The Salem High golf team has high hopes with the 2026 season opening this week. Salem was scheduled to play in the Botetourt Metro tournament on Tuesday and today the Spartans will compete in the Woodford Invitational in Wytheville. Both the Metro and Woodford have some of the top teams from the area in attendance.
“We are looking for a big season this year,” said Salem High coach Blaine Hancock. “We only graduated one senior from last fall and we have several new additions ready to show what they can do. We will have a really good roster that will likely be a rotating lineup as we have many capable players that can make an impact for our team.”
Salem will be led by defending Class 4 State Champion Ashnoor Kaur, a rising senior. Ashnoor has played in numerous tournaments all over the country this year and is ready to make another big splash this fall.
“I know she is ready to make a push for the title again this year,” said Hancock.
Also returning to the lineup are some key contributors from last year’s team, including rising junior Mike Bateman and rising sophomore McKenzie Eversole. Bateman just punched his ticket for the 2026 PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach Sept. 15-20.
“Mike will be playing along with the PGA Tour Champions players in the event,” said Hancock. “That is a huge accomplishment and will be a fantastic experience getting to play one of the most iconic courses in the world.”
Eversole made the state tournament as a freshman and finished as one of the top 25 girls. She’s been working hard this offseason to elevate her game. Salem has also added rising sophomore JD Williamson, who moved into Salem from Glenvar.
“After being one of the top golfers at Glenvar last year, he will make a big difference in our lineup,” said Hancock.
Others hoping to earn their spot in the lineup include rising freshman Chloe Collins, who finished second in the River Ridge District JV as an 8th grader last year. She’s qualified for some big events this summer including the VSGA/MAPGA Junior Four Ball tournament earlier this year, beating many varsity players to earn that spot. She also played in the Scott Robertson Memorial Tournament.
Salem has great depth. Hancock also has returning rising juniors Croix Bowen, Will Creger and Eli Wells on the team.
“Croix has been steady for us the last two years, earning Honorable Mention All River Ridge District Honors last year,” said Hancock. “Will Creger had to sit out last season after sustaining an ACL injury. He’s ready to get back into action this fall after having our team’s second best finish at the Class 4 State Championship as a freshman in 2024. Eli played our sixth spot last fall and has been putting in the work to improve his game. I’m not sure who will be our six players in tournaments week to week, but we have a lot of talented players we can go to each week.”
Salem has other hopefuls for the lineup and those not in the varsity rotation can make an impact on the junior varsity level.
“I look for rising freshmen Turner Hall and Owen Jenkins to be key contributors in the future along with a slew of new players trying out this fall,” said Hancock.
As usual, the Roanoke Valley will be a hotbed for high school golf. Blacksburg will be looking for a sixth straight state team title and many teams in the area should be strong.
“It’s going to be another loaded year in the River Ridge District,” said Hancock.
“Blacksburg is fresh off their fifth straight state team title and only graduated one senior. Everyone in the district has had players elevate this summer. Only one of the top 30 players in the district graduated last year.”
“Each team will be better this season and the perennial target of a score of 300 for high school golf will likely not be low enough to win in our district. It’s going to be a fun season and I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Salem finished second in the district last year and third in the sub-region, knocking the Spartans out of postseason play.
“We hope to use those experiences to push us even higher this year,” said Hancock. “Our players have been putting in an incredible amount of work this offseason, posting over 90 tournament rounds. We hope to make a big push for states with all of our team being capable of putting up great scores.”
