MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head men's golf coach Ben Hannan announced Thursday that two individuals have signed National Letters-of-Intent and will join the program in the fall of 2016.

Sylas Elliott will transfer from Wallace State (Ala.) C.C. and have two years of eligibility remaining, while Yannick Schüetz is an incoming freshman from Friolzheim, Germany, who stands among the top 20 in his country in the world amateur golf rankings.

Elliott is currently in his second season with the Lions, where in three semesters he has earned medalist honors on three occasions, been named to four all-tournament teams and finished among the top 10 individually eight times.  He was a second-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American in the spring after finishing 10th at the national championship, and he helped WSCC qualify for the tournament after winning the individual title — picking up first-team all-Alabama Community College Conference/Region 22 honors — while also making the final putt on the first playoff hole to help the team claim the ACCC/Region 22 event.

This fall Elliott repeated as medalist at the Wallace State Fall Invitational, firing a 9-under-par 63 in the opening round en route to a 206 total.  He also carded 54-hole 216 scores at the NJCAA District 4 and NJCAA Fall National Previews — finishing eighth at the first tournament — before closing with a second-place performance at the Central Alabama CC Willow Point Invitational with an even-par 144 total that included the low round of the tournament, a 4-under-par 68, on the second day.

Elliott was a six-year letterwinner at Cullman (Ala.) High, helping the Bearcats advance to the state tournament five times.  He concluded his prep career with five individual wins — which included a school record four in one season — and four runner-up finishes.

"We saw Sylas play last fall and were impressed with his ability to shoot low rounds.  When he gets it going, he's not afraid to keep making birdies," Hannan said.  "He continued to play well throughout the spring and his freshman year was highlighted by earning All-America honors at the national championship; Sylas opened this fall shooting 63 and has won a tournament already.  Throughout the recruiting process, as we got to know Sylas better as a person we wanted him to be a part of our program, he will be a great fit and as a junior transfer will add maturity to our team."

Schüetz competed in 13 tournaments during the 2015 season including several national team events — highlighted by Germany's victory at the European Boys' Team Championship in July — posting eight top-15 results while carding a score of par or better 15 times.  His best finish came in March at the Curro South African Juniors International, where he tied for third out of 104 competitors with a 2-under-par 214 score that included a pair of 70s on the last two days of the event.  Schüetz finished ninth at the German Match Play Championship, and was 10th at both the German Boys Open and the German National Boys Championship — at the latter tournament he carded a 6-under-par 207 54-hole total with three consecutive sub-par rounds of 68, 69 and 70.

In 2014 Schüetz's best finish was a third-place result at the German National Boys Championship after opening with scores of 72 and 71 in the first two rounds.  He came in seventh at the Slovenian Amateur Championship, where he recorded a 1-under-par total over 72 holes highlighted by a 70, and also posted top-20 finishes at the Doral-Publix Junior Classic and the German National Amateur.  The previous year Schüetz won the Hungarian Junior Open after firing a 69 in the final round, carding a 70 on the last day of the German National Boys Championship to place among the top 10 while recording a 73 on the opening day of the German National Amateur.

"Yannick is a very accomplished international player who has represented his country by playing for their national junior team on many different occasions," stated Hannan.  "He is talented with a lot of speed and mechanically very sound.  Yannick has played consistently at a high level and we look for him to come in and compete for a position in the lineup.  More importantly, he is a fine young man of high character and a sound student-athlete who will be an asset to our team starting next fall."

The Jaguars will begin the spring season when they play host to the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course Feb. 22-23.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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