Fan Engagement Fan Fuel Rankings: The Top 10 NIL College Golfers of 2025

Interest in college golf and the stars of the future has increased to a higher level than ever. One way to rank the best young golfers around is via endorsements using NIL – which stands for Name, Image, and Likeness – and helps to demonstrate the profitability of sporting starlets.

NIL rankings are widely used across college sports these days as a way to mark which talents are in line to make the most money once they are ready to turn professional.

Here, we have ranked the top 10 NIL college golfers of 2025, with many of these starlets already well on the way to becoming household names.

1. Jackson Koivun (Auburn)

• Key Awards: First player to sweep the Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and NCAA D-I Outstanding Freshman awards in the same season (2024).
• Medals: 2025 McCormack Medal winner.
• Team: Led Auburn to win the 2024 national title; provided a team-high 3 points for Team USA at the Walker Cup.
• Achievements: Youngest player to bank a PGA Tour card via the PGA Tour University Accelerated Program. First player in Auburn history with a stroke average below 70. Won the 2023 Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship and 2024 SEC Championship.
• Pro-Level: Recorded a T5 at the Wyndham Championship. Made his major debut at the 2025 US Open.
• Socials: Nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram.

2. John Daly II (Arkansas)

• Socials: Almost a quarter of a million Instagram followers.
• NIL Deals: Has a deal with TaylorMade Golf.
• Achievements: 2025 Southern Amateur Champion (winning by five shots). Won the 2021 PNC Challenge with his father.
• College: Won the Blessings Collegiate Invitational and was runner-up at the Bearcat Invitational. Led the Razorbacks in scoring average. Reached the quarter-finals of the U.S. Amateur.
• Family: Son of two-time major champion John Daly.

3. Kiara Romero (Oregon)

• Key Awards: National freshman of the year in 2024.
• Medals: 2025 McCormack Medal winner.
• NIL Deals: Signed deals with Nike and Titleist.
• Achievements: Won the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Became the top-ranked amateur golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in July 2025.
• Pro-Level: Qualified for the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open and set a record for the lowest ever final round score by an amateur (a 5-under). Her McCormack Medal win grants her entry into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open and 2026 Women’s Open.
• Team: Helped the Ducks win the 2025 East Lake Cup. Earned a spot on Team USA for the Arnold Palmer Cup.
• Socials: Under 10,000 Instagram followers.

4. Megha Ganne (Stanford)

• NIL Deals: Has deals with TaylorMade, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Delta Air Lines.
• Socials: More than 12,000 followers on Instagram.
• Achievements: Won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in August 2025.
• Pro-Level: First made headlines in 2021 by qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open as a high school student, finishing T14.
• Team: Represented Team USA in the Arnold Palmer Cup and the Espirito Santo Trophy.

5. Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss)

• NIL Deals: Signed with lifestyle brand Johnnie-O, Wilson Cadillac, and Breezy Golf.
• Socials: 65,000 followers on Instagram.
• Achievements: Won the 2025 Old Waverly Collegiate Championship and the NCAA DI Men’s National Championship for stroke play.
• College: Set the lowest scoring average in a single season in Ole Miss program history (69.48) to become the NCAA Division Individual National Champion. Transferred from North Carolina State University.
• Pro-Level: Has a handful of starts on the PGA Tour, debuting at the 2025 Rocket Classic.

6. Kai Trump (Miami)

• Socials: 2.5 million followers on Instagram and 8 million total on social media.
• College: Recently confirmed her commitment to play golf for the University of Miami.
• NIL Deals: Has an NIL partnership with Travis Kelce and Livvy Dunne; endorsed by TaylorMade.
• Family: Granddaughter of the president of the United States. Her mother is in a relationship with Tiger Woods.
• Pro-Level: Made her LPGA debut at the Annika at Pelican Golf Club on a sponsor’s exemption.

7. Paula Martin Sampedro (Stanford)

• Achievements: Won The Women’s Amateur Championship, which earned her a spot in the British Open, where she finished in the top 10. Won the Junior Golf World Cup three years ago.
• College: Named WGCA First Team All-American, WGCA Freshman of the Year, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and Pac-12 Golfer of the Year.
• Team: The first Spaniard to join Stanford’s women’s golf program.

8. Jasmine Koo (USC)

• Pro-Level: Was the low amateur at the 2024 Chevron Championship.
• College: Named Big Ten Golfer of the Week four times (three times in October alone). Leads the USC program in wins, birdies, and rounds under par.
• Team: Reached the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings and was selected for Team USA for the Arnold Palmer Cup.

9. Luke Poulter (Florida)

• Family: Son of Ryder Cup great Ian Poulter.
• Achievements: Won his first collegiate trophy at the Schenkel Invitational.
• College: Performed well at the 2025 East Lake Cup Finals for the Gators.
• Team: Picked for Team International, which won the Arnold Palmer Cup this year.

10. Ethan Fang (Oklahoma State)

• Achievements: Won The Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s, becoming the event’s first American champion since 2007 and earning an invite to the Masters.
• College: Won the NCAA match-play final for Oklahoma State. Helped the OSU roster win the 2025 NCAA D1 Men’s Golf Championship. Transferred from the University of California.
• Pro-Level: Played in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush (missing the cut).
• Team: Reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 US Amateur and was a finalist at the 2025 Western Amateur Championship.
• NIL Deals: Sponsored by Callaway Golf.