​Eagles boys golf team enters 2025 with team depth

by Michael Smith
 
The Grain Valley boys golf team has experienced a good amount of success in the past three seasons.

In 2022 and 2023, the Eagles qualified the team for the Missouri State High School Boys Golf Championships, and last season had two golfers qualify.

The 2025 season could shape up to be one of the best yet though. Grain Valley head coach Andy Herbert said he has one of the most talented groups he’s ever had and the deepest.

He returns three of his five starting golfers from the 2024 season – sophomore Jacob Gorden, junior Eli Herbert and junior Mason Smith. In addition to those three, Herbert has another 11 golfers who have a shot of making the varsity squad and have dedicated themselves to the sport.

Some contenders for the two vacant spots in the varsity lineup include junior Jack Blair and sophomores Matthew Stoffregen, Easton Picard-Bink, Gavin Grote and Brody Magnon; and freshman Easton Gilbert, all of whom have been working on improving their skills in the offseason.

“This is probably the deepest group we have ever had No. 1 through No. 14,” Herbert said. “It will be fun to see who progresses and who ends up where in the lineup.”

Herbert said he will have some tough decisions on who he chooses to fill in the last two spots.

“We are at a point where we don’t know who will have those last two spots on varsity,” Herbert said.

“It’s a blessing and a curse of having so much depth. We’re going to be good, but you can only play five. There are going to be guys who are going to have varsity aspirations who aren’t going to play varsity this year. They will respond to it. They understand it.”

Gorden will fill in the No. 1 spot on the team after serving as the team’s No. 3 last season. He is someone who plays year-round and plays in competitive tournaments around the country.

“He’s really dedicated himself to be a good as he can be, and he’s in a pretty good spot and he just has to enjoy the process of the high school golf season,” Herbert said of Gorden.

Having that experience competing in those tournaments could help Gorden when he participates in some of the big high school tournaments during the season.

“It definitely keeps me fresh compared to most other kids who are playing.” Gorden said of his tournament experience. “From tee to green, I feel like I have played my best recently.”

Andy Herbert said Gorden is a good player and athlete who is physically strong and can hit the ball a long way on his drives. Around the green, he is strong with his short iron plays.

“He is really good at setting himself up to make birdies,” Herbert said.

Eli Herbert returns with two years of varsity experience, and he’s played in some of the biggest tournaments, including state in 2023. He said his biggest focus will be improving his mentality during matches and tournaments.

“I am working on forgetting about the last hole and just keep playing,” he said.

With a good amount of experience returning from last year’s team and multiple players capable of playing at the varsity level, Andy Herbert and his Eagles said they believe they have the talent to quality for the state tournament as a team.

“We’re going to have a chance to win a tournament every week,” Eli Herbert said. ““It could be a different guy every day (who has the lowest score). Having the amount of good golfers will help us make some noise this spring.”

Sophomore Jacob Gordon, left, and junior Eli Herbert will be the No. 1 and 2 golfers in the lineup for the Grain Valley boys golf teams, respectively. ​Photo credit: Michael Smith