The 2026 boys and girls golf seasons are about to get underway. Once area teams get out on the course, there are plenty of storylines to keep an eye on, from All-City rivalries to coaching changes to experienced teams looking to follow up postseason success.
Here are five storylines to watch this season.
Bradley-Bourbonnais girls will try to follow up All-City win
Kankakee’s girls program was rebuilding from the loss of the co-op with Herscher last season, leaving the All-City tournament a two-horse race between Bishop McNamara and Bradley-Bourbonnais. It was Bradley-Bourbonnais that picked up a commanding 16-stroke win to claim the All-City title from defending champion Bishop McNamara. Three seniors were in the top four for the Boilermakers that day – Bea White, Liv Contreras and Claire Stenacker – with Allie Trudeau, the team’s leading scorer overall last season, returning this season as a senior to try to help the Boilermakers retain their crown.
Bishop McNamara’s Maggie Manes was second on the team as a freshman at last year’s All-City, and 2026-27 seniors Rhaya DePaolo and Hailey Gerberding were third and fourth, giving the Irish the experience to try and reclaim All-City from the Boilermakers.
Bishop McNamara looks to defend boys All-City title
The 2025 season saw the Bishop McNamara boys golf team claim its first All-City title in seven years, picking up a three-stroke win over Bradley-Bourbonnais a year after falling by just a single stroke to the Boilermakers. With the Kankakee boys also working to rebuild in the second season after the co-op with Herscher ended, leaving the Kays short on numbers and experience, the Boilermakers and Fightin’ Irish will look to battle it out again in 2026.
Bishop McNamara returns the core of last season’s team, with junior Nolan Andrews and seniors Braylon Ricketts and Preston Payne in the mix. Bradley-Bourbonnais was senior-heavy last season, with now-senior Sam LaMore as the most-experienced returner.
Beecher sees coaching changes for boys, girls
The Beecher boys golf program has been perhaps the area’s most consistent, qualifying for state for the third year in a row and fourth time in the last five seasons. The Bobcats had their streak of five straight regional titles snapped. Then 11-time regional champ and longtime coach David Serafin retired and his son, 2026 All-Area champion Peyton Serafin, graduated.
The program won’t be turning to an unfamiliar face, however, with veteran girls head coach Kevin Martewicz, himself a four-time regional champion, sliding over to lead the boys program. Rebecca Calomino will take Martewicz’s place with the girls program.
Manteno will have experience after first regional title
The 2025 season was only the second for Manteno as a full-fledged girls golf program, and the Panthers made it a season to remember. They claimed their first Illinois Central Eight Conference title and a week later won the 1A Dwight Regional. It was the first regional title in program history. The team had several underclassmen help achieve these feats, with sophomore Ginny Kvasnicka placing sixth overall at regionals, sophomore Ava Fundukian placing ninth and freshman Olivia Buwokski placing 18th. With this experience returning, the Panthers hope to make their third season even better.
Iroquois West, senior Kaia Kimmel, look to follow up postseason success
The Raiders joined Manteno as one of two area girls teams to advance to sectionals last season, with junior Kaia Kimmel then advancing out of sectional with a sixth-place finish. Kimmel was the only girls golfer to advance to the second day of the 1A State Finals, ultimately placing 45th overall. Including the now-senior Kimmel, the Raiders will have lots of experience back. Of the team’s six golfers to compete at sectionals, only Aubrey Chandler was a senior last season. Karsyn Arie and Alivia Albrecht were sophomores last season, while Ella Lunt and Paige Miller were juniors.