SEARCY, Ark. — After a dominant regular season that included two tournament titles and three individual medalist honors, the Great American Conference announced Sunday that Harding junior Dennis Staykov has been named the 2026 GAC Player of the Year and Sam Tandy has been voted the GAC Coach of the Year.
The awards headlined a prolific postseason showing for the Bisons, who placed three golfers on the All-GAC First Team, all of whom were unanimous selections.
Staykov, a junior from Sofia, Bulgaria, becomes the third consecutive Bison to be named the conference's Player of the Year, following Sam Tandy (2024) and Jose Manuel Peralta (2025). Staykov turned in one of the most consistent seasons in program history, posting a 71.44 scoring average over 25 rounds—the second-best single-season mark in Harding history. He currently stands as Harding's all-time leader in career scoring average at 72.16.
Joining Staykov as unanimous First Team All-GAC selections are junior Jose Arzu and senior Jose Manuel Peralta.
Arzu, a native of Guatemala City, Guatemala, ranked second on the team with a 72.32 average and recorded nine rounds of par or better. Peralta, hailing from Madrid, Spain, earned his third career All-GAC honor after posting a 72.64 average. This marks the first time in program history that Harding has placed three players on the All-GAC First Team in a single season.
In his first season at the helm, Sam Tandy earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Bisons to a historic campaign. Under Tandy's leadership, the Bisons secured two team tournament championships and three individual medalist trophies while setting a school record for won-lost percentage, finishing the regular season at 119-21 (.850).
The Bisons also excelled in the classroom, as Austin Bibb and Conner Geist were both named to the GAC Academic Honor Roll. Bibb, a junior from Eads, Tennessee, also saw significant improvement on the course this year, shaving nearly five strokes off his season average to finish at 75.84.
Harding's team scoring average of 290.7 ranks as the second-best in school history, trailing only the 2023-24 squad.
The Bisons now await the official announcement of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament field, where they are expected to be a top contender.
2026 GAC Men's Golf Awards (Harding Selections)
GAC Player of the Year: Dennis Staykov GAC Coach of the Year: Sam Tandy
All-GAC First Team (Unanimous)
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Dennis Staykov (Jr., Sofia, Bulgaria)
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Jose Arzu (Jr., Guatemala City, Guatemala)
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Jose Manuel Peralta (Sr., Madrid, Spain)
GAC Academic Honor Roll
