The Kansas State University men's golf team signed Kobe Valocek on Wednesday, adding an experienced player to its 2024-25 roster.
The Peoria, Arizona native joins the Wildcats after spending the past four seasons at Virginia Tech and will take advantage of an extra year of eligibility he has remaining after his eligibility was frozen during the 2020-21 season.
“We are very excited to add Kobe to our team this fall,” head coach Grant Robbins, who will be in his 11th season at Kansas State this fall, said in a statement. “Not only is he a great player, he has a great personality that will make him a great fit on and off the course. I saw him in person last fall at Steelwood College and was really impressed with not only his overall game, but the poise he showed en route to a win in the final round. He has plenty of leadership qualities and will make an immediate impact in our lineup.”
Valochek, who was ranked as high as 45th in the nation last season, led the Hokies with a scoring average of 72.49, which was helped along by the Wildcats' victory at Steelwood College last October with a 54-hole score of 11-under-par 205. Valochek also led the Hokies with 16 rounds of even-par or under-par golf, including a 6-under-par 66 in the final round at Steelwood College.
In addition to his win at Steelwood College, Valocek also finished in the top 10 at Visit Knoxville College, where he tied for sixth at 6-under 204. He also had two top 20 finishes at the Palmetto Intercollegiate (tied for 18th) and Seahawk Intercollegiate (tied for 20th).
Like Kansas State's Cooper Schultz, Valocek was recognized for his performance throughout the 2023-24 season by earning an individual berth in the NCAA Austin Regional, earning his first career postseason appearance.
During his junior season in 2022-23, Valochek was second on the team with a 72.97 scoring average, earned two top-20 finishes and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and a Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholar.
Valochek was a four-year standout athlete at Liberty High School, winning a district championship in 2019 and finishing in the top five at the JGAA Fall Classic and the AJGA Under Armour/Alison Lee Championship.
Varochek joins a Wildcat team that returns each of the lineup's top three players in scoring average, including Schultz, who ranked third in school history with 71.12 points last season.
