday-Tuesday, Sept. 28-30, in Hampden, Mass. 

The Pios' fall slate wraps up at the end of October at the Nassau Invitational and Wykagyl Collegiate. LIU's Nassau Invitational will take place on Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 20-21 at the Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y., while Iona's Wykagyl Collegiate will happen on Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 27-28, at the Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle, N.Y.

The spring slate will feature SHU's second appearance in the MAAC Championship. The date and time of the event are yet to be announced.