Young, talented T-Bird golf squads set for first tournament of the season

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – When the 2025-26 Cascade Collegiate Conference golf season begins with the Wine Valley Invitational in Walla Walla, Washington on Monday, September 8th and Tuesday, September 9th, it will mark the debut of a big, talented Thunderbirds recruiting class.
 
Gone are many of the stars of last year's squads, and UBC now welcomes a dozen new student-athletes across the men's and women's rosters. With just one player on either team in their fourth or fifth year of eligibility and only a couple others in their third, the Thunderbird golf programs are brimming with potential while also aiming to be highly competitive in the present.
 
The veteran leader on the women's side is fourth-year star Jessica Ng, a three-time First Team All-American and the reigning individual gold medallist at the NAIA National Championships. The other returning athletes are second-years Sienna Harder, who ended her impressive rookie campaign ranked 14th on the NAIA individual leaderboard, and Keira Hou, who finished top five individually at last year's Canada West Championships.
 
Along with a wave of first-years, the incoming T-Birds on the women's team also includes third-year transfer Morgan Best, who arrives in Vancouver after starring for the UFV Cascades the last two seasons. The Visual Arts student was a Canada West All-Star last season and will now look to do the same again this year on the other side of the Lower Mainland.


 
"UBC has always been a dream school of mine," said Best, who hails from Pointe-Clare, Quebec. "British Columbia is beautiful and I'm so grateful to be able to continue my education at such a prestigious school. I want to be able to perform at the best of my abilities on and off the golf course and I believe that UBC provides the best opportunity to do so."
 
Katherine Hao is one of the two local talents joining the women's side, coming to UBC after serving as team captain for Moscrop Secondary last year. The Burnaby native won two American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournaments in her high school career.
 
"UBC was most appealing to me as it is close to home and has a great team environment that
helps foster growth between players," reflects Hao, who plans to study Science. "It's a great university where I can develop myself both academically and athletically."
 
Grace Yao also was the captain of her team last year at Collingwood School in West Vancouver. The Commerce student finished first-place individually at the BC AA Golf Provincial Championships three times and received the Rolex Scholastic Junior All-America honour from the AJGA in her senior season.


 
"The combination of UBC's strong academic reputation and the opportunity to compete at a high level in golf made it the perfect fit" said Yao. "The UBC women's golf team is one of the best, if not the best, programs in the country, and I'm so excited to be a part of it!"
 
Raina Riml arrives in Vancouver from Heber City, Utah, where she was recognized as an All-State First Team golfer this past season and received the Wasatch High School Outstanding Athlete Award.
 
"The most appealing thing about choosing UBC for me was the caliber of players on the women's golf team and how much fun it looked like they were having together," states Riml, who plans to study Visual Arts. "The incredible coaching staff, impressive training facilities and a chance to study at one of the top universities in the world made UBC my number one choice."
 
Rounding out the contingent is Sarah Yang from Oakville, Ontario. The Commerce student tied for seventh at the PGA Women's Championship of Canada, Amateur Division, in July, after winning multiple regional tournaments in her time at Iroquois Ridge High School.
 
"I value both academics and athletics highly, and I think UBC offers the perfect balance of both," says Yang.


 
On the men's side, the most experienced player on the roster is third-year Aneesh Kaura, who is entering his second year at UBC after transferring from SFU. Jake Houston was named to the CCC All-Conference Team in his rookie season, with both him and Forrest Van Alstine aiming to further make their mark in their sophomore campaigns.
 
The batch of new recruits includes Hunter Auramenko, who arrives in Vancouver via Campbell River where he was a two-year captain for Carihi Secondary School. He posted a scoring average of 72.4 in his senior season.
 
"Being able to compete at the highest level in sports while getting a very good education at the same time is one of the biggest reasons that I chose to come to UBC," says Auramenko, who plans to study Commerce.
 
Brett Stouffer also hails from Vancouver Island, coming to UBC from the community of Nanoose Bay. The Business student finished sixth individually the most recent BC Junior Championship while representing Ballenas Secondary School.


 
"I chose UBC because of the strong reputation in academics and because it will allow me to pursue what I want academically while playing golf," remarks Stouffer.
 
Other promising recruits for the men's team include Tim Hachey from Osoyoos, Manpreet Lalh from Nanaimo, Leighton Wright from Barrie, Ontario, and Shunkichi Yamamoto, a Victoria native who's transferred to UBC after playing one season at UVic.
 
Ranked first in both the men's and women's Cascade Conference preseason coaches poll, the Thunderbirds will try and start the year out strong in their opening tournament this week, hosted by Walla Walla University.
 
Both squads have plenty of big tests on their schedules this year, as they will be competing in multiple NCAA Division 1 tournaments over the course of the 2025-26 season, including at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational in Muskoka, Ontario, later this month.