BRIDGEWATER, N.J. - The Long Island University men's golf team was picked first in the NEC preseason coaches' poll for the upcoming spring 2026 season, the conference announced on Friday. The Sharks received eight of 12 first-place votes.

Last spring, LIU became the first NEC team in nine years to place three golfers on the conference's five member first-team all-conference list (Arjun Singh Bhatia, Marcelo Mexsen, & Taimur Malik), en route to a runner-up finish at the NEC Championship.

The Sharks also swept the NEC's major postseason awards. Singh Bhatia was named golfer of the year, Tom Winn was named rookie of the year, and Ben Belfield was named coach of the year.

Belfield, a three-time NEC Coach of the Year, is in his seventh year as head coach at LIU, where he has led the Sharks to two conference championships. Singh Bhatia, who also earned PING All-Northeast Region honors last spring, Mexsen, Malik, and Winn all return to the roster this season.

LIU opens its spring 2026 schedule Feb. 23-25 competing in the Las Vegas Collegiate at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada, hosted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The Sharks will host one tournament this spring, The Shark Invitational, Apr. 13-14, at Brookville Country Club.
 

2026 NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. LIU (8)
2. Howard (3)
3. FDU (1)
4. Binghamton
5. Le Moyne
6. New Haven*
7. Mercyhurst
8. NC Central
9. Wagner
10. UMES
11. Chicago State
12. Saint Francis

*Competing unattached