Gustavo Morantes is Finalist for Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award

FAYETTEVILLE – Razorback associate head coach Gustavo Morantes is one of five finalists for the 2026 Jan Strickland Outstanding Division I Assistant Coach Award presented by TaylorMade Golf Company, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced today.

The Strickland Award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA or NJCAA assistant coach who, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom.

Morantes is joined as a finalist by Dustin Groves (Virginia), Noah Goldman (North Carolina), Jace Long (LSU), and James Vargas (Texas Tech).

Morantes leads the Razorbacks’ recruiting efforts and the 2026 class was ranked ninth by the Golf Channel. The class includes two of the top 25 recruits in the world, with Lev Grinberg ranking 13th and Guus Lafeber ranking 21st. In his first year with the Hogs, Morantes helped land the #4 recruiting class in the nation, headlined by #14 Gerardo Gomez and #22 Erich Fortlage.

Prior to Morantes coming to Arkansas, the Razorbacks had only won two team events in the previous four years. Since joining the program for the 2023-24 season, Arkansas has won six team events, including three this season.

Through nine events this year, Arkansas is #7 in the NCAA/Scoreboard rankings as the team and has finished among the top three six times, including three wins, a runner-up and two third-place finishes. The team has a stroke average of 280.7, which is two full strokes ahead of the current school record, is 94 strokes under par for the year and has four players with a stroke average under 72.

Fortlage (70.85) and Gomez (70.92) rank 1-2 on the team in scoring average. In his time at Arkansas, Fortlage has climbed from 233rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking to his current rank of 72, including an improvement of 118 spots this year alone. He has three top-5 finishes and has shot par or better in 21 of his 27 rounds played. Gomez has jumped from 282 in WAGR to 116, while ranking 27th in the NCAA, and leads the team with four top-5 finishes this season.

In the classroom, Arkansas has a 3.261 cumulative GPA, including a 3.321 GPA this past fall. In fact, the program has posted at least a 3.0 GPA in each of the five semesters Morantes has been with the program.

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Golf, X and Instagram.