Scholar Stories: Through Uncertainty, Hoagland Takes Unlikely Route to, at Michigan
5/10/2023 10:00:00 AM | Men's Golf, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Ben Metcalf
Ben Hoagland's road to becoming a key member of the University of Michigan men's golf team has been anything but likely. As a freshman at Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville, Ind., Hoagland did not even play golf, opting instead to join the school's tennis team. Time away from the course helped him realize his passion for golf.
"That's when I realized how much I liked it, when I couldn't play it," Hoagland said. "That summer, I started taking it more seriously and started playing better."
By his junior season, Hoagland had steadily improved, earning a medal at the 2019 Southern Indiana Athletic Conference Championship and finishing 12th at the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Finals.
Despite his success, Hoagland was still faced with the challenge of finding a destination to play at the next level after high school.
"I was kind of a late bloomer as far as college golf goes," he said. "I was an OK player in my freshman and sophomore year and I had a really good season in my junior year, so I was late to the process compared to most people going to a school like Michigan. At first, I was just trying to find any opening in any door, to be honest."
Fortunately, it was not long before Hoagland had an opportunity to make an impression on U-M's newly hired head coach, Zach Barlow. Hoagland had known Barlow from his time as an assistant with Big Ten powerhouse Illinois. What would seem to be a simple, polite gesture from Hoagland would soon turn into much more.
"When he got the job at Michigan, I had his number and just texted him, 'Hey man, congrats.' It was right in the month-long span that I was playing really, really well."
Barlow paid Hoagland a visit and quickly offered him a scholarship. When it came time to weigh the options, Hoagland knew there was only one right choice: the Maize and Blue. "It really wasn't a whole lot of decision just knowing that I wanted to play for him with Michigan being such a good school as well," Hoagland said.
In three seasons with the Wolverines, Hoagland has become an impactful member of the program. After averaging 78.44 strokes per round over three events in his sophomore season, Hoagland played in nine events with eight starts as a junior. He averaged 74.95 strokes per round -- nearly a three-and-a-half stroke improvement -- and was part of Michigan's upset run to clinch the second Big Ten Match Play title in program history. Hoagland also led U-M at the Island Resort Invitational, tying for fourth place overall and posting a career-low round (67, -5) and 54-hole total (210, -6).
Prior to his achievements on the course, Hoagland's U-M debut faced an unforeseen delay when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 fall season. Where most would see a setback, Hoagland saw an opportunity. By opting to redshirt his freshman season, he gained an extra year of eligibility and used the time to fully adjust to a new lifestyle.
Hoagland stayed home for the fall semester before joining the team in the spring.
"It was kind of nice because I had a semester where I knew I wasn't traveling because I was redshirting," he said. "I could get ahead on credits. I just kind of got my feet wet with balancing time between golf and school. In all honesty, it's probably been a blessing in disguise."
Hoagland's redshirt season paid off in the classroom, too, where he is majoring in political science within the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. The political science program contains five subfields: American politics, comparative politics, world politics, political theory and research methods. Students are required to take classes in all subfields, but can choose to focus their remaining electives where they wish. Hoagland sees himself focusing on the American politics subfield.
For most of his academic life, Hoagland did not consider studying an English-based field, thinking that math suited him better. However, he was inspired by his AP Government teacher, Aaron Schmidt, during his senior year of high school to pursue a political science major. "He just made the class really interesting and kind of sparked my interest in it," Hoagland said.
Based on this high school experience, Hoagland decided to take entry-level courses in American politics when he arrived at U-M. He was even able to lean on Schmidt when he needed advice.
"When I took my first class here, I actually would email him every once in a while just for help on certain topics that I thought he would know about," he said.
Hoagland's passion for political science has translated to academic success, as he earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2022.
In the future, Hoagland will first look to continue his golf career as long as possible. Outside of golf, Hoagland recognizes the abundant opportunities available with a political science degree, something that he recalls considering when choosing his major.
"It was kind of one of those more broad majors that I felt like I could use in a lot of different ways," he said. "Because what politics boils down to is knowing how to talk to people and knowing how to write."
Hoagland's open-minded approach prompted him to intern at an Ann Arbor bank, where he learned the nuances of finance. He found the experience rewarding. "I just felt like knowing how that system works -- since I had the opportunity to do it -- was beneficial," he said.
Whether it's golf, politics, finance or getting his MBA following graduation, Hoagland has a variety of paths he can entertain after U-M. His golf career and political science education have prepared him to fully capitalize on any avenue he chooses to pursue.
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