Wake Forest Ranked No. 12 in Preseason Polls, Two Earn Preseason All-American Nods
8/29/2025 9:44:00 AM | Women's Golf
This marks the Deacs’ second top-15 ranking of the preseason, with Golfweek placing them at No. 13.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's golf team has been named No. 12 on the preseason rankings, as announced by Golf Channel on Friday, Aug 29. Also included in their rankings, junior Macy Pate and freshman Chloe Kovelesky each earned spots on the Preseason All-American teams, Pate on the third team and Kovelesky the honorable mention team.
Golf Channel's Preseason Top 30
1. Stanford
2. Texas
3. Oregon
4. USC
5. Arizona State
6. Duke
7. Texas A&M
8. LSU
9. Arkansas
10. Florida
11. South Carolina
12. Wake Forest
13. Northwestern
14. Vanderbilt
15. Auburn
16. North Carolina
17. Tennessee
18. Ohio State
19. Mississippi State
20. Ole Miss
21. Oklahoma State
22. Florida State
23. SMU
24. Houston
25. California
26. Eastern Michigan
27. UCF
28. Arizona
29. TCU
30. Baylor
Looking Ahead
The 2025-26 squad features four total newcomers, including two graduate transfers and two freshmen. Returning for her final year with the Demon Deacons is Anne-Sterre den Dunnen, who completed her junior year ranked No. 66 on Scoreboard and carded her lowest scoring average of her collegiate career. During the summer months, Den Dunnen placed fourth at the European Ladies Amateur and second at the Dutch National Stroke Play.
During the 2024-25 season, Pate recorded three top-10s and tied her career-best at the Charles Schwab Fall Collegiate with a T2 finish. The 2024 ANWA Invitee carded 18 rounds at or under par with a low round of 69 three times during the fall and spring seasons. Additionally, Pate received her second All-ACC honor and a spot on the All-ACC Academic team.
This past July, the Winston-Salem native recorded a runner-up finish at the Canadian Women's Amateur, highlighted by a four-under-par opening round.
Since joining the Deacons in January, Kovelesky has placed top 20 or better in every tournament she has competed in. The Boca-Raton native won her first collegiate competition as an individual at the Lady Bulldog Invitational, and followed soon with a top-10 finish at her first team event.
The 2025 WGCA All-American honorable mention recipient recorded the lowest scoring average of the returning Deacs. In July, Kovelesky tallied a top-five finish at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
The Demon Deacons will kick off their year returning to the ANNIKA Intercollegiate on Sept. 8-10, at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minn. Last time out, the 2024 team carded their lowest round of the season at 12-under-par with den Dunnen and Pate each carding 69 (-3).
