LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Nine UNLV men's golf greats - Jeremy Anderson (1996-2000), Shintaro Ban (2014-18), Derek Ernst (2008-12), Harry Hall (2015-19), Kurt Kitayama (2011-15), Ryan Moore (2001-05), John Oda (2014-17), Eddie Olson (2005-10), Kevin Penner (2009-13) - were selected to the Mountain West 25th Season Team, the league office announced Thursday. The Rebels' nine honorees led all league members on the list.

The MW 25th Season Teams were compiled by the 25th Teams Committee, comprising members from the league's 11 full-time institutions, to celebrate the conference's 25th season of excellence on and off the course. They will be announced at each Mountain West Championship during the 2023-24 season.

The most decorated player in UNLV history, Moore garnered All-American selections every season of his illustrious four-year career and was the third Rebel to be a first-team honoree twice. His career culminated with every major collegiate golf award - the Ben Hogan Award, the Niklaus Award and the Haskins Award - to make him the second UNLV student-athlete to win his respective sport's national player of the year award. Moore reached unprecedented heights by an amateur in 2004, becoming the first golfer to win the U.S. Amateur, the NCAA individual title, U.S. Amateur Public Links, the Western Amateur and the Sahalee Players Championships in the same year. He was tabbed MW Player of the Year in back-to-back years from 2004-05 and made the All-MW team four times. He remains UNLV's all-time leader in career scoring average (70.76) and season scoring average (69.29 in 2004-05). The Rebels reached the NCAA Championship as a team three times with Moore leading the way, while he competed in another as an individual. After wrapping up his collegiate career, Moore earned his PGA Tour card as only the fifth player in PGA Tour history to do so without going through the PGA Tour's Qualifying School - along with Cary Hallberg, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Tiger Woods. His five PGA Tour wins rank second all-time by a former Rebel, while he also has tallied nine second-place finishes and recorded 74 top-10 finishes in his career.

A remnant of the program's 1998 national championship team, Anderson became the first Rebel to receive All-American First Team honors twice in 2000 with his third career All-American nod. In his lone year as a member of the conference after the team's move from the WAC, he was named the 2000 MW Player of the Year, ranked as high as eighth in the country, placed 10th at the NCAA Championships, won one tournament and led the league with a 71.10 scoring average. Anderson joined Chris Riley and Warren Schutte as the third Scarlet & Gray individual to win back-to-back conference player of the year awards as he previously earned the recognition in 1999 from the WAC. A three-time Academic All-American, he still ranks in the top 10 in the UNLV record book, including tied for third in career wins (5), 7th in career scoring average (72.01), tie for second-lowest 18 (63), tied for third-lowest 54 (198), sixth for season scoring average (70.85 in 2000) and low career scoring average (72.01) - each of which were school records in his playing days. In his first year upon completing his time at UNLV, Anderson played his way to a PGA Tour card, then was active on the NationWide and Gateway Tours until he retired in 2010.

Turning in another stalwart career, Ernst was both a two-time All-American and two-time Mountain West Golfer of the Year. In addition to those accolades, he made the All-MW team in each of his four years on campus, winning four tournaments in his career, including the 2011 MW individual title, to sit tied for sixth in program history. Joining Moore (4) as the only other Rebel to lead the team in scoring average more than two consecutive years, Ernst led the Scarlet & Gray in scoring average three straight seasons from 2009-12 and ranks sixth in school history in career scoring average (71.80). Following his senior year, he was the only college player to go from graduating to earning full exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2012, which subsequently saw him claim his first career win as a rookie.

Ban is UNLV's most recent All-American, being selected to the first team in 2018 and an honorable mention in 2017. His Mountain West Golfer of the Year Award as a senior in 2018 made him the fifth Rebel golfer to earn the distinction since the program became a member of the conference. During that same 2017-18 season, Ban won the conference title with a then-MW Championship record 16-under 200 and the current MW Championship record for largest margin of victory (9 shots). He also racked up a program-record-tying four victories and became only the program's third player to win back-to-back tournaments in the same year. The three-time All-MW selection guided UNLV to the team victory at the 2017 NCAA West Lafayette Regional, notching a team-best, tied-for-third finish with a 2-under 214.  Ban concluded his career among the all-time program leaders, standing tied for third in career victories (5), third in career scoring average (71.53), third in single-season scoring average (69.79), tied for second for low 18 (63) and seventh for low 54 (200).

Following the trend of decorated Rebel golfers, Kevin Penner also was a two-time All-American as an honorable mention from 2011-13. Earning All-Mountain West for the third consecutive season as a senior in 2013, he won the MW individual title, led that year's UNLV squad in scoring average (72.50), recorded seven top-10 finishes and five top-5 outings. Penner went on to tie for second individually at the NCAA Championship before helping guide the Rebels to an Elite Eight showing in match play. Ranking near the top of the program record book, Penner is top 5 for low 54 (199), tied for third in career victories (5) and sixth in single-season wins (2).

Oda took the league by storm as a freshman with the first of his three All-American seasons, which included two honorable mentions and a first-team nod in his final year. He reeled in the 2015 MW Freshman of the Year in and the league's 2017 Golfer of the Year award. A MW all-conference honoree in each of his three seasons, Oda played a key role in UNLV's three-peat as Mountain West Championships from 2016-18, leading the team  with a 6-under 210 and tied-for-sixth finish in 2017. From there, he combined with two other players on this list – Ban and Hall – to lead the Rebels to the NCAA Lafayette Regional win in 2017, tying for fifth at 1-under 215. Oda paired those accomplishments with Academic All-American honors in 2016-17. One of the lowest scorers the program has seen in its storied history, Oda ranks second all-time for career scoring average (71.02) and fourth all-time for season scoring average (70.43 in 2016-17). In the wins department, he finished his Scarlet & Gray career tied for sixth in both career victories (4) and single-season victories (2).

The trend of national recognition was no different for Olson, who was a 2008-09 All-American honorable mention. He was the conference individual champion in 2008, recording a win by three shots for a margin of victory that was a then-Mountain West Championship record and currently is the third largest margin of victory at the tournament. Olson is also tied with Ernst for the lowest single-round score in a MW Championship by a Rebel with a 64, which he shot in the second round of the 2010 event. Additionally, he led UNLV to a tied-for-third finish at the 2010 NCAA San Diego Regional for a team berth into the NCAA Championship, guiding the team with his tie for third individually at the regional.

Similar to Oda, Hall emerged as one of the league's top golfers from the beginning of his career on the way to All-Mountain West selections in each of his four seasons. His major accolades include being the 2016 MW Freshman of the Year and the 2019 MW Player of the Year as a senior. An international product from England, Hall notched a 71.79 career scoring average as a Rebel, which ranks fifth in program history. In his final collegiate season, Hall took home medalist honors twice, with victories coming at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate and Little Rock Invitational. He also led the MW with a 70.97 scoring average, recorded six top-20 finishes and turned in 17 rounds at par or better that year. Overall, Hall helped lead the Rebels to three NCAA Championship appearances, an NCAA Lafayette Regional victory in 2017 and a three-peat as MW Champions from 2016-18 - which was the last time a squad won the league's team title three consecutive years. Additionally, Hall was twice named an Academic All-American. He earned his PGA Tour card in 2022 and had a breakout tied-for-third finish during his rookie year on the PGA Tour at the Charles Schwab Challenge. 

Blossoming at the end of his collegiate career, Kitayama raked in All-Mountain West accolades in each of his final two seasons from 2013-15. He enjoyed a breakout senior campaign that saw him win the MW individual title in record-setting fashion, setting the current MW Championship record for lowest score through two rounds (130) and a then-MW Championship record 54-hole score at 11-under 202. Kitayama developed into one of the winningest players in program history, claiming his three career tournament wins in his final two years on campus to rank 10th all-time at UNLV in victories. He left a mark on the UNLV record books as well, ranking second all-time for low 54 (197) and tying for sixth for wins in a single season with two victories in 2015. During his time at UNLV, the Rebels made trips to the NCAA Championship in 2013 and 2015. Following the path of several other professional golfers to hail from the program, Kitayama earned his PGA Tour card in 2021 and collected his first career PGA Tour win at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational in his second season.

MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S GOLF 25TH SEASON TEAM
Hugo Townsend, Boise State
Daniel Summerhays, BYU
Connor Jones, Colorado State
Martin Laird, Colorado State
Trevor Clayton, Fresno State
Charlie Beljan, New Mexico
Jay Choi, New Mexico
Sam Choi, New Mexico
Gavin Green, New Mexico
Spencer Levin, New Mexico
Puwit Anupansuebsai, San Diego State
Aaron Goldberg, San Diego State
Nahum Mendoza III, San Diego State
Xander Schauffele, San Diego State
J.J. Spaun, San Diego State
Johan de Beer, TCU
Jeremy Anderson, UNLV
Shintaro Ban, UNLV
Derek Ernst, UNLV
Harry Hall, UNLV
Kurt Kitayama, UNLV
Ryan Moore, UNLV
John Oda, UNLV
Eddie Olson, UNLV
Kevin Penner, UNLV