Three Bearcats are Chosen as All-America Scholars by the GCAA for 2022-23

Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) logo with a golf ball to the right
August 10, 2023

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University men's golfers Andrew Kibbee (Grad., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS), Alex Weirth (Sr., Port Orchard, WA/Crosspoint Academy), and Paxton Jones (So., Wellington, NZ/Scots College) have been named 2022-23 NCAA Division III All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Kibbee and Weirth were chosen as All-America Scholars for the third consecutive year. A total of 200 golfers in NCAA Division III were selected for the honor this season.

Student-athletes chosen for All-America Scholar status were sophomores, juniors or seniors academically and athletically. They had to participate in at least 40% of their team's competitive rounds in 2022-23 and have a stroke average under 79.0 in NCAA Division III. Golfers selected for the honor also registered cumulative grade point averages of 3.2 or higher. Recipients were required to be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university.

During the 2022-23 season, Willamette won the overall Northwest Conference Championship and received the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship. The Bearcats placed 18th at the 72-hole national tournament in Nicholasville, Ky. Willamette won the team title at four tournaments during the season, including the Linfield Invitational and the Whitman Confluence Classic in the fall, plus the Battle at Bar Run and the NWC Tournament in the spring.

Note:  Academic year listed for each student-athlete is for the 2022-23 season

NCAA Division III All-America Scholars

Headshot of Andrew Kibbee Andrew Kibbee (Grad.) contributed to four NWC titles for the Bearcats as well as four trips to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships (2009, 2021, 2022, 2023, no championship was held in 2020). Kibbee achieved a career scoring average of 1-over par 73. He tied for 28th place at the 2023 NCAA Championship, after tying for 15th in 2020-21, and placing 88th in 2018-19. He was named Academic All-District in 2022-23 by the College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA).

Kibbee recorded three career individual victories. He was chosen All-West Region by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) each of the last three years. He was named First Team All-NWC three times (2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23) and was chosen Second Team All-NWC in 2018-19.

In 2022-23, Kibbee finished in the top five at four tournaments and was in the top 15 seven times. As a student-athlete leader, he was a Co-President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for two terms at WU and was a co-founder of SECURE, which supports student-athlete mental health. Kibbee received a BA degree from Willamette in 2022 with a major in Economics and a minor in Sociology. He received an MBA degree from WU's Atkinson Graduate School of Management this spring (3+2 BA/MBA program).

Headshot of Alex Weirth Alex Weirth (Sr.) received All-West Region honors in 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22. He was selected Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) for the third consecutive year this spring.

He contributed to Willamette winning the NWC Championship in each of the past three seasons, and this spring he competed at his third straight NCAA Championship tournament. In 2022-23, he provided the Bearcats with a scoring average of 1-over par 73.

Weirth was named First Team All-NWC in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and was chosen Second Team All-NWC in 2022-23. He earned four career individual wins, including first place at the Linfield Invitational in the fall of 2022. He has been a leader in the local chapter of Sigma Chi, where he served as vice president. Weirth graduated this spring with a BS degree in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Science degree in Data Science. 

Headshot of Paxton Jones Paxton Jones (So.) competed for Willamette at seven tournaments during the nine competition weeks on the team's schedule in 2022-23. He provided the Bearcats with a 74.3 scoring average, including five scores of 71 to go along with a 72. He placed in the top eight at four tournaments. He earned sixth place at the NWC Fall Classic with a score of 145 (74-71).

Jones was named Second Team All-NWC as a first-year player for the Bearcats in 2021-22. During his first season, he won the individual title at the Spring Trilogy #1 with a 3-under par 69. He is majoring in Data Science at Willamette.