We called it! The Tigers have won the state championship for the 22nd time in school history and ended their nine-year drought of hoisting the state championship. The five Tigers chosen to represent St. Xavier High School at state were seniors Will Stuart and Thomas Evans, juniors Luc Kelty and Brody Alexander, and sophomore Finn Johnson.
Last year, the Tigers didn’t make it out of their region, an anomaly for Saint Xavier. Trinity and CAL advanced to the state championship in 2024, leaving the Tigers’ state championship dreams crushed. The regional tournament last year was the only tournament where the Tigers didn’t place top two as a team. This year, the golf team made sure that result wouldn’t happen in regional play.
“We ended on a bad note last year by not even getting out of regions, so that was a big motivator,” Will Stuart said. “This year, we all knew that we were the best team in the state, and we weren’t going to let what happened last year be repeated this year.”
A month before state, two Tigers suffered appendix injuries and surgeries one week apart from each other. The two seniors, Will Stuart and Thomas Evans, persevered through their injuries and both began practicing again a week and a half after their respective surgeries. Stuart and Evans both found time on their own to get back into top shape for the state championship. This resilience was seen as Evans shot a 69 (-3) in the regional tournament, and Will Stuart shot a 71 (-1). Brody Alexander also shot 69 (-3) and Luc Kelty shot 67 (-5). With this performance in the regional tournament, the Tigers made a statement that this was not the same team as last year, winning the tournament by 12 strokes.
“In recovery, all I wanted to do was get back and help the team finish the season and win state,” Stuart said.
In recent years, the Madison Central Indians have stood on a pedestal as the best team in Kentucky. With a state championship in last year’s tournament, Madison Central earned a three-peat as state champions. 2025 was the year the Tigers decided to put that streak to an end. Although the Indians shot a two-day total score of 585 (+9) they would not get to hold their fourth title, with the Tigers right in front of them, possessing a commanding lead. With Kelty coming in second, Stuart third, and Alexander tied for fourth in the state individually, the Tigers would not be denied.
Three out of the five members of the varsity golf team placed in the top five in the state individually. The Tigers were led by junior Luc Kelty, who started off the tournament shooting 69 (-3) and 70 (-2) the second day. Behind him was senior Will Stuart, who shot 71 (-1) the first day and an even par the second day. Rounding off Saint Xavier’s top three was Cincinnati commit Brody Alexander, who shot an even par (72) across two days. And we cannot forget sophomore Finn Johnson, who scored 77 in the first round and 75 in the second round, finishing with a two-day total of 152, which tied him for 22nd place individually. On a tough Bowling Green Country Club course and a lot of adversity, the fellas got it done.
With a couple clutch birdies on the back nine by Kelty and Stuart, Saint Xavier ended up shooting two over par as a group, shooting 290 in round one and 288 in round two, winning the state championship by seven strokes over the closest competition, the defending champions, Madison Central. The Tigers have hoisted the Leachman Buick GMC Cadillac Boys State Golf Tournament trophy once again.
“I realized we had won state after my drive on the eighteenth hole,” Luc Kelty said. “That feeling was amazing—it took a lot of stress off me and led to me making a birdie on eighteen. Being on the green with Coach Finney and all the teams standing around was when it really hit. It was by far the most special moment of the year.”
The Saint Xavier golf team has a ton of depth as a program, and it is sure that we will see some of the guys who aren’t seniors in the state championship again.
“I think we just have to stay motivated and always think about this year,” Stuart said. “I think we need to push ourselves even more so that we can win back-to-back state championships.”
