UNLV MEN’S GOLF CONTINUES TO BUILD WITH ADDITION OF THREE TOP RECRUITS
Shintaro Ban, Ben Davis and John Oda will become Rebels for the 2014-15 season
The UNLV men’s golf program received signed national letters of intent from Shintaro Ban, Ben Davis and John Oda during the first day of the early signing period, head coach Dwaine Knight has announced. They will all enroll at UNLV next fall as freshmen.
Ban is a senior at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif. He won the Junior Golf Association of Northern California championship match-play event and helped Northern California capture the 2012 Junior America’s Cup. Ranked as the 39th-best player in his class by Golfweek.com, he was a co-medalist for the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier at Cherry Hills. He finished 12th at this year’s Toyota Tour Cup and was 16th at this year’s Junior Americas Cup.
“Shintaro is one of the top players in the Northern California area,” Knight said. “He has a big upside and we think he has a shot at being the Junior Player of the Year up there, like (current Rebel) Kurt Kitayama and (former Rebel and current PGA Tour player) Derek Ernst were. We have had good luck with players from that area in our program. We are looking forward to having Shintaro here.”
Davis, is a senior at Shadow Ridge High School in Las Vegas. He was first team all-conference last year, as well as first team all-region, first team all-area and first team all-state. He won regionals, placed third in state and won Player of the Year for the region. He also represented Nevada on the traveling team for First Tee.
“We feel Ben’s game has come a long way in the last year,” Knight said. “He is a big, strong young man and has good upside for the future. His best golf is ahead of him and he had some competition at Junior Worlds and other areas that show he can play on a high scale. He has played a lot of golf with the other local players in our program and we feel he will be a good fit. We are proud to have him.”
Oda, is a senior at Moanalua High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. He won the 2012 Hawaii State Amateur Championship and the David Ishii Hawaii School State Championship. He placed fifth at the Callaway Junior World Championship and made it to the round of 64 at the U.S. Junior Amateur. He also has played in the PGA Tour’s Sony Open as an amateur.
“John has played a lot of golf on the mainland as well, but he has really dominated junior golf in Hawaii,” Knight said. “It is a big step for a junior to win a state amateur championship and we feel that he has a game that can possibly go to the next level after college. We are really happy to have him.”
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