The defending HBCU national champions are set to begin the new season in Rockville, Maryland, as the Florida A&M Rattlers will participate in the Howard University/University of San Francisco Intercollegiate.
FAMU enters the competition with a new-look team as only one member who competed in the national championship, sophomore Taylor Bell, will play this weekend.
The other four competing for the Rattlers will be redshirt freshman Quincy Leonard, transfer Miguel Ilas, and two freshmen, Sascha Robinson and Emilio Garcia.
Bell was a pivotal part of the Rattlers winning the 2024 national championship after he finished fourth in the individual leaderboard at the PGA Works Collegiate Championship. Leonard was part of the National Championship team as a freshman but was redshirted. Ilas transferred from Alabama State after he spent the last two seasons with the Hornets.
𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀!
Thank you to the Rattlers-in-Arms and Plant City Alumni Chapter for donating to make this happen!#FAMU | #FAMUly | #Rattlers | #FangsUp
pic.twitter.com/N6ENTVRp2W
— Florida A&M Golf
(@FAMU_Golf) August 9, 2024
The Rattlers are one of four HBCUs competing in the event along with Howard, Alabama State and Prairie View A&M. The rest of the field includes George Washington, San Francisco, Binghamton, Princeton, Loyola (Maryland), Towson, George Mason and Georgetown.
Mike Rice, who joined the A&M staff as an assistant in 2013, has been head coach since 2018.