It remains to be seen if Kansas senior Will King will go out a champion on the golf course.
But no one will ever be able to argue his star status in the classroom.
Earlier this week, King was named the Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year for men’s golf for the second consecutive season, making him the first athlete in program history to achieve the feat.
He became just the second golfer in Big 12 history to earn the award in back-to-back seasons, joining former Baylor standout Johnny Keefer, who won it three years in a row from 2022-24.
Those who know King were hardly surprised. From the day he arrived on KU’s campus, King made it clear that his two passions — golf and academics — would carry equal weight in his world.
At first, when King told him he wanted to enter school on the pre-med track, KU coach Jamie Bermel thought he was crazy.
But then Bermel got to see King operate, learn how his mind works and watch him throw everything he has into both of his loves. From there, it became Bermel’s goal to do everything he could to help King succeed at the highest levels as an athlete and a student.
“I didn't try to talk him out of it, but I certainly tried to show him what it would take,” Bermel said Tuesday. “And he didn't flinch. I mean, he's done everything. (He has a) 4.0 (grade-point average), played at a high level (and) we've kind of adjusted reps and done that stuff, given him extra days off.”
He needed them. And King, last February, took R1S1 Sports through everything that went into juggling elite performance on the golf course with his pursuit of a degree in molecular cellular developmental biology, a mouthful just to say let alone study.
Again, all of the science classes and short-game sessions were always worth it to King because both things mean the world to him, both now and for his future.
As he said last February, “I think all the time, ‘Why am I able to do both?’ And I’ve sort of concluded that it’s because I find joy in both of them.”
Add to that a trophy from a good golf tournament or the recent scholar athlete honors from the Big 12 Conference, and you’re looking at a guy who could not have scripted a better run for himself.
“It feels great to have that work recognized,” King said on Tuesday. “And I couldn’t be more thankful.”
“I think it shows the great support that we have here at KU,” he added. “It wouldn't be possible without (them), you know, good coaches, good staff and good academic advisors to kind of point me along the way. So, I couldn’t be more thankful for that, too.”
As luck would have it — or perhaps it was precise planning — King completed his requirements for graduation at around the same time he and his teammates learned that they’d be playing in an NCAA regional golf tournament next week. It marks the fourth year in a row for King and the 10th year in a row for the Kansas men’s program, and now, with no finals scheduled, King can finally throw all of his effort and attention into the golf portion of his journey.
He said he’s been thrilled to reach regionals in each of his
“I think that we've always had the talent to make a run at the national championship during my four years here,” King said Tuesday. “We haven't done that as a team yet, and I think that this year we've got probably the most capable group of guys that I've been a part of to do that. So I'm excited for that.”
King has competed in 11 of 12 events for the Jayhawks this season, recording two top-5 finishes, five top-10 finishes and seven top-20 finishes. He also carded 18 rounds under par and nine rounds in the 60s.
At the Ka'anapali Classic back in November, King broke the program record for lowest 54-hole score, with scores of 68-65-66 (199).
Prior to this season, he won twice — once as a sophomore and once as a junior — while also finishing in a tie for 4th at NCAA regionals during his freshman season.
Two weeks ago, King repeated that feat by finishing 4th at the Big 12 championships at Prairie Dunes Golf Course in Hutchinson.
King and the Jayhawks are set to compete in the NCAA Athens regional next week, from May 18-20 at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
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