ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced the recipients of their 2026 women’s golf awards on Wednesday. The awards are nominated and voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
Bri Brandt from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul was named UMAC Player of the Year. The sophomore was the Individual Champion at the UMAC Championship. She carded a 234 over the three-rounds and set the UMAC Championship 36- and 54-hole scoring records. Brandt ranked second among the conference with a season average score of 77.5 (adjusted to 75.66 for awards voting per the coaches’ guidelines) through 13 rounds. Brandt also helped Northwestern win the conference title; the Eagles’ fourth in a row, fifth in the past six years, and eighth overall.
Eva Stuewe of Bethany Lutheran was selected as the UMAC Rookie of the Year. The freshman had a season average score of 83.6 (adjusted to 83.82 for awards voting per the coaches’ guidelines) through 14 rounds, which ranked seventh in the conference. She finished fourth at the UMAC Championships with a 248.
Northwestern Head Coach Billy Aune was named the UMAC Coach of the Year. In his 21st season leading the Eagles, Coach Aune led Northwestern to win the UMAC Championship for the fourth-straight year, the fifth time in the past six years, and the eighth time in the program’s history. Aune’s Eagles won the conference championship with a team score of 968 for the three-round tournament, finishing 73 strokes ahead of the runner-up. At the Championship, Northwestern set the team records for 18-, 36-, and 54-hole scores.
Martin Luther won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event.
15 student-athletes were named all-conference. Each team also had one representative named to the all-sportsmanship team.
Player of the Year: Bri Brandt, Northwestern
Rookie of the Year: Eva Stuewe, Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year: Billy Aune, Northwestern
Team Sportsmanship: Martin Luther
First-team All-Conference
| Eva Stuewe |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fr. |
Glencoe, Minn. |
| Bri Brandt |
Northwestern |
So. |
Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy |
| Paige Johnson |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool |
| Morgan Philyaw |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Jordan, Minn./Jordan |
| Abby Schintz |
UW-Superior |
Jr. |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
Second-team All-Conference
| Shelby Cash |
Crown |
Sr. |
Clovis, Calif./Clovis |
| Brielle Lenz |
Northwestern |
So. |
Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield |
| Ellie Roland |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Otsego, Minn./Rogers |
| Makayla Ammerman |
UW-Superior |
So. |
Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson |
| Olivia Weyenberg |
UW-Superior |
Sr. |
Stacy, Minn./North Branch |
Honorable Mention All-Conference
| Lydia Schmid |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Mankato, Minn./Immanuel Lutheran |
| Autumn Hill |
Crown |
So. |
Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato |
| Erin Pulice |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
Green Lake, Wis./Green Lake |
| Allie Maschke |
UW-Superior |
Sr. |
Merrill, Wis./Merrill |
| Sophia Otto |
UW-Superior |
Jr. |
Mequon, Wis./Homestead |
All-Sportsmanship:
Bethany Lutheran: Kiara Murphy
Crown: Autumn Hill
Martin Luther: Erin Pulice
Minnesota Morris: Kaylie Schmidtz
Northwestern: Bri Brandt
UW-Superior: Allie Maschke
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of seven full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.