Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Ink Four to NLI
11/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana men's golf head coach Mike Mayer announced that Drew Allenspach (Sugar Land, Texas), Seth Brandon (Dalton, Ga.), Jorge Campillo (Caceres, Spain) and Brandon Pike (LaFontaine, Ind.) have signed letters-of-intent to attend Indiana University beginning in the fall semester of 2005.
"We are very excited that these four very talented young men have chosen to come to Indiana and become part of our family," said Mayer. "These four will continue to help us maintain the high level we are playing at and continue to build this program into a national contender.
"These four individuals are also outstanding academically. We are trying to recruit student-athletes. You really cannot be one without being the other and all four of these individuals fit that model."
Allenspach led Fort Bend Elkins High School to the 5A State Championship in 2003. As an individual, he tied for sixth at the 2002 State Championship and tied for 15th in 2004. The Sugar Land, Texas, product has also built a strong resume playing in junior tournaments. He has recorded three top 25s in three American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events, highlighted by a 20th-place finish at the Columbus Junior this past summer (Aug. 2-5). Allenspach finished 24th at the OSSO Junior at Oak Tree from June 28-July 1, and ended the PING Harvey Penick Junior in 25th place on July 5-8.
In addition, Allenspach carded a 210 (71-71-68) en route to a seventh-place finish at the Bubba Conlee National Junior on June 8-10. He carded third-place finishes at the Texas Junior Golf Tour (TJGT) Fish Creek (72-77) on Jan. 17-18, and at the Future Collegiate World Tour (FCWT) Bear Creek East Junior Golf (77-70) on Nov. 15-16, 2003.
"Drew is an outstanding young man," said Mayer. "Athletically and academically, he is the whole package. His uncles, Mark and Mitch, played golf here at IU and Drew will keep the legacy going. Drew is excited to be coming to the Midwest, and we are excited to have him. I think Drew will be a tremendous asset to our program."
Brandon hails from Dalton, Ga., but attends The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he has been a boarding student since his sophomore season. In 2003, he won the individual state title at the Tennessee State High School Championship. He set an all-time scoring record, shooting a 12-under-par 130 (63-67) and on the first day of the Championship, his 8-under-par 63 tied the course record at the Nicklaus Bear Trace Course in Winchester, Tenn.
In 2004, he finished second individually at the State Championship, helping his team win the title by two shots. He is currently ranked in the Top 100 Junior Players in the nation in the Golfweek rankings and is ranked 81st in the National Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings for the class of 2005.
The 2003 Chattanooga Times-Free Press Player of the Year led The Baylor School to the team title in 2003 at the prestigious McDonalds Tournament of Champions in Kingsport, Tenn. He won the individual title and shot a 4-under 140 (72-68) at the event.
Brandon, a second team selection on the FCWT 2003-04 All-American Team, earned medalist honors at the 2003 Golden Horseshoe Junior Championship with 219 (72-76-71). He also finished second at the Sea Island Junior Classic and netted a third top 10 following a ninth-place at the Tanglewood Junior Championship.
Additionally, Brandon was named to the Georgia team and competed against South Carolina in the Georgia-South Carolina Cup Match Play event at Sea Pines Country Club in Hilton Head, S.C., where he posted a 1-1 record.
"Seth is a little different recruit for us coming from the state of Georgia. [Assistant] Coach [Josh] Brewer did a tremendous job recruiting Seth. He has the look, plays like and has the confidence of a winner. He is a hard-nosed, tough young man who is coming here to win. I think with Seth in this program, we will win."
Campillo will join fellow IU international stalwarts David Butwell (Southhampton, England) and Santiago Quirarte (Queretaro, Mexico) in Bloomington. The Caceres, Spain, native is a member of the Norba club de golf de Caceres. After graduating from high school in 2003, Campillo has spent the last year at the Blume Center, a training center for top amateurs in Spain. He has also been a member of the Spanish National Federation team.
In 2003, Campillo captured a bronze medal with Spain at the World Championship in Kobe, Japan, while finishing 11th as an individual. A selection to the 2004 European Continental team, Campillo was a member of the 18 and under European champion team with Spain in 2002 and a member of the runner-up 18 and under team in 2004. During the summer of 2004, Campillo advanced to the sixth round in the British Boys. He was also runner-up at the 18 and under Spanish Championship both in 2003 and 2004.
An accomplished golfer throughout his youth, Campillo has been selected to the Spanish National team more than 16 times and has been ranked No. 1 in Spain six separate years.
"Jorge has incredible international experience, and we are thrilled to have him coming to Indiana," said Mayer. "He had a wonderful summer of golf in Europe this past summer. This young man is a talent who has the ability to do some really special things. We think he will be one of the better players this program has ever seen."
Regarded as one of the top golfers in the Hoosier state, Pike will follow in the footsteps of current All-American candidate Jeff Overton (Evansville) and play golf for the Hoosiers. In 2004, Pike was an all-state selection at Huntington North, as he finished sixth at the Indiana High School Golf Championship. The LaFontaine, Ind., native won the Anderson Regional with a 67 and earned medalist honors at the Huntington North Sectional on his way to his sixth-place finish at state.
Pike's success continued into the fall of 2004, where he picked up a pair of top 10s at Plantations Junior Golf Tour (PJGT) events, finishing second at the PJGT at Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame (Oct. 16-17) and finishing eighth at The Rail (Oct. 9-10). During the summer, he claimed the title at the AJGA Boyne Highlands on July 26-29, firing 211 (74-67-70) in a field of 112. He also scored two fifth-place finishes, with the first coming at the PJGT AHEAD Lowcountry Junior Classic (Jan. 3-4) and at the Westfield PGA Junior Section Championship (June 24-25).
"We always try to get the best players from the state of Indiana, and we feel perhaps we have the best from the state coming here," said Mayer. "There hasn't been a young man I have seen with more confidence than Brandon. He has a tremendous feel for the game with tremendous hands. It would not surprise me if Brandon does some great things in his career. He reminds me a lot of a young Jeff Overton.
"I think when you look back at this class, you'll find out that it will be the best freshmen class we have recruited here. We think these four will come in right away and have a tremendous impact on our program. We think these four will enable us to not only continue what we have been doing but also improve this golf program. I really believe we won't miss a beat next year even though we lose two extremely talented golfers in Overton and Heath Peters."
