Kaczynski Wraps Up Season at NAIA National Championships
SILVIS, Ill. – This week, sophomore JJ Kaczynski headed south to Silvis, Illinois to compete in the 2026 NAIA Men's Golf National Championships at TPC Deere Run. JJ Kaczynski earned a bid to the National Championships after winning the individual CCAC Conference Championship, becoming the first V-Hawk men's golfer to qualify for national competition.
The NAIA National Championships are hosted at the TPC Deere Run golf course in Silvis, Illinois, a 70-stroke par course. The tournament is formatted into four 18-hole rounds across four days of competition with a cut being made to the field after the first 36 holes of competition. The tournament welcomed 29 teams and 11 individuals to the tournament this year.
In the first round of competition, JJ Kaczynski impressed the field with a -1 performance. Kaczynski had a difficult start to the day, going three-over on the first nine holes of competition. In the second half of his first round, Kaczynski sunk four birdies to finish one under and just one stroke off of the lead after day one.
On day two, Kaczynski returned to the course, aiming to make the cut after the round. He started the day with a birdie on the second hole to move into the lead for a short period of time. On holes six and seven, Kaczynski had bogeys on both, shooting one over on the front nine. On the back nine, he struggled to get back in a rhythm. The sophomore had bogeys on two of the first three holes he played before making par on the next two. A double-bogey on hole 15 put him at five over on the day, but a birdie on hole 16 recovered him back to four over. He closed the day with bogeys on both 17 and 18.
JJ Kaczynski then had to wait for the rest of the field to finish competing on the second day of competition. The NAIA takes the top 15 teams as well as the top six individuals not on a top 15 team into the third and fourth rounds of NAIA competition. Kaczynski was able to make the cut after day two, sitting at five over through two rounds of competition and tied for 20th place overall in the field.
On the third day of competition, Kaczynski returned for another 18-hole round in the morning. He took to the course at 10:10 a.m. with two other individuals. Kaczynski settled in quickly on day three, shooting just three over on the front nine with a birdie on the sixth hole. On the back half of the course, Kaczynski struggled to find his rhythm with two double-bogeys. He sunk a birdie on hole 17 to recover a bit, finishing the day shooting 10 over.
On the final day of competition, he returned to the course for a final round. He shot a seven over on the first nine holes that he played with four pars. On the second nine holes that he played, he shot six over with pars on hole two, four, seven, and eight. He finished the day with a +13 round.
Overall, Kaczynski finished with weekend with a 28-over performance through 72 holes of competition. His finish placed him with a tie for 71st place out of a field of over 150 golfers. His sophomore season is the best season ever recorded in Viterbo men's golf history. The team will return in the fall for some more time on the course. Follow the teams on social media to stay updated through the summer.