Troy University Athletics
Men's Golf Team Adds Three for 2007-08
6/5/2007 5:00:00 PM | Golf
TROY, Ala. ? Two high school seniors and a junior college transfer have signed national letters-of-intent to play golf at Troy University, head coach Matt Terry announced today. Reid Merritt of Slocomb, Zach Portemont of Andalusia and Justin Eaves of Louisville, Miss., will enroll this fall and be eligible for the 2007-08 season.
Merritt earned all-state and all-conference honors all four years in golf, while being named all-conference in basketball three times. He won the Alabama Class 3A individual state championship after firing a pair of two-over 74s, helping Slocomb to a fifth-place finish. Merritt has competed on both the Southeastern Junior and Robert Trent Jones Tours during the summer seasons and will play in the 2007 Alabama State Amateur later this week. He is no stranger to Troy as both his grandparents and parents graduated from the school and has a cousin, sophomore Wes Parker, already on the golf team.
Portemont helped Andalusia to three Alabama Class 4A state championships and a second-place finish during his career. He was team captain and team Most Valuable Player for each of the last two seasons while playing the No. 1 position. He made the cut at last year's State Amateur and finished tied for 48th. Just last month, he tied for eighth overall at the Class 4A State Championship.
In the classroom, Portemont maintained over a 3.0 grade-point average and finished in the top 25 percent in his graduating class. He was a member of the National Honor Society and was invited to Boys State in 2006.
Eaves comes to Troy from Meridian (Miss.) Community College, where he was named Mississippi Junior College Player of the Year this spring. He was named second-team All-America twice and finished this season ranked in the top-25 among NJCAA Division golfers. A two-time first-team all-state and all-region selection, Eaves led the Eagles to third-place finishes at NJCAA National Championship in both 2006 and 2007. This year, he finished tied for seventh in the individual standings at two-under 286.
A native of Louisville, Miss., Eaves was the 2002 Class AA Player of the Year and the 2003 Class A Player of the Year for Mississippi. He won 15 tournaments as an individual and helped Winston Academy to three Mississippi Private Schools Association state championships.
“I am extremely excited to have three players of this caliber coming to Troy next year,” Terry said. “Justin has two years of collegiate experience under his belt, both at the highest level of junior college, while Reid and Zach are used to winning championships throughout high school. All three of these players should compete for tournament time next year.”
Troy returns five letterwinners and two redshirts from this year's team.
