Final Six Players Named to USA Walker Cup Team

Meet the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team

Kihei Akina, 19, of Alpine, Utah; Ryder Cowan, 21, of Edmond, Okla.; Josiah Gilbert, 21, of Millbrook, Ala.; William Jennings, 20, of Greenville, S.C.; Stewart Hagestad, 35, of Newport Beach, Calif., and Jay Leng Jr., 20, of San Diego, Calif., were named to the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team by the USGA Teams Selection Committee working group on Sunday night to complete the 10-player team. 
 
The six players join Ethan Fang, Miles Russell, Preston Stout and Tyler Watts, all of whom were previously named to the team last month. The USA Team will compete against Great Britain and Ireland in the 51st Walker Cup Match Sept. 5-6 at Lahinch, in County Claire, Ireland. 
 
“These six players have earned their spots and are terrific additions to this year's team,” said Nathan Smith, captain of the USA Team. “I couldn't be more pleased to see their hard work pay off with this opportunity. With the roster now complete, I'm excited to turn our full attention to getting ready for Lahinch Golf Club.” 
 
The USA Team returns three players from the 2025 squad that defeated Great Britain & Ireland 17-9 at Cypress Point Club. Fang posted a 1-2-1 record; Hagestad went 2-1, and Stout finished 2-2. 
 
Kihei Akina, 20, of Alpine, Utah, earned the 2026 Phil Mickelson Award as the nation's top collegiate freshman after being named 2025-26 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year in his first season at Brigham Young University. Akina tied for eighth in the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa and was runner-up in the Big 12 Conference Championship. He won a pair of collegiate tournaments in 2025-26 season: R.E. Lamkin Invitational and Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational. Akina made the 36-hole cut in the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship last week and tied for 16th in the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open (2026). He also advanced to the Round of 64 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur and the quarterfinals of the 2026 Amateur Championship held at Royal Liverpool. He was a member of the 2025 U.S. National Junior Team and was chosen earlier this year to be a member of the 2026 Elite Amateur Program as part of the U.S. National Development Program.  
 
Ryder Cowan, 21, of Edmond, Okla., earned low-amateur honors at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, finishing T-23 at 5-over-par 285. The rising University of Oklahoma senior qualified for his first U.S. Open by posting 6-under 138 at BallenIsles C.C. and then surviving a 3-for-2 playoff for the final spots. Cowan posted one collegiate victory this past season in Hawaii. He also finished fourth individually at the NCAA Corvallis (Ore.) Regional. He was the runner-up in the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and finished third in the Maridoe Collegiate. Cowan has qualified for the last three U.S. Amateurs. In 2019, Cowan was the runner-up in the Boys 12-13 Division of the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club. 
 
Josiah Gilbert, 21, of Millbrook, Ala., is a rising senior at Auburn University, where he helped lead the Tigers to their 2024 and 2026 NCAA Division I titles. During this year’s championship run, Gilbert was Auburn’s individual low man in both the NCAA Regionals and the NCAA National Championship, where he shot 11 under to finish third in stroke play. His 2-1 match-play record was highlighted by his 4-and-3 victory over Oklahoma State’s Ethan Fang in the semifinals as well as a win over Walker Cup teammate Jay Leng Jr. in the quarters. Gilbert’s 2026 season earned him PING Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors. Currently No. 8 on the WAGR®, Gilbert advanced to match play in his third U.S. Amateur appearance. 
 
William Jennings, 20, of Greenville, S.C., is a rising junior at the University of Alabama who is coming off his runner-up finish during the stroke-play portion of the 2026 NCAA National Championships. His 2026 season with the Crimson Tide featured four additional top-5 finishes, including his win at the NCAA Marana (Ariz.) Regional. In 2025, Jennings picked up a pair of runner-up finishes and his first collegiate victory at the Folds of Honor Collegiate. He also advanced to match play at the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club, in San Francisco, Calif., and made the quarterfinals of the 2025 North & South Amateur. He reached the Round of 16 of the 2026 U.S. Amateur. 
 
Stewart Hagestad, 35, of Newport Beach, Calif., is competing in his sixth Walker Cup Match, owning a 7-1 mark in Walker Cup singles play. All five of his previous appearances were victories for the USA (2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025) and in 2017, he competed on his home course, The Los Angeles Country Club. Hagestad is a three-time champion of the U.S. Mid-Amateur (2016, 2021, 2023) and has qualified for five U.S. Opens (made cut in 2022 at The Country Club). To date, he is the only invited U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut at The Masters (2017). Hagestad made the stroke-play cut at the 2026 Western Amateur, tied for eighth in the 2026 Southern Amateur and advanced to the Round of 32 of the 2026 U.S. Amateur. 
 
Jay Leng Jr., 20, of San Diego, Calif., is coming off an impressive summer that includes a runner-up showing in the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion, a win at the Western Amateur, a runner-up finish at the Northeast Amateur and a tie for fifth at the Southern Amateur. The rising junior at Stanford helped the Cardinal qualify for match play at the 2026 NCAA Championship. Leng Jr. advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, defeating Miles Russell in the quarters before losing to eventual runner-up Tyler Watts, both Walker Cup teammates. He qualified for match play in the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club and led Torrey Pines High School to the 2024 CIF state title. He also was a member of the 2023 USA Junior Ryder Cup Team. 
 
Max Herendeen, 21, of Bellevue, Wash.; and Logan Reilly, 19, of Lovettsville, Va., are the first and second alternates, respectively. 
 
The Walker Cup Match is a 10-man amateur team competition between the USA and Great Britain and Ireland. The Match is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate-shot) matches. Lahinch will be hosting its first Walker Cup Match.