Connell earns PBC individual golf title

The University of North Georgia (UNG) women's golf team is riding a wave of momentum heading into the NCAA Division II South Regional, set for May 4-6 at Cleveland Country Club in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Freshman Mackenzie Connell won the individual Peach Belt Conference (PBC) championship, and the Nighthawks tied for second as a team in the event held April 19-21 at King & Bear Golf Course in St. Augustine, Florida.

Connell, a native of Mershon, Georgia, who is pursuing a degree in marketing, said her coaches and teammates played a major role in her first individual win of the season. She became the third UNG women's golfer to finish first in a tournament this season — joining senior Cora Mount and junior Camryn Wright — and logging the team's fourth individual top-five finish and 11th individual top-10 result.

"The support I have makes me want to do better," Connell said. "They want me to succeed and do great things. That pushes me to be able to go further."

Sierra Campbell, UNG's seventh-year head coach, noted that Connell broke into the lineup late in the fall and has steadily proven herself this spring.

"Mackenzie has been climbing," Campbell said. "She's a silent killer."

Junior Abby Franks was a first-team All-PBC selection, with Mount and Wright earning second-team All-PBC honors.

Ranked No. 11 nationally, Campbell's program is about to embark on its second NCAA regional in as many years after earning a regional appearance for the first time in 2025. In that tournament, UNG battled into a three-way playoff for the final spot at the NCAA championship before coming up just short. The coach still looks at that near-miss as an inflection point.

"You started to see that we as a program are capable of doing hard things," Campbell said. "We're still riding high and having a lot of fun. We are building the culture and raising our standards."

The coach said her team has reloaded with a strong class of four freshmen after losing three seniors from the 2025 history-making group.

"We're the deepest we've ever been," Campbell said. "Any of our players could get in the lineup and be the No. 1 player at any moment."

At the South Regional, 18 teams and six individuals will vie for the four team spots and top two individuals not advancing with a team that make it to the NCAA championship. The national event is May 12-16 at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Teams in the South Regional also include Wingate, Anderson, Nova Southeastern, Lynn, Lander, Flagler, Barry, Lee, Tampa, Rollins, Saint Leo, Florida Southern, Eckerd, Lincoln Memorial, West Florida, Erskine, and Palm Beach Atlantic. UNG is the No. 10 seed.

The hardware at the PBC championship provided some validation, but Connell hopes it simply signals the start of something bigger.

"It doesn't matter to me about a trophy," Connell said. "I want to push my teammates to go out there and fight."