Quiet focus and dedicated precision mark a team like no other. With a roster of 10 talented players lined up for the 2025-26 season, these athletes are ready to make history both on and off the course.

While the spotlight often shines on scorecards and tournament schedules, the heart behind the team members reveals what it takes to compete at this level of sport. Three athletes from Texas A&M’s women’s golf team share their experience being on the team, their path to the collegiate level and what holistic goals are driving them as they enter the 2025-26 season.

Many athletes are introduced to sports at a young age by their families, and what starts as a family activity can grow into a personal passion. Junior Sky Sudberry started one such journey when she first picked up a club at the age of four. What started with childhood tournaments grew to liking and taking the sport seriously.

“I think when maybe I was 11 or 12, I realized what we were doing and actually loved the sport. I am old enough to understand all the amazing things that it can bring to me,” Sudberry said. “So that’s when I really took it upon myself to start practicing on my own, working hard and working toward the goal of being a college golfer.”

What began as childhood passion has now evolved into competitive drive. With years of expertise now behind Sudberry, she enters the season with meaningful excitement. One of the tournaments she’s looking forward to the most is the team’s opening game at Pebble Beach.

“Pebble Beach, California: It’s awesome and super iconic in the golf community,” Sudberry said. “It was my first college tournament ever, and I played there my freshman year … it’s just like a dream, it’s so beautiful.”

The excitement for their debut course is matched by the arrival of the new members of this years’ roster. With a diverse group of players bringing fresh perspectives and new styles, the team strives for unity and a shared purpose.

“With 10 girls this year, it’s a lot of different personalities coming together and so far it’s worked really well,” Sudberry said. “Our coaches do a great job of enforcing the culture and upholding the Aggie values and really representing A&M well in the most important things that we do. I think we all feel like sisters.”

Behind each incredible team, there is a coaching staff honing not only athletic skills but also personal growth. For senior Mia Nixon, the guidance she has received on the team has shaped her mindset and built a strong, mental resilience with the sport.

“The coaches do a good job of lifting you up. Golf is such a hard game; you lose more than you win,” Nixon said. “I feel like you have to keep your head on straight, and our resources here are great with sport psychologists, and the coaches have a lot of good insight on how to remain positive.”

In her last year, Nixon reflects on her past achievements, including making a hole-in-one at a Pebble Beach tournament and claiming memorable victories with her team.

For players coming from overseas, the transition to college golf is layered with adjustments to a new culture, too. For junior Cayetana Fernandez, golf has been part of her life since she could hold a club, and despite being away from Spain, she has found a home away from home at A&M.

“I know it’s something hard, but for me it’s something I chose to do and all the resources that I get sometimes, it’s crazy … all the opportunities we get while we do something that we love,” Fernandez said.

As one of the few Aggies who earned a spot in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Fernandez knows firsthand the level of dedication it takes to get there. Competing on that stage only strengthened her motivation to give 100% each day at practice, she said. She plans to fulfill her dream since age five to be a professional golf athlete.

“My idea is that as soon as I finish my studies, that’s one thing I want to do for sure, is I want to finish and graduate over here. My sister is a professional; she already plays golf. So I think I’m probably going to want to follow in her steps,” Fernandez said. “I want to try for at least the first five years to play golf.”

No matter where the game may be, the support from the Aggie community is a steady certainty.

“We had a lot of family and friends there, and when Natalie was the first off on Friday, it was loud. That was probably the loudest I’ve ever heard at first tee for us for just a regular season event. So she’s about to hit, and you just hear the whoops and cheering behind. It kind of startled me because we’re in California,” coach Chadwell said in a recent press conference.

The new members on the team have brought their A-game to the opening tournament at Pebble Beach in the first week of September.

“Those young ladies have played a lot of golf, but the interesting thing this week was a lot of firsts just from the team standpoint. How we are around them in a practice round, how we’re around them on a golf course, there’s things that we do before and in some ways you kind of have to conform with the team and go with the flow,” coach Chadwell said.