Troy University Athletics
Johnson's Journal - Poppell’s Growth, Confidence Fuel Troy’s Young Squad
3/26/2026 4:17:00 PM | Golf (M)
Troy men's golfer Lee Poppell knows a thing or two about routine.
Last season, during the Trojans' first-ever NCAA Championship tournament appearance, Poppell regularly picked up a Chick-fil-A sandwich for lunch, drove over to the nearby Publix parking lot and watched some YouTube videos in his car while eating before heading to practice.
"It sounds weird, but it was my time of the day where I would know I wouldn't be bothered … to have 20 minutes to just kind of decompress," Poppell said. "It was good for me."
The lunch plans have altered a bit this year.
"I had to change the cord in my car, and there's like this spot on my dashboard I would prop it up, and it doesn't reach the dashboard now," Poppell said of setting up to watch videos. "So now, I just go eat at the facility, which is probably better anyway. I go get my Chick-fil-A, go to the facility and get in the mood for practice a little more."
Point being, the junior golfer from Tallahassee, Fla., understands how important it is for his golf game to stay in a routine, whether it's eating lunch or lining up for a shot.
"I worked with a lot of mental coaches and they all kind of preached the same thing, whereas if you can train your routine, when you get in the big moment … like, 'Hey, I've got to make this putt to win the tournament' … you almost fall back into it and routine hits that shot for you," Poppell said.
"I spend a lot of time trying to make it (routine) better and make it more efficient, because the more efficient it is, the less you're thinking and the better it is for golf."
It all seems to be paying off for Poppell, who is off to a tremendous spring season for the Trojans. He has been the team's top performer in the first three tournaments, including finishing tied for 11th place individually as the Trojans placed 10th at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee on March 17.
"I have three routines - one for putting, one for chipping and one for full swing," Poppell explained. "What I did behind the ball - like figuring out how far it (hole) was and what club to hit - that's not part of my (full swing) routine. But my routine would start when I would take that first step into the ball … like I'm going to look at the hole twice right before I hit.
"Putting, I would tell myself, 'Quality stroke.' Chipping, I would look at my spot and say, 'I'm going to hit this right there.' That first hole of the tournament when you've got a 5-footer, you can look at it and say, 'Hey, I'm in my routine. Nothing else matters.'"
A late bloomer
Golf wasn't always on Poppell's radar.
"I always played basketball, I played flag football and I played soccer," Poppell said. "Golf was kind of the sport my dad didn't really push. We were always playing basketball; we were always throwing the football.
"It was never, 'Let's go hit golf balls.' But I kind of picked it up in the fourth grade, and I would go play a couple of holes at the course. I was playing junior tournaments in the seventh and eighth grade. Then I was on the JV team for basketball my freshman year of high school, and I came back and tried to play a (golf) tournament after that, and I played so bad."
It was then that Poppell decided to get serious about golf, believing he had a better chance of earning a college golf scholarship than a basketball one.
"It was kind of like, 'We've got to make a decision here,' and we put all of our eggs in the golf basket," Poppell said.
While Poppell was never considered among the elite players on the junior golf circuit, he certainly performed well enough to draw some college attention.
Poppell, who attended Maclay School in Tallahassee, Fla., took home a second place finish at the 2022 Florida Junior Tour Championship and tied for 34th at the 2022 Florida Amateur Championship.
He fired a 7-under 65 at the 2022 Big Bend Championship to win by six strokes, one of two major area tournaments in the Florida Panhandle, and fired a 2-under 70 to win the district title later that spring.
"I was always getting better and getting better," Poppell said. "I got my offer from Troy real late, like November of my senior year. I was kind of holding out and didn't really know where I was going to go, and then got really lucky with an opportunity (to Troy), and it's really worked out."
It also gave Poppell plenty of incentive to prove any doubters wrong.
"I wanted to play at a school where I could play against those schools that overlooked me," Poppell said. "Also, when I came on my visit, it was like a perfect 58-degree November day, and it just felt right. And being from Tallahassee, it's two hours away and a perfect spot. It felt like home right from the start."
Hitting with more length
When Poppell arrived as a freshman in 2023, he was distance-wise the shortest hitter on the team.
Not anymore.
"I changed (swing) coaches in August, and right now is probably the best I've hit the golf ball in my life," Poppell said. "My freshman year, if I played good it was because I putted good, or I chipped good … it was never because I hit it good.
"Now, the golf ball is starting to go further and starting to go straighter. It's been fun and hopefully we can keep building."
Poppell was asked if longer drives also mean a bit of an adjustment in his short game?
"For sure," Poppell said. "It's a little adjustment, but it's more knowing I can get that extra 2-3 yards on a 7-iron if I need it. That's really helpful, especially in college golf, because if you're coming into a green with a 5-iron versus a 6-iron, it's going to react differently … you're going to have a chance to hit closer. Over 54 holes (three rounds), that really adds up."
Confidence level high
Poppell was a key component in the Trojans' making the NCAA Championship field last spring. During the NCAA Urbana (Illinois) Regional, in which Troy finished fourth to qualify for the NCAA tournament, Poppell tied for 18th overall. He finished the season with a 73.26 stroke average.
"My dad tells me this all of the time if I'm ever doubting myself, he says, 'I've watched you do it in the most pressure-filled moments at regionals,'" Poppell said. "The fact that I know I can perform there has given me something to fall back on when I get down, when I have a rough week, when practice isn't going how I want, when I shoot three or four over in qualifying.
"I can look back on last year and say, 'Hey, I can play with the best of the best.' That's definitely helped the confidence, for sure."
Looking ahead
Three years into his career at Troy, Poppell is now considered one of the leaders on the team.
While he certainly has the goal of winning now as an individual and helping the Trojans place strong in tournaments, Poppell is also trying to help lay groundwork for the future.
This year's team has four true freshmen, a redshirt freshman, a sophomore and team leaders Pablo Garcia and Poppell, both juniors.
"We've got a very young team," Poppell said. "I think if we get some momentum going into next year … that's a big goal of mine.
"I hate to use the word rebuild, because it's kind of like a re-tool, and we're only going to get better."
If so, the winning ways will perhaps become rather routine again for the Trojans.
Last season, during the Trojans' first-ever NCAA Championship tournament appearance, Poppell regularly picked up a Chick-fil-A sandwich for lunch, drove over to the nearby Publix parking lot and watched some YouTube videos in his car while eating before heading to practice.
"It sounds weird, but it was my time of the day where I would know I wouldn't be bothered … to have 20 minutes to just kind of decompress," Poppell said. "It was good for me."
The lunch plans have altered a bit this year.
"I had to change the cord in my car, and there's like this spot on my dashboard I would prop it up, and it doesn't reach the dashboard now," Poppell said of setting up to watch videos. "So now, I just go eat at the facility, which is probably better anyway. I go get my Chick-fil-A, go to the facility and get in the mood for practice a little more."
Point being, the junior golfer from Tallahassee, Fla., understands how important it is for his golf game to stay in a routine, whether it's eating lunch or lining up for a shot.
"I worked with a lot of mental coaches and they all kind of preached the same thing, whereas if you can train your routine, when you get in the big moment … like, 'Hey, I've got to make this putt to win the tournament' … you almost fall back into it and routine hits that shot for you," Poppell said.
"I spend a lot of time trying to make it (routine) better and make it more efficient, because the more efficient it is, the less you're thinking and the better it is for golf."
It all seems to be paying off for Poppell, who is off to a tremendous spring season for the Trojans. He has been the team's top performer in the first three tournaments, including finishing tied for 11th place individually as the Trojans placed 10th at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee on March 17.
"I have three routines - one for putting, one for chipping and one for full swing," Poppell explained. "What I did behind the ball - like figuring out how far it (hole) was and what club to hit - that's not part of my (full swing) routine. But my routine would start when I would take that first step into the ball … like I'm going to look at the hole twice right before I hit.
"Putting, I would tell myself, 'Quality stroke.' Chipping, I would look at my spot and say, 'I'm going to hit this right there.' That first hole of the tournament when you've got a 5-footer, you can look at it and say, 'Hey, I'm in my routine. Nothing else matters.'"
A late bloomer
Golf wasn't always on Poppell's radar.
"I always played basketball, I played flag football and I played soccer," Poppell said. "Golf was kind of the sport my dad didn't really push. We were always playing basketball; we were always throwing the football.
"It was never, 'Let's go hit golf balls.' But I kind of picked it up in the fourth grade, and I would go play a couple of holes at the course. I was playing junior tournaments in the seventh and eighth grade. Then I was on the JV team for basketball my freshman year of high school, and I came back and tried to play a (golf) tournament after that, and I played so bad."
It was then that Poppell decided to get serious about golf, believing he had a better chance of earning a college golf scholarship than a basketball one.
"It was kind of like, 'We've got to make a decision here,' and we put all of our eggs in the golf basket," Poppell said.
While Poppell was never considered among the elite players on the junior golf circuit, he certainly performed well enough to draw some college attention.
Poppell, who attended Maclay School in Tallahassee, Fla., took home a second place finish at the 2022 Florida Junior Tour Championship and tied for 34th at the 2022 Florida Amateur Championship.
He fired a 7-under 65 at the 2022 Big Bend Championship to win by six strokes, one of two major area tournaments in the Florida Panhandle, and fired a 2-under 70 to win the district title later that spring.
"I was always getting better and getting better," Poppell said. "I got my offer from Troy real late, like November of my senior year. I was kind of holding out and didn't really know where I was going to go, and then got really lucky with an opportunity (to Troy), and it's really worked out."
It also gave Poppell plenty of incentive to prove any doubters wrong.
"I wanted to play at a school where I could play against those schools that overlooked me," Poppell said. "Also, when I came on my visit, it was like a perfect 58-degree November day, and it just felt right. And being from Tallahassee, it's two hours away and a perfect spot. It felt like home right from the start."
Hitting with more length
When Poppell arrived as a freshman in 2023, he was distance-wise the shortest hitter on the team.
Not anymore.
"I changed (swing) coaches in August, and right now is probably the best I've hit the golf ball in my life," Poppell said. "My freshman year, if I played good it was because I putted good, or I chipped good … it was never because I hit it good.
"Now, the golf ball is starting to go further and starting to go straighter. It's been fun and hopefully we can keep building."
Poppell was asked if longer drives also mean a bit of an adjustment in his short game?
"For sure," Poppell said. "It's a little adjustment, but it's more knowing I can get that extra 2-3 yards on a 7-iron if I need it. That's really helpful, especially in college golf, because if you're coming into a green with a 5-iron versus a 6-iron, it's going to react differently … you're going to have a chance to hit closer. Over 54 holes (three rounds), that really adds up."
Confidence level high
Poppell was a key component in the Trojans' making the NCAA Championship field last spring. During the NCAA Urbana (Illinois) Regional, in which Troy finished fourth to qualify for the NCAA tournament, Poppell tied for 18th overall. He finished the season with a 73.26 stroke average.
"My dad tells me this all of the time if I'm ever doubting myself, he says, 'I've watched you do it in the most pressure-filled moments at regionals,'" Poppell said. "The fact that I know I can perform there has given me something to fall back on when I get down, when I have a rough week, when practice isn't going how I want, when I shoot three or four over in qualifying.
"I can look back on last year and say, 'Hey, I can play with the best of the best.' That's definitely helped the confidence, for sure."
Looking ahead
Three years into his career at Troy, Poppell is now considered one of the leaders on the team.
While he certainly has the goal of winning now as an individual and helping the Trojans place strong in tournaments, Poppell is also trying to help lay groundwork for the future.
This year's team has four true freshmen, a redshirt freshman, a sophomore and team leaders Pablo Garcia and Poppell, both juniors.
"We've got a very young team," Poppell said. "I think if we get some momentum going into next year … that's a big goal of mine.
"I hate to use the word rebuild, because it's kind of like a re-tool, and we're only going to get better."
If so, the winning ways will perhaps become rather routine again for the Trojans.
Players Mentioned
/ Golf (M)
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Player Postgame Press Conference (Kiley Huffman, McKinnon Howard) - Kennesaw State
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Troy at Kennesaw State (Full Highlights)
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