NORMAN, Okla. – Fresh off contributing to the finest men's golf season on record, Friends University senior Trinton Nobles, sophomore Bernhard Koster and graduate student Gabriele Romani have each been named to the 2026 NAIA PING All-America team, announced today (June 8) by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Nobles is a second-team honoree, while Koster and Romani are third-team performers.
Nobles, a three-time NAIA All-American and a three-time KCAC Player of the Year, sparked the Falcons to their fourth straight KCAC Championship with an individual title at -3 to finish as the only competitor to finish under par. The McKinney, Texas native finished his senior campaign with two individual championships with a scoring average of 71.3 to also earn first-team All-KCAC honors.
A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Koster led the Falcons by finishing tied for seventh at the NAIA National Championship at +6 to secure NAIA All-Tournament honors. A second-team All-KCAC selection, Koster recorded an individual championship and two top three finishes with a scoring average of 71.6 during his first season at Friends.
Romani, a native of Lugano, Switzerland, was a first-team All-KCAC selection after winning one individual title and twice placing in the top three with a 71.9 scoring average.
The trio will perhaps be best known for contributing to a second-place finish at the NAIA National Championship for the best national showing in Friends history.
Click HERE for the official release from the GCAA.
About PING All-Americans
The GCAA has been naming NAIA All-Americans since at least 2005, with PING sponsoring the GCAA's All-America awards since at least 1991. For NAIA, the First Team consists of 10 golfers (11 if the individual national champion wasn't already named to the First Team), 10 on the Second Team, and at least 10 earn Third Team All-America honors. Automatic additions from GCAA member schools to the Third Team if not previously named include top-15 finishers at the NAIA Men's Golf Championship and the top three players in each All-Region ballot.
About PING
PING designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, wedges, putters and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 in the garage of the late Karsten Solheim, a mechanical engineer with an extensive background in the aerospace and computer industries. His frustration with his putting inspired him to design his own putter, which created a "pinging" sound when striking a golf ball. This sound was the source of the name now synonymous with innovation, quality and service throughout the world of golf. Solheim and his company are credited with numerous innovations that became industry standards, including perimeter weighting, custom fitting and the use of investment casting in the manufacturing of golf clubs. His insistence on adhering to strict engineering principles and tight manufacturing tolerances raised the level of product performance and quality throughout the golf industry. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim's grandson, John K. Solheim, who leads a team of more than 800 dedicated employees committed to helping improve the games of golfers around the world.
