Golf NIL Movement: 2025-26 College Season Opening Rankings
- Golf NIL
- Aug 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 23
by Golf NIL Staff
August 23, 2025
The 2025-26 season kicks off with college golf's NIL hierarchy in flux. With elite high school talent now in the mix and veteran players returning with elevated profiles, the landscape has never been more competitive. This is where the momentum currently stands.
Golf NIL College Men's Rankings
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
John Daly II, Arkansas
Michael La Sasso, Mississippi
Ben James, Virginia
Tommy Morrison, Texas
Luke Poulter, Florida
Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State
Preston Stout, Oklahoma State
Jase Summy, Oklahoma
Filip Jakubcik, Arizona
Christiaan Maas, Texas
Tyler Weaver, Florida State
Max Herendeen, Illinois
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn
Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame
Niall Shiels Donegan, North Carolina
Eric Lee, Oklahoma State
Wells Williams, Vanderbilt
Cameron Tankersley, Mississippi
Lance Simpson, Tennessee
Jack Turner, Florida
Michael Mjaaseth, Arizona State
Connor Graham, Texas Tech
Luke Potter, Texas
Morgan McDonough, San Francisco
WATCHLIST
Connor Williams, Arizona State
Kihei Akina, BYU
Bryan Lee, Virginia
Paul Chang, Virginia
Mahanth Chirravuri, Pepperdine
Golf NIL College Women's Rankings
Kiara Romero, Oregon
Megha Ganne, Stanford
Paula Martin Sampedro, Stanford
Maria José Marin, Arkansas
Jasmine Koo, USC
Andrea Revuelta, Stanford
Anna Davis, Auburn
Eila Galitsky, South Carolina
Farah O'Keefe, Texas
Rianne Malixi, Duke
Catherine Park, USC
Meja Örtengren, Stanford
Kelly Xu, Stanford
Patience Rhodes, Arizona State
Scarlett Schremmer, Texas A&M
Kary Hollenbaugh, Ohio State
Lauren Kim, Texas
Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, Oregon
Cayetana Fernandez, Texas A&M
Lexi Booras, San Francisco
Kate Brody, Wisconsin
Andie Smith, Duke
Cindy Hsu, Texas
Arianna Lau, Northwestern
Macy Pate, Wake Forest
WATCHLIST
Mackenzie Lee, SMU
Rocio Tejedo, LSU
Emma Bunch, New Mexico State
Beth Coulter, Arizona State
Avery Weed, Mississippi State
Jackson Koivun enters the 2025-26 season as collegiate golf's most valuable name, boasting a $1.55 million Golf NIL Valuation and holding the No. 1 spot in the Golf NIL College Men's Rankings. The Auburn junior secured his PGA Tour card through Accelerated, making five cuts in six starts in 2025 and notching two top-10 finishes, including a T5 at the Wyndham Championship.
Beyond the professional stage, he's captured the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world's top amateur, clinched back-to-back Southeastern Conference titles, and made history as the first player to win all four major collegiate player of the year awards in the same season. In August, he was named to the 2025 USA Walker Cup team, set to compete at Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif.
The Chapel Hill native's NIL portfolio features Titleist, FootJoy, Foresight Sports, and recent additions Betterment and Old Republic Title, positioning him as college golf's most marketable talent entering the 2025-26 season.
World No. 1 amateur Jackson Koivun during Sunday's final round at the 2025 Wyndham Championship, where he secured a T5 finish at Sedgefield Country Club | David Beach/CSM
With a $625,000 Golf NIL Valuation, John Daly Jr. clinches the No. 2 spot in the Golf NIL College Men's Rankings as he gears up for his senior year at Arkansas. Daly's breakout summer saw him dominate the Southern Amateur Championship with a five-stroke victory at Arkansas' home course, Blessings Golf Club, and secure third at the Northeast Amateur, earning second place in the Elite Amateur Golf Series. His momentum peaked with a deep run to the quarterfinals at the 2025 U.S. Amateur.
That success helped fuel his growing presence beyond competition, where Daly has tapped digital media to broaden his audience and brand. His high-profile video collaborations with content creators like Grant Horvat, Garrett Clark, and Good Good have racked up more than 15 million views—amplifying the exposure he gains beyond traditional tournament play. Off the course, Daly commands a captive audience of more than 200,000 Instagram followers, leveraging that reach to promote past and present NIL partners, including TaylorMade, Ridge, Cobalt Golf, JLab, Southern Trend Clothing, MANSCAPED, Arkansas Luxury Lawns & Greens, and Hooters.
Kiara Romero enters the 2025-26 season as the top name in women's collegiate golf, leading the Golf NIL College Women's Rankings. With the McCormack Medal in hand, she becomes the first Oregon Duck, male or female, to earn the honor.
Romero’s play has been exceptional across top amateur and collegiate events, dominating the Big Ten individual standings and earning 2025 Big Ten Women's Golfer of the Year honors, alongside a stellar run to the quarterfinals of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur. A member of the 2025 U.S. Elite Amateur Program, she marked her professional debut at the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open—setting the record for the lowest final-round score (5-under 67) by an amateur in the tournament’s history—and capped that performance with a top-10 finish (T7) at the LPGA Portland Classic.
The San Jose native is managed by Excel Sports Management and counts Nike, Titleist, and Liberty National Golf Club among her NIL partners. Growing interest in her brand earned her a spot in a national Bank of America–ANWA collaboration ad, which aired ahead of the 2024 and 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur—the most-watched stage in amateur golf—where she appeared alongside Stanford’s Megha Ganne.
Kiara Romero and Megha Ganne team up for Bank of America's 'She Cheers for Me' campaign, celebrating the power of support in women's sports | iSpot.tv
Megha Ganne's dominant 2025 campaign has established her as one of amateur golf's most compelling stories, positioning her as our No. 2 in the Golf NIL College Women's Rankings heading into the 2025-26 season.
The Stanford senior clinched a major career milestone by capturing her first major amateur championship at the 2025 U.S. Women's Amateur at Bandon Dunes. Earlier in the season, she set the Augusta National Women's Amateur tournament record with a bogey-free 63 in the opening round—her career-low tournament score—before finishing T7 for her best ANWA result.
Ganne, a New Jersey native, is also managed by Excel Sports Management and holds NIL deals with several top brands, including Polo Ralph Lauren, Delta, EY (Ernst & Young), TaylorMade, and Liberty National Golf Club. She’s a frequent face in Polo Ralph Lauren’s RLX campaigns and regularly appears alongside fellow Team EY ambassadors Nelly Korda, Rickie Fowler, and Ernie Els in the company’s promotional content.
Welcome to the Boards
Kihei Akina, 19, kicks off his freshman year at BYU, joining the Golf NIL College Men's Watchlist at No. 27. The world amateur No. 58 stunned the competition last week, capturing the Utah Open title and becoming the youngest winner in the event's 99-year history. USA Today's National Boys High School Golfer of the Year became one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits, weighing offers from more than 50 programs before committing to BYU.
Armed with PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour accolades and a U.S. National Junior Team selection, Akina arrives in Provo with an NIL lineup that has featured brands such as Eastside Golf and Tee Box, along with an Oncoor and &Collar collaboration that supported youth in his native Hawaii after the fires.
