Smith, Men's Golf, Add Four Signees
November 13, 2023 | Men's Golf
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's men's golf program added four new signees to the Bulldog family on National Signing Day.
Head coach Dusty Smith and associate head coach Kolton Lapa landed their 2024 class with the signings of Thomas Norris, Ethan Smith, Ben Kelling and Trip Duke.
"I am proud to announce the signing of Thomas, Ethan, Trip and Ben to the Mississippi State golf program," Smith said. "I know they are going to make positive contributions on the golf course and in the classroom, but most importantly to our culture."
MSU's signees hail from the states of Alabama and Georgia as well as Germany. This also marks State's largest signing class in Smith's tenure with the team, and MSU's largest signing class since 2016.
"These four young men have shown a tremendous appreciation and love for our program," Smith continued. "They are very skilled players who have had success at every level. They are going to value what is important to our program as we continue to make the climb."
The full class can be found below.
Thomas Norris | Mountain Brook, Ala. (Mountain Brook HS)
Norris joins the Bulldogs as the seventh-ranked junior in the state of Alabama according to the American Junior Golf Association. He has recorded seven junior championship wins over the course of his career and competed in the Alabama State Amateur in 2022. Two years ago, he and his Mountain Brook teammates took home the 2022 AHSAA State Championship. Norris finished fourth individually in the tournament and helped his team claim what was their fifth consecutive state title. Former Bulldog Ford Clegg also played at Mountain Brook and helped claim the first two titles of the streak.
Trip Duke | Fairhope, Ala. (Fairhope HS)
Duke joins the class as the No. 2 junior golfer in Alabama's 2024 class, and the state's No. 10 junior overall. Last season, he was honored as a First Team All-State golfer and the 2022 SJGT Player of the Year. The three-time all-county player has earned several career junior victories, and finished third at the 2023 Alabama State Amateur. He has competed in six seasons of high school varsity golf and was the sole middle-schooler to join his varsity roster. Off the course, Duke is a two-sport athlete, also playing basketball at Fairhope. He will be the second member of his family to compete in the SEC, as his grandfather, Pat Duke, was an All-American catcher at Auburn.
Ethan Smith | Marietta, Ga. (Mount Paran Christian)
Smith joins the Bulldog roster as a reigning Georgia High School State Champion. Following a 2022 campaign that ended in a runner-up showing in the State Championship, Smith and his Mount Paran Christian teammates took home the 2023 state title and won seven team titles over the course of the season. He competed in the Georgia Amateur in 2021 and 2023. Smith stands as the No. 7 junior in the Georgia class of 2024 and was the 2021 Cobb County Player of the Year. He shot the lowest round in Mount Paran Christian history with a 62 (-10).
Ben Kelling | Bad Feilnbach, Germany (Gymnasium Bad Aibling)
Kelling rounds out the signing class and is the No. 44 amateur golfer in Germany. Kelling joins the Bulldogs as a 2022 German State Champion and the winner of the 2022 German Boys National Championship. He has competed in 16 amateur events over the past two years and has taken home two victories and a third top 10 finish. Earlier this year, Kelling competed in The Amateur Championship, the largest amateur tournament outside the United States. He has also competed alongside his fellow countrymen as a member of the German National Golf Team.
Players Mentioned
