The Iowa State men’s golf team is back in action Saturday and Sunday at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Arizona.

This is the first time the event has been held since 2019, as the 2020 NIT was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cyclones are coming off of an 11th place finish at the Spartan Collegiate at Sea Island, in Georgia. After a first round that put the Cyclones in a tough spot, the team rebounded to put together much improved second and third rounds.

Head Coach Andrew Tank was encouraged by the improvement after the first round in the last event.

“I think it just shows what we’re capable of, and going forward I’d like to see that type of play for all three rounds”, Tank said.

Lachlan Barker looks to continue his great play after recording his third-straight top 10 finish. He is now tied for seventh in school history with 13 top 10 finishes.

Coach Tank emphasized how important Barker has been to the program, as well as how great it is to see him start to break out this spring.

“As a coach, that’s why I do what I do”, Tank explained. “It’s really rewarding when someone like Lachlan puts in the work and the time and is really invested and bought in to improving.”

The Cyclones will compete in an elite field of 18 teams that includes four top 10 programs.

The complete field, with Golfstat rankings, includes: Arizona (17), Colorado (85), Colorado State (52), Houston (39), Illinois (4), Iowa State (82), Miami (118), Nevada (61), New Mexico (37), Oklahoma (2), Oklahoma State (8), San Diego (48), San Diego State (41), Texas (6), UNLV (45), USC (63), Utah (102), and Wyoming (117).

Coach Tank sees the competition as a positive for the Iowa State team.

“It’s another opportunity for us to compete and grow and improve”, Tank stated. “We’ve played some really strong fields against the best competition. We’re just looking for an opportunity to put three good rounds together and have all five guys in the mix.”

Rounds one and two will be played on Saturday, with round three taking place on Sunday.