K-State golf's Vargas named Big 12 scholar-athlete of the year

Kanas State senior golfer Haley Vargas earned the highest academic honor in the conference for the 2023-24 season. The Big 12 league's head coaches Wednesday named her the conference's Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

A native of Lubbock, Texas, Vargas is the first Wildcat to earn the award, which was established in 2013. It is her third academic honor in the past week as she was named to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars Team and a First Team Academic All-Big 12 performer, the latter being the fourth time in her career she earned the accolade.

Vargas, who posted a 4.0 GPA this past year majoring in conflict resolution, put together one of the best careers in K-State women’s golf history as she ended her five-year run by ranking fourth in program history with a 75.32 career scoring average. She also finished fourth in career rounds played with 128, just three shy of tying the school record.

Vargas recorded two of the top 11 rounds in school history during her career, including a 67 at the Schooner Fall Classic to open the 2023-24 season, in addition to two of the top 25 lowest 54-hole scores in school history. Her career low 54-hole score was a 209 at the Westbrook Invitational this past February, helping the Wildcats set the school record for lowest three-round score (840) and tie the program record for lowest round (277).

Vargas posted a career-best 73.50 scoring average during the 2023-24 campaign, which ranked third in school history. Her season was highlighted by an individual victory at the White Sands Invitational in The Bahamas in late October, leading the Wildcats to their first team championship since 2019 and first away from Colbert Hills since 2017.

Vargas, who posted four top-20 finishes on the year, ranked second on the team with 12 rounds of even- or under-par golf and with 87.5% of her rounds counting toward the team score.