The Hillsdale College men's golf team is on a mission this week as the Chargers travel to the Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Michigan.

No Hillsdale men's golf team or individual has ever played in the NCAA DII National Championships since the program was restarted in 2014-15. The six players headed to Big Rapids to begin competition in the Central/Midwest Super Regional on Thursday are aiming to be the first.

Hillsdale was one of ten teams that qualified for the super regional from the Midwest Region, thanks to a strong fall campaign and a fourth-place finish at the 2026 G-MAC Championships in April. It's the fourth time the Chargers will play in the regional round, and the first time Hillsdale has earned qualification to the regional in back-to-back seasons.

The top three finishing teams in the Central/Midwest super regional, along with the top two individuals not on an advancing team, will earn an automatic berth to the national championship in Nevada, along with eight other at-large teams from all four super regions selected by the results of last year's NCAA DII Championship.

Against a tough field and as one of the final teams to qualify, Hillsdale is pinning its hopes on rediscovering the form they showed in the fall, where the Chargers put together a historic campaign that included three top-three team finishes and a title at the Malone-Glenmoor Invitational. Hillsdale is led by junior Robert Thompson and sophomore Jackson Piacsek, who tied for ninth place in the G-MAC Championships to help get the Chargers over the finish line and into the super regional. Thompson is one of the top rated golfers in the Midwest Region, with two medalist honors and a third runner-up finish already this season, while fellow junior Oliver Marshall also has an individual event victory to his name as well. Those three make a strong core for the Chargers heading into the event, and Hillsdale also will turn to veteran Ryan O'Rourke and freshmen John Cassiday and Parker Stalcup, all Michigan natives with prior experience playing at Katke to draw on.

Hillsdale placed 15th in the Super Regional last season, and finished tied for 11^th in 2021 and tied for 13^th in 2019 in their two other qualifications. The best individual performance by a Chargers golfer in the NCAA Regional remains Joel Pietila's tie for ninth place playing as an individual in the 2017 Regional, followed closely by Ryan Zetwick's tie for 10^th place in 2021. Thompson led the Chargers with a tie for 19th place at the 2025 Regional.

The Chargers are one of three G-MAC teams to make the field, joining G-MAC Champion Findlay and Tiffin in the 20-team event. The super regional will take place over three days, with teams playing 18 holes each day. Hillsdale will tee off in the first round on Thursday in groups starting at 9:30 a.m. You can follow along the action all three days with live results here.

If Hillsdale advances, the 2026 NCAA DII Championship will be contested at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada, from May 18-22.