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Bridgewater, NJ -- LIU’s Arjun Singh Bhatia (Chandigarh, India/Saint Kabir) turned heads all season long on the Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s golf circuit, and when awards season arrived, he walked away with the biggest prize of them all.
 
Capping a breakout season, the sophomore was named NEC Golfer of the Year, headlining a trio of major award winners for the Sharks.
 
Joining Bhatia in bringing home hardware, teammate Tom Winn (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia/Villanova College) was named NEC Rookie of the Year.

LIU's Ben Belfield was voted NEC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
 
Bhatia's second year at LIU saw him compile an NEC-best 71.4 stroke average across 30 rounds to become the second LIU student athlete to claim the coveted accolade, joining Josh Waters, who won the award in 2013. The Chandigarh, India native garnered three top-three finishes on the season, highlighted by a second place showing at the Ironwood Collegiate Classic in October, where he carded a 10-under 134. Hitting his stride in April, Bhatia posted third-place finishes at both the Rutherford Intercollegiate and the LIU-hosted Shark Invitational. Leading the conference with six sub-70 rounds and 10 rounds under par this season, Singh Bhatia was awarded one NEC Golfer of the Month and a pair of NEC Golfer of the Week honors, marking the sixth-most in a single season in conference history.

Winn rounded out a strong freshman campaign the same way he started it - with a sixth-place finish at the NEC Championship, carding a 4-over 217. The Brisbane, Queensland, Australia native tied as the top freshman finisher in the field of 60. In his collegiate debut last fall, his sixth-place performance helped lead the Sharks to the team title at the Doc Gimmler, shooting a 2-over 213, highlighted by a 3-under 67 in the second round. Winn’s season culminated with a strong run of form, stringing together three consecutive top-25 finishes. He led all NEC freshmen with a 73.8 stroke average and ranked tenth overall on the conference circuit. Winn became LIU’s third NEC Rookie of the Year, joining Obe Ayton (2012) and Marcelo Mexsen (2023).
 
Completing his sixth season at the helm, Belfield has cemented LIU’s status as an NEC power. In 2024-25, he steered the Sharks to eight top-five team finishes, punctuated by a title-winning effort at the Doc Gimmler in the team’s season-opener. LIU also took second at the Ironwood Collegiate Classic in the fall, shooting a combined 26-under par as a team. Come the spring, the Sharks fell just short at the NEC Championship, finishing just two strokes behind Howard while sporting three of the top-ten individual performers. Along with Bhatia and Winn earning major NEC accolades, Belfield mentored a trio of All-NEC first teamers: Bhatia, Taimur Malik (Nairobi, Kenya/Braeburn Garden Estate) and Marcelo Mexsen (Torreon, Mexico/Instituto Cumbres de Torreon). Belfield, who previously earned NEC Coach of the Year honors in 2021 and 2023, stands alongside legendary coach and LIU Hall of Famer Lonnie Barton - who won the award in 2000 and 2004 - as the only two coaches in program history to receive the honor.

AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
 
LIU (three) and Howard (two) combined for half of the ten spots on the All-NEC postseason list.
 
Of the ten student-athletes named to the All-NEC teams, four were underclassmen, with all being sophomores.
 
LIU became the first team in nine years to have three players named to the All-NEC first team.
 
Mexsen, the 2023 NEC Rookie of the Year, is now a three-time All-Conference selection and two-time first team pick. The junior put a bow on his season with a runner-up finish at the NEC Championship, where he carded a 2-under 211, highlighted by a tournament-best 3-under 68 in the second round. Mexsen, whose career highlight came when he won the NEC individual title as a freshman, has now notched three top-10 finishes at the conference championship. His 72.8 stroke average on the season ranked second in the league and he recorded three top-ten finishes on the year.

Malik upgraded his status from All-NEC second team to first team status in 2024-25. Carding a 5-over 2018, he tied for ninth at the NEC Championship, an eight-spot improvement from the previous year. The junior finished third in the NEC with a 73.0 round average and recorded three top-10 finishes, headlined by a fourth-place outing at the Ryan T. Lee Memorial Collegiate last fall.

Marcus Smith Jr. (Rockford, iL/Winnebago (Eastern Michigan)) earned a promotion to the All-NEC first team, following a pair of second team nods for two-time defending NEC champion Howard. A veteran presence in the lineup, Smith helped lead the third Howard’s third round rally at the NEC Championship to nip LIU for the title. The Rockford, IL native and fifth-year student tied for fourth in the 62-golfer field, shooting a 1-under 212 in his top result of the season. It marked his third straight top-10 finish at the event. Smith led the Bison with a 73.6 stroke average.
 
FDU's Pyae Phyo Thu (Myanmar/Ayeyarwaddy International School) closed out his year in spectacular fashion, taking home the NEC individual crown in commanding fashion. The senior shot three sub-70 rounds to cap a season-best 7-under par performance, five strokes ahead of the field and one stroke shy of the NEC’s 54-hole individual record. It marked the third top-10 NEC finish for the Myanmar native, who tied for seventh last spring and placed tenth in 2022. Phyo Thu, who became the ninth Knight to take home the individual title, averaged 73.6 strokes per round on the year and tied for the league lead with six sub-70 rounds. He was an All-NEC second team performer in 2023-24.
 
The All-Conference second team was comprised of Binghamton junior Brandon Connor (Cincinnati,OH/Madeira), Chicago State senior Julian Colavecchia (Torontp, Ontario, Canada/Father John Redmond), Howard sophomore Mathis Perroni (Metz, France/French High School Champion at Cormontaigne (New Mexico JC)), Le Moyne sophomore Owen Corby (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) and North Carolina Central sophomore Jamal Hutchison (Fletcher, NC/Christ School).
 
Stacking up four top-15 finishes, Connor's top performance came in October when he captured the individual title at the Lehigh Invitational, earning him a Golfer of the Month award. He maintained a 73.9 stroke average and was Binghamton’s top finisher at the NEC Championship, tying for 15th place.
 
Competing in Chicago State’s inaugural NEC campaign, Colavecchia took home two individual titles on the season, claiming the Delaware County Club Shootout in September and the Hornet Invitational in March. He also finished in the top-25 in seven of his nine meets, Colavecchia boasted a 73.1 stroke average on the year, fourth-best in the NEC. 
 
Perroni came through for Howard in the biggest spot, securing a fourth-place finish at the NEC Championship to spark the Bison’s run to the title. He shot a 1-under 212 to lead a quartet of top-10 finishers for Howard. On the year, he averaged 75.0 strokes per round while landing in the top-20 in four meets during his sophomore campaign.
 
Corby closed out the season on a high note, tying for second at the NEC Championship with a 2-under 211, his top finish and best score of the year. The Le Moyne sophomore logged six top-20 finishes - including a third-place showing at the Bucknell Invitational – and amassed a 73.5 stroke average, the sixth-best in the league. He earned distinction as the first Dolphin tabbed to an All-NEC men’s golf squad.
 
Hutchison was a consistent performer for NC Central this season, posting seven top-20 finishes. The sophomore put it all together at the Arcis HBUC Championship, winning the event after carding a 4-under 176 across 45 holes. He went on tie for sixth at the NEC Championship, a ten-place improvement from 2024. Hutchison won a pair of NEC Golfer of the Week awards and averaged 73.1 strokes per round, tied for fourth-best in the conference. With his selection, Hutchison became the first-ever NC Central men's golfer named to an All-NEC team.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#8). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#87). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.