COLUMBUS, Ga. – Santa Clara men's golfer Emil Nielsen's rapid rise to national prominence added yet another chapter on Thursday with the junior being named to the 25-player 2026-27 Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel Final Fall Watch List, as announced by the Haskins Foundation.

Beginning in 1971, the Fred Haskins Award is annually given to the top male U.S. collegiate D1 golfer as voted on by players, coaches, members of the college golf media, and past Haskins Award winners. Past winners of the Haskins Award have captured 33 major championships and more than 400 professional tournaments around the world. Named in honor of Fred Haskins, the award is managed by the Haskins Foundation to acknowledge the top male golfer at the end of the season and to match the ANNIKA Award, which acknowledges the top female Division I collegiate golfer.
Nielsen, a junior from Wellesley, Mass., earned a spot on the prestigious watch list after putting together a fantastic fall campaign. Over the course of five events, he posted a 68.73 stroke average, finished top five in each event and was co-medalist for the first time of his collegiate career at the Saint Mary's Invitational.

Currently ranked 16^th nationally by Scoreboard, Nielsen shot under par in 13-of-15 rounds played in the fall and was 5-under or better in total at each event. He began the year with a tie for fourth at the Bomb Darts Birds Collegiate in Arizona where he shot 14-under 67-69-66—202 to help the Broncos win the team title in record-breaking fashion at 50-under par. Just a few days later, he had a then-career best runner-up finish at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational after carding 5-under 208 before taking third place at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate with a 54-hole total of 11-under 205.  

Nielsen finally found himself at the top of the final standings for the first time as a collegiate after carding 10-under 206 at the Saint Mary's Invitational, tying two others for the title, but taking home the trophy after winning a card-off. He put a stamp on the fall by tying for fifth at the Preserve Golf Club Collegiate at 6-under 210.

Nielsen currently carries the fifth-lowest career scoring average in program history, tallying 72.08 strokes over 75 rounds. Including his five top-five finishes in the fall, he has six total top 10 finishes in three seasons - good for 10th most in program history, and his 33 career rounds under par rank as the seventh-most by a Bronco. 

Behind Nielsen's brilliant play, Santa Clara found their way into the top-25 in both of the major top-25 golf polls final fall rankings, finishing 22^nd on Scoreboard and 23^rd in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll. It is the team's best fall ranking in either poll in program history.  

2026-27 Fred Haskins Award Watch List
Kihei Akina, BYU
Daniel Bennett, Texas
Carson Bertagnole, North Carolina
B.J. Boyce, UNC Greensboro
Adam Bresnu, Texas Tech
Johnnie Clark, New Mexico
Matthew Comegys, Texas
Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma
Thomas Curry, Arkansas
Max Emberson, Georgia Tech
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn
Ben Gregg, Texas Tech
Will Hartman, Vanderbilt
Max Herendeen, Illinois
Oscar Valdemar Holm Bredkjær, Clemson
William Jennings, Alabama
Finn Koelle, Washington
Emil Nielsen, Santa Clara
Gabriel Palacios, Utah
Logan Reilly, Auburn
Rudy Sautron, Tennessee
Niall Sheils Donegan, North Carolina
Preston Stout, Oklahoma State
Jack Turner, Florida
Yixiang Wang, Memphis