Monday, May 11
Simpsonville, Ky.
Kansas State University
vs
NCAA Louisville Regional
K-State Ready for NCAA Louisville Regional
May 08, 2026 | Women's Golf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – For the second time in as many years, the Kansas State women's golf team travels to the Bluegrass State looking to play its way into the NCAA Championship, as the Wildcats take part in the 2026 NCAA Louisville Regional, Monday through Wednesday, at the par-72, 6,384-yard University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky.
The Wildcats, who are in the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since going every year from 2001 through 2004, finished in second place in last year's NCAA Lexington Regional to advance to the program's first NCAA Championship.
"The ladies are ready to go," said head coach Stew Burke, whose squad has produced the second-lowest team scoring average in program history at 289.50. "We have seen a little bit more urgency in their practice this week, which has been really rewarding for us as coaches. The postseason is where Kansas State women's golf belongs, and we look forward to taking on the task. We are putting together a great plan to play the course, and we have postseason experience on our roster as three players advanced from the NCAA Regional last year. So, they know what it takes to make it to California. I am excited about how much experience we have even with the young group. I know they are going to give it their absolute all for K-State, and that's all we can ask."
K-State, the No. 7 seed in the regional, is joined by No. 1-seed Arkansas, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Mississippi, No. 5 Houston, No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 8 Indiana, No. 9 College of Charleston, No. 10 Xavier, No. 11 Western Kentucky and No. 12 Murray State. The top five teams in the NCAA Louisville Regional and the top individual on a non-advancing team will move on to the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, later this month.
K-State's scoring lineup for the 2026 NCAA Louisville Regional will feature senior Noa van Beek, sophomores Kelsey Chen and Nanami Nakashima, and freshmen Stalee Fields and Keen Visavapattamawan. It marks just the third time this scoring lineup will be used with the other two being the first two events of the 2025-26 season.
van Beek, Nakashima and Chen each have NCAA Regional experience as the former two helped the Wildcats tie for second place in the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional at 10-under par 854. The Wildcats tied with Georgia Southern, a squad that featured Chen before she transferred to K-State in the offseason.
Chen and Nakashima lead K-State in scoring average at 72.00 and 72.72, respectively, marks that rank third and fourth in program history for a single season. Additionally, Nakashima's 73.39 career scoring average over 70 rounds is currently second in school history.
A native of Dalian, China, Chen has five top-10 finishes in her 11 starts this season, including a tie for first place in the first event of the spring, the Puerto Rico Classic. Nakashima, a product of Kani, Japan, also has a victory this season when she closed the fall by winning the Powercat Invitational.
The most experienced player on the roster, van Beek ranks third in school history with a career average of 74.05, while the Oene, Netherlands, native will tie for 10th place with 41 tournaments played this coming week. van Beek, who holds a 73.00 scoring average this season to rank sixth in program history, earned her first collegiate win and set the school's 54-hole scoring record at 14-under par 202 earlier this season at the Westbrook Invitational. Her three-round total included a score of 8-under par 64 over the first 18 holes to rank second in school history.
A product of Fort Worth, Texas, Fields is making her seventh start this season as she holds a 75.24 scoring average. It will be the third time during her initial collegiate campaign that she will begin an event in the scoring lineup, the first since the Schooner Fall Classic in late September and the fourth overall as she was subbed in during the Big 12 Championship.
Visavapattamwan, who hails from Bangkok, Thailand, ranks fourth on the team with a 74.03 scoring average and has seen time in all 11 events thus far, which includes 10 appearances in the scoring lineup.
K-State begins the first round of the 2026 NCAA Louisville Regional off the first tee on Monday morning with tee times beginning at 8:55 a.m. (ET) as the Wildcats are paired with Indiana and College of Charleston. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd, while live coverage of all three rounds is available on Babygrande Golf.
The Wildcats, who are in the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since going every year from 2001 through 2004, finished in second place in last year's NCAA Lexington Regional to advance to the program's first NCAA Championship.
"The ladies are ready to go," said head coach Stew Burke, whose squad has produced the second-lowest team scoring average in program history at 289.50. "We have seen a little bit more urgency in their practice this week, which has been really rewarding for us as coaches. The postseason is where Kansas State women's golf belongs, and we look forward to taking on the task. We are putting together a great plan to play the course, and we have postseason experience on our roster as three players advanced from the NCAA Regional last year. So, they know what it takes to make it to California. I am excited about how much experience we have even with the young group. I know they are going to give it their absolute all for K-State, and that's all we can ask."
K-State, the No. 7 seed in the regional, is joined by No. 1-seed Arkansas, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Mississippi, No. 5 Houston, No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 8 Indiana, No. 9 College of Charleston, No. 10 Xavier, No. 11 Western Kentucky and No. 12 Murray State. The top five teams in the NCAA Louisville Regional and the top individual on a non-advancing team will move on to the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, later this month.
K-State's scoring lineup for the 2026 NCAA Louisville Regional will feature senior Noa van Beek, sophomores Kelsey Chen and Nanami Nakashima, and freshmen Stalee Fields and Keen Visavapattamawan. It marks just the third time this scoring lineup will be used with the other two being the first two events of the 2025-26 season.
van Beek, Nakashima and Chen each have NCAA Regional experience as the former two helped the Wildcats tie for second place in the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional at 10-under par 854. The Wildcats tied with Georgia Southern, a squad that featured Chen before she transferred to K-State in the offseason.
Chen and Nakashima lead K-State in scoring average at 72.00 and 72.72, respectively, marks that rank third and fourth in program history for a single season. Additionally, Nakashima's 73.39 career scoring average over 70 rounds is currently second in school history.
A native of Dalian, China, Chen has five top-10 finishes in her 11 starts this season, including a tie for first place in the first event of the spring, the Puerto Rico Classic. Nakashima, a product of Kani, Japan, also has a victory this season when she closed the fall by winning the Powercat Invitational.
The most experienced player on the roster, van Beek ranks third in school history with a career average of 74.05, while the Oene, Netherlands, native will tie for 10th place with 41 tournaments played this coming week. van Beek, who holds a 73.00 scoring average this season to rank sixth in program history, earned her first collegiate win and set the school's 54-hole scoring record at 14-under par 202 earlier this season at the Westbrook Invitational. Her three-round total included a score of 8-under par 64 over the first 18 holes to rank second in school history.
A product of Fort Worth, Texas, Fields is making her seventh start this season as she holds a 75.24 scoring average. It will be the third time during her initial collegiate campaign that she will begin an event in the scoring lineup, the first since the Schooner Fall Classic in late September and the fourth overall as she was subbed in during the Big 12 Championship.
Visavapattamwan, who hails from Bangkok, Thailand, ranks fourth on the team with a 74.03 scoring average and has seen time in all 11 events thus far, which includes 10 appearances in the scoring lineup.
K-State begins the first round of the 2026 NCAA Louisville Regional off the first tee on Monday morning with tee times beginning at 8:55 a.m. (ET) as the Wildcats are paired with Indiana and College of Charleston. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd, while live coverage of all three rounds is available on Babygrande Golf.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
K-State Women's Golf | Noa Van Beek Senior Video
Tuesday, April 28
K-State Men's Golf | Putting in the work 💪
Wednesday, April 08
K-State Women's Golf | Carla Bernat ANWA Recognition
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Women's Golf | Behind The Scenes Photoshoot
Tuesday, November 11
