Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s golf team announced on Wednesday the addition of Javier Neira Garcia to the roster for the 2022-23 academic year.
“Javier has proven his quality at the NAIA level and as a result will now exhibit his talents at Division I events,” UTRGV Head Coach Philip Tate said. “Javier will make our roster deeper and we are excited to see what he can do here with us in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Garcia joins the program after spending the last two seasons at Keiser University where he helped the program rank No. 1 in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll this season.
Garcia has been named Sun Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week twice this season and for the third time in his career. Garcia earned the honor on March 21 after helping his team defeat Harvard University in match play as he beat Harvard’s Ollie Cordeiro 5 and 4.
The other Sun Conference Golfer of the Week honor came after he finished tied for sixth place at the Saint Leo Invitational where he posted a three-round score of five-under 211 with rounds of 75, 69, and 67.
As a freshman, Garcia was selected as the 2021 NAIA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman while also being named a First Team All-American, GCAA PING First Team All-American, SUN Freshman of the Year, and SUN All-Conference.
Garcia played in all 13 tournaments as a freshman and posted a 73.45 stroke average while posting 14 rounds of par or better. Garcia recorded seven top-10 finishes, including four in the top-five, with his best finish coming at the Battle of the Shores where he finished in third.
Garcia, originally from Gijon, Spain, finished runner-up at the U14 Spanish Championships while winning the U14, U16, and U18 Regional Amateur Championships. Garcia was a member of the Spanish National Team and the Regional Amateur team and posted a 966 WAGR.
Garcia joins Henry Wang as this year’s signing class that will join a program that currently features seven underclassmen.
