COLORADO SPRINGS - Ahead of the start of the new season, Colorado School of Mines is the favorite in the RMAC's preseason poll of men's golf coaches. 

Mines collected 63 points overall including seven first-place votes to top the poll. CSU Pueblo was second (50 points, 2 first) followed by Colorado Mesa (43), UCCS (41), and Westminster (38) to round out the top five.

The Orediggers - who won the 2018 and 2019 RMAC Championship tournaments - begin the 2020-21 season Monday with the Mile High Shootout at Todd Creek GC in Thornton. Mines returns four of its five starters from a year ago including all-Americans Preston Smith and Tim Amundson, senior Colin Dubnik, and sophomore Christian Schrodt.

Mines also returns experienced depth with Ryan Hunter, Max Engel, Mark McNulty, and Jake Welch all getting time in the lineup last year, with freshmen Ethan Adam and Bradley Vu ready to make an impact as well. 

A promising season came to an early end due to the COVID-19 pandemic last spring after Mines won two tournaments in the fall - the RJGA South Central Preview and the MSU Texas Invitational - while showing competitively in the spring including a fifth-place finish in the nationally-elite field of the Las Vegas Desert Classic. The Orediggers ultimately finished 2019-20 ranked #19 in the GCAA coaches' poll.
 

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RMAC Men's Golf Preseason Poll
1. Colorado School of Mines – 63 (7)
2. CSU Pueblo – 50 (2)
3. Colorado Mesa – 43
4. UCCS – 41
5. Westminster – 38
6. Colorado Christian – 36
7. Regis – 23
8. Fort Lewis – 20
9. South Dakota Mines - 10