The nationally ranked Kentucky men?s golf program has signed Brian Belden and Kentucky native Alex Volpenhein to national letters of intent, UK coach Brian Craig announced Thursday.
Belden, a native of Emmaus, Pa., attends Emmaus High School and has earned numerous honors during his prep career. Belden has a pair of American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) wins, including the inaugural Steel City Junior Classic in 2003. He owns three International Junior Golf Tour (IJGT) titles and has recorded six AJGA top 10 finishes. Belden is a three-time All-State honoree and was named an AJGA All-American in 2003.
?Brian is a proven winner at the AJGA level and is very passionate about golf and becoming a great college player,? said Craig. ?He has terrific ball striking skills and has the type of game that can bring an immediate impact to our program and the SEC.
?Brian is also a solid student and a wonderful gentleman on and off the golf course,? added Craig. ?We are very fortunate to have student-athlete of Brian?s caliber become a member of our family and look forward to him having a superb career as a Wildcat and helping our program to remain one of the elite in Division I men?s golf.?
Volpenhein, a native of Edgewood, Ky., has been a standout while playing for Covington Catholic High School. He won two Future Masters titles in 1999 and 2001. He also won the Pepsi Little Peoples twice, in 2000 and in 2002. Volpenhein was named a Rolex Junior All-American honorable mention by the AJGA and is ranked ninth in the nation by the National Junior Golf Scoreboard. He was a medalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur Qualifiers and also at the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Amateur Championship. Volpenhein also recently finished first at both the Callaway Golf PGA Junior Series at Kearney Hills Golf Links and at the Westfield Junior PGA Championship.
“Alex is one of the most talented and confident young players that I have ever seen and has the chance to be a dominant player in the SEC,? said Craig. ?He has tremendous length, an extraordinary feel for the game and a knack for shooting very low scores.
?Most importantly, Alex is a classy young man with excellent character and will do a great job of representing the University of Kentucky,? Craig added. ?I am thrilled to have Alex join our Wildcat Family and look forward to him arriving on campus and helping us achieve our goal of winning an NCAA Championship.”
The duo will join the Wildcats in the Fall of 2006.
