Coral Springs, Fla.----Wingate University women's golf sophomore standout Amely Bochaton (Evian Les Bains, France) has been named the 2026 Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) NCAA Division II Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, capping one of the most dominant campaigns in Division II women's golf history.
 
The WGCA Player of the Year award is one of the highest honors in collegiate golf, recognizing the top women's golfer across all of NCAA Division II. Bochaton becomes one of the few players in Wingate history to earn a national player of the year distinction while further solidifying her place among the elite collegiate golfers this season.
 
Sophomore year ends with individual national championship
 
Bochaton's sophomore campaign was nothing short of remarkable. Ranked No. 1 nationally and regionally throughout the season, she finished the year with a 69.1 adjusted scoring average across 41 rounds while recording seven victories and 12 top-three finishes. Her consistency throughout the year was nearly unmatched, compiling an incredible 1082-7-6 head-to-head record during stroke and match play competition.
 
Bochaton led the Bulldogs to one of the greatest seasons in program history, helping Wingate capture the South Atlantic Conference Championship and the NCAA South Regional title. The Bulldogs finished the NCAA Division II National Championship stroke play event as the No. 1 seed as well.
 
Her season reached another level at the NCAA Division II National Championship at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Bochaton captured the individual national title in dominant fashion, winning by 13 shots after closing with a four-under-par final round that featured seven birdies.
 
Throughout the national championship, Bochaton led the field in par-three, par-four and par-five scoring while also recording the most birdies and fewest bogeys in the tournament. She finished the week with only one bogey across the championship.
 
In addition to her national title, Bochaton earned SAC Golfer of the Year honors and first team All-SAC recognition. She also claimed medalist honors seven times throughout the season while consistently leading the Bulldogs against elite Division II competition.
 
Under the direction of head coach JD Lamm, Bochaton helped establish Wingate as the top team in Division II women's golf. The Bulldogs spent much of the season ranked No. 1 nationally and closed the year by earning the No. 1 seed in the NCAA medal match play event.
 
Amely Bochaton
No. 1 golfer in NCAA Division II
 
- WGCA NCAA Division II Player of the Year
- NCAA Division II individual national champion
- Seven individual victories during the 2025-26 season
- Posted a 69.1 adjusted scoring average across 41 rounds
- Recorded 12 top-three finishes
- Held the No. 1 national and regional ranking throughout the season
- SAC Golfer of the Year
- First team All-SAC selection
- Helped lead Wingate to SAC and regional championships
 
Wingate University
 
Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 30 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 18 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
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(Editor's note: Wingate junior men's golf student-athlete Matthew Wordon contributed this article. He is an international business major from Bath, England.)