Colorado University Athletics
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Edwards Signs Junior College Star To Letter of Intent
June 09, 2015 | Men's Golf
BOULDER —University of Colorado men's golf coach Roy Edwards has added one more player to his 2015 recruiting class, as John Souza, one of the nation's top junior college players, has signed a national letter of intent and will join the Buffaloes this fall.
A freshman this past year at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, he will have four years to play three in eligibility for the Buffaloes.
The 6-foot tall Souza was a first-team NJCAA Division II All-American, and was awarded the coveted Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation. Souza claimed medalist honors three times in 2014-15, winning the Firestorm JC Invitational (69-70—139), the Glendale CC Invitational (67-70—137) and the Chandler-Gilbert CC Invitational (69-66—135).
Overall, he had seven top 10 finishes, including fourth in the Division II Region 1 Championship, and only finished outside the top 10 three times. GolfStat had him ranked him as the No. 1 golfer for the bulk of the year in the Division II and III levels combined (he eventually finished 29th, the 12th freshman). At one point, he was 42nd in the GolfStat Cup, a composite ranking of all collegiate golfers in all divisions, NCAA, NAIA and junior college; he still finished 229th (CU sophomore Jeremy Paul was 219th). His stroke average this season was an impressive 70.8 and he was 38-27 individually against the nation's top 100 players.
Under Andy Walker, the national coach of the year, South Mountain claimed the NJCAA Division II title in a 15-stroke rout; Souza tied for 38th in that event (294, +6) in the 119-man field.
“John is a great addition for us, he had a spectacular year at South Mountain and has really developed over the last year,” Edwards said. “He's known for having a tremendous work ethic, and we have high expectations for him. We anticipate him being a great complement to our current team and recruiting class.”
He graduated from Thunderbird High School in Phoenix in May 2014, where he lettered four times in golf. A team captain his junior and senior years, he led THS to back-to-back Division II state championships. Individually, he tied for second as a junior (72-70—142) and placed fourth as a senior (72-73—145), earning first-team All-State honors both years. The state's Division II player of the year as a junior (2012), he had one career tournament win (as a senior in the Fall Preview) and won 10 dual matches in his career.
“I am super-excited to get to play for such an awesome program and especially for Coach Edwards with the success he has had in the past,” Souza said. “I loved everything about CU, and the opportunity to play in the Pac-12 Conference and against the best players in the country every week with a great group of guys, I couldn't be more excited about continuing my career at Colorado.”
Souza, who is no relation to the famous composer and conductor (last names sound similar but are spelled different), was recruited fairly heavily. He made five official visits – CU, Clemson, San Diego, Nevada and Arkansas-Little Rock – and four unofficial ones before targeting the Buffaloes.
“I definitely had a choice to make, but putting everything together, CU was the right choice for me,” he said.
He shot a 2-under 70 in U.S. Open Qualifying in mid-May, tying for eighth in the field but missed advancing to sectionals by one stroke. His best career round in competition is a 7-under par 65 in the 2014 Tempe Amateur, an event he tied for second in with a 10-under 134.
This likely completes CU's 2015 recruiting class, as Souza joins three top prep players from the state of Colorado Edwards signed last November, Pierce Aichinger and Ross Macdonald, both from two-time 4A state champion Valor Christian in Highlands Ranch, and Wilson Belk from Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. The other member of the class is second-team NAIA All-American Kade Crossland, who is transferring to CU from Corban University.
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