NMSU golfer Emma Bunch named CUSA Player of the Year; Moncada receives third team honors
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - It was announced Friday morning that a pair of Aggies have been recognized by the Conference USA office.
Emma Bunch has been named the CUSA Player of the Year for the second straight year and also earned a spot among the league’s first team all-conference selections.
Additionally, Marley Moncada was named Third Team All-CUSA following her third season with the program.
With the designation, Bunch becomes just the fourth golfer in CUSA history and first since FIU’s Meghan MacLaren (2015-16) to garner back-to-back player of the year honors.
Bunch is also one of just two individuals to appear on the 2025 First Team All-CUSA list after also receiving a first team selection in 2024 – joined by WKU’s Catie Craig.
Bunch, a native of Lynge, Denmark, was once again the Aggies’ top performer and is currently maintaining a scoring average of 71.6 across 27 rounds.
She is also currently ranked No. 85 in the nation by Scoreboard and sits at No. 34 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
This season, Bunch tallied two individual wins, securing the title at the Golfweek Fall Challenge and the Spring Break Shootout. In total, Bunch posted eight top-15 finishes this year, including seven top-10 finishes and four top-5 finishes.
She also recorded a team-best six rounds in the 60s during her junior campaign. Thus far, she has finished in the top 25 in 20 of her last 21 tournaments.
Bunch most recently finished tied for first at the CUSA Championship where she shot a 210 (-6) across the three-day tournament in St. Augustine, Fla.
This year, she was named the CUSA Golfer of the Week four times to serve as the only player in the conference to earn more than two weekly awards.
During the year, Bunch also finished tied for 11th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in a field of 72 of the top amateur golfers in the world to finish tied with SMU’s Mackenzie Lee for the lowest score by a first-time competitor in this year’s field.
Moncada, a junior from Tucson, Ariz., also finished the year as one of the top 15 ranked players in CUSA according to Scoreboard to garner the first all-conference selection of her career. This season, Moncada played in nine rounds for the aggies and logged a season-best finish (T22) at the Dale McNamara Invitational after shooting a 224 (+11) across the three-day event.
She finished the year with a 75.6 scoring average and submitted a season-low round of 71 in the opening round of the Golfweek Fall Challenge in Pawley’s Island, S.C. Moncada also competed as a member of the Aggie squad at the inaugural NB3 Match Play at Twin Warriors Golf Course in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
2025 CUSA AWARDS
Golfer of the Year:
Emma Bunch, NM State
Freshman of the Year:
Rebekka Stutley, Jax State
Most Improved Golfer of the Year:
Sydney Hackett, WKU
Coach of the Year:
Adam Gary, WKU
First Team All-Conference:
Emma Bunch, NM State
Amelia Guo, Sam Houston
Grace Jin, Sam Houston
Catie Craig, WKU
Sydney Hackett, WKU
Second Team All-Conference:
Hoi Ki Lau, FIU
Rebekka Stutley, Jax State
Abbie Lee, MTSU
Averi Cline, WKU
Kaylee Dwyer, WKU
Third Team All-Conference:
Karissa Kilby, FIU
Rachel Camp, Jax State
Lara El Chaib, Jax State
Ella Manley, MTSU
Marley Moncada, NM State
