Men's golf adds two during early signing period

Sigel is ranked #1 by the Minnesota Golf Association.
 

Sigel signed his national letter of intent Thursday.
 
Harry Hillier will join his older brother as a Jayhawk.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s golf head coach Jamie Bermel has announced that Ben Sigel and Harry Hillier have each signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) Thursday and will continue their education and golf career at the University of Kansas.

According to the Minnesota Golf Association, Sigel is currently the No. 1 junior player in the state. Sigel is also ranked nationally at No. 117 in the Golfweek Rankings, No. 147 in the Polo Golf Rankings and No. 148 in the Junior Golf Scoreboard. His status has been earned through an impressive resume, capped by an individual title at the 2016 Minnesota Class 3A state Championship, leading No. 1 Minnetonka High School to a team title as well.

“Ben brings a lot of playing experience to Kansas,” Bermel said.  “Not only did he win tournaments, he has been around the country playing.  Being from Minnesota, his playing season is somewhat restricted due to weather.  I really think Ben’s best years of golf are ahead of him.  I look for him to come in and compete for playing time immediately.”

Along with becoming a state champion, Sigel finished first place in back-to-back seasons during the 2015 and 2016 Minnesota High School Section 2AAA Championships. Sigel managed to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2015 and was first alternate in 2016. The accolades are rounded off with four top-5 finishes in American Junior Golf Association tournaments with 19 top-5 finishes in tournaments or matches in 2016. The Deephaven, Minn., native will officially begin his KU career in the fall of 2017.

Kansas will also look forward to the addition of Te Puke, New Zealand native, Harry Hillier, to the roster in 2017. Hillier has some extra insight on the ways of Kansas golf, as his brother, Charlie, is a sophomore playing his second season with the Jayhawks. The younger Hillier recently traveled to Japan to represent New Zealand in the Toyota Junior World Golf Cup.

“Harry will be joining his brother Charlie on the team next fall,” Bermel said.  “I think this is my fifth set of brothers to play on the same team.  It’s a unique dynamic, but a lot of fun to watch them compete and play on the same team.  Harry’s game is very well suited for college golf – has very good length off the tee, plays aggressive and makes a lot of birdies.

“We are very excited to have both of them join us.  We think we have made two great additions to our program.”

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