TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) — Florida State senior men’s golfer John Pak has added yet another accolade to his accomplished career. The nation’s top-ranked collegiate golfer has been selected as the ACC Player of the Year, announced on Monday.
Pak becomes the fourth Seminole to earn ACC Player of the Year honors, joining Bobby Cochran (1994), Brooks Koepka (2010 and 2012) and Hank Lebioda (2016). He also joins PGA TOUR professionals Koepka and Lebioda as Seminoles whom have earned ACC Freshman and Player of the Year honors in their careers.
“What a great honor for John to join Hank Lebioda and Brooks Koepka as Seminoles who have won ACC Freshman of the Year and ACC Player of the Year,” FSU Head Coach Trey Jones said. “It says a lot about what he’s done here. I couldn’t be happier for him because of a lot of different things, like the year we had last year with the uncertainties of COVID.
For him to come back, it would have been easy for him to not look at this year as important or have half his foot out the door toward a great professional career. He’s checked all the boxes and put an exclamation point on his career at Florida State. The only thing that’s left for John is playing in an NCAA National Championship. I could not be happier for all the things he’s done and all the hard work he’s put in.”
Pak’s remarkable career includes three selections to the All-ACC Team, which would have included four selections had COVID-19 not ended last year’s golf season. The 2020 year did not include any conference accolades.
Pak’s accomplishment also comes in a year where the ACC produced a conference-record 10 teams in NCAA Regionals, indicative of perhaps the greatest field of golfing talent in ACC history.
The Scotch Plains, N.J., native owns eight career wins in his Seminole career, once again not having the full opportunity to partake in more tournaments because of last year’s shortened season. His 69.91 career average heading into the upcoming NCAA Regional at the Seminole Legacy Club is atop the FSU career charts.
Also included on the All-ACC Team after having superb seasons so far are graduate transfer Vincent Norrman and freshman Brett Roberts. It marks the third time the Seminoles have produced three All-ACC selections, joining the 2013 squad (Berger, Koepka, Lebioda) and the 2015 team (Jack Maguire, Lebioda, Rowin Caron).
Norrman’s addition to the Seminoles was a big reason why they spent many weeks ranked first in the country, providing a 1-2 punch with Pak to form arguably the nation’s top duo. Norrman is shooting 70.96 and -0.67 vs. par, winning the Timuquana Collegiate on Jan. 26. He owns five Top 12 finishes in his eight tournaments played this year.
Roberts has also been a huge presence, emerging as one of the most talented freshman golfers in FSU history. He is shooting 71.71 on the season and recently went 2-0 in match play at the ACC Championship. He owns five Top 11 finishes this year.
Top-seeded Florida State hosts a strong 14-team field at the NCAA Men’s Golf Regional held May 17-19 at the Seminole Legacy Club.
ACC Player of the Year: John Pak, Florida State
ACC Freshman of the Year: Peter Fountain, North Carolina
ACC Coach of the Year: Larry Penley, Clemson
2021 All-ACC Men’s Golf Team
Player, Year, School
Jacob Bridgeman, Junior, Clemson
Colby Patton, Senior, Clemson
Turk Pettit, Senior, Clemson
Ian Siebers, Freshman, Duke
Vincent Norrman, Graduate, Florida State
John Pak, Senior, Florida State
Brett Roberts, Freshman, Florida State
Peter Fountain, Freshman, North Carolina
Austin Greaser, Sophomore, North Carolina
Austin Hitt, Senior, North Carolina
Benjamin Shipp, Graduate, NC State
Maximilian Steinlechner, Sophomore, NC State
Michael Brennan, Freshman, Wake Forest
Alex Fitzpatrick, Junior, Wake Forest
Mark Power, Sophomore, Wake Forest
