December 4, 2025 – Golf Canada is proud to announce the names of 34 amateur and junior athletes that have been named to the 2026 Team Canada and Team Canada – NextGen squads.
Athletes are selected based on results from the previous season (September 2024-August 2025), with the Team Canada – NextGen program also considering performance at Golf Canada’s annual selection camps. Professional players that will be part of the 2026 Team Canada squad will be announced later, upon the completion of Qualifying Tournaments.
2026 Team Canada Rosters:
Team Canada – Women
Professionals to be selected later in the year
| NAME | AGE | HOMETOWN | SCHOOL | YEARS IN PROGRAM |
| Vanessa Borovilos | 19 | Etobicoke, Ont. | Texas A&M (So.) | 3 |
| Tillie Claggett | 22 | Calgary, Alta. | Vanderbilt (Sr.) | 1 |
| Katie Cranston | 21 | Oakville, Ont. | Auburn (Sr.) | 5 |
| Nicole Gal | 20 | Oakville, Ont. | Ole Miss (Sr.) | 5 |
| Lauren Kim | 20 | Surrey, B.C. | Texas (Jr.) | 5 |
| Lauren Zaretsky | 21 | Thornhill, Ont. | Texas Tech (Sr.) | 4 |
| Vanessa Zhang | 18 | Vancouver, B.C. | Harvard (So.) | 3 |
Team Canada – Men
Professionals to be selected later in the year.
| NAME | AGE | HOMETOWN | SCHOOL | YEARS IN PROGRAM |
| Cooper Humphreys | 20 | Vernon, B.C. | San Diego (So.) | 4 |
| Isaiah Ibit | 19 | Orleans, Ont. | Kent State (So.) | 2 |
| Matthew Javier | 19 | North York, Ont. | Southern Mississippi (So.) | 2 |
| Ashton McCulloch | 23 | Kingston, Ont. | Michigan State (Gr.) | 4 |
| Justin Matthews | 21 | Little Britain, Ont. | Charlotte (Sr.) | 1 |
| Ethan Wilson | 21 | St. Albert, Alta. | Illinois (Jr. | 4 |
| Eric Zhao | 17 | North York, Ont. | Princeton (Fr.) | 4 |
Team Canada – NextGen (Boys)
| NAME | AGE | HOMETOWN | SCHOOL/GRAD YEAR | YEARS IN PROGRAM |
| Thomas Grenier | 19 | Thetford Mines, Que. | Champlain College St. Lawrence (2nd Yr.) | – |
| Eddie Gu | 16 | Aurora, Ont. | 2027 | – |
| Chase Jerome | 16 | Ottawa, Ont. | 2027 | – |
| Austin Krahn | 18 | Christina Lake, B.C. | 2025 | 1 |
| Émile Lebrun | 18 | Laval, Que. | 2025 | – |
| Dawson Lew | 16 | Toronto, Ont. | North Carolina (2027) | – |
| Maxim McKenzie | 17 | Chilliwack, B.C. | Toledo (2026) | – |
| Jager Pain | 17 | Woodbridge, Ont. | Virginia (2026) | 1 |
| Alexis Rouleau | 16 | Montreal, Que. | 2027 | – |
| Spencer Shropshire | 17 | Ramara, Ont. | Michigan (2026) | – |
Team Canada – NextGen (Girls)
| NAME | AGE | HOMETOWN | SCHOOL/GRAD YEAR | YEARS IN PROGRAM |
| Ann-Sophie Bourgault | 18 | Gatineau, Que. | Northwestern (2026) | – |
| Aphrodite Deng | 15 | Calgary, Alta. | 2028 | 1 |
| Clara Ding | 14 | White Rock, B.C. | 2029 | 1 |
| Jodie Han | 15 | Vancouver, B.C. | 2027 | – |
| Clairey Lin | 15 | Langley, B.C. | 2028 | 1 |
| Shauna Liu | 16 | Maple, Ont. | UCLA (2027) | 2 |
| Eileen Park | 16 | Red Deer, Alta. | 2027 | 2 |
| Nobelle Park | 15 | Oakville, Ont. | 2028 | 1 |
| Ruihan Kendria Wang | 16 | Vancouver, B.C. | Princeton (2027) | 1 |
| Michelle Xing | 17 | Richmond Hill, Ont. | UCLA (2026) | 3 |
“Golf Canada is proud to announce the amateur and junior athletes selected to the 2026 Team Canada and Team Canada – NextGen teams. We look forward to supporting their continued growth and performances competing on golf’s biggest stages,” said Emily Phoenix, Director, High Performance, Golf Canada. “We are also deeply grateful to the generous donors of the Golf Canada Foundation and our corporate partners whose ongoing commitment to player development is vital in helping our athletes train, compete, and pursue their dreams of success on the PGA and LPGA Tours”.
Golf Canada’s National Team program aims to help more Canadian athletes achieve success on the world’s leading professional tours, including the PGA TOUR and the LPGA Tour. The Team Canada program supports a group of experienced amateurs on the pathway to playing professional golf along with a group of young professional golfers building their careers as touring pros. Complementing this, the Team Canada – NextGen squad focuses on developing Canada’s top junior golfers, providing training and competition experiences needed to build a strong foundation for future success at the amateur and professional levels.
Team Canada Coaches…
The coaching staff for the men’s and women’s Team Canada squads will return in full for the 2026 season. Team Canada – Men will be led by head coach Derek Ingram (Winnipeg, Man.) supported by coaches Louis Melanson (Moncton, N.B.) and Benoit Lemieux (Montréal, Que.). Lemieux will assume an expanded role as Lead Coach of Team Canada – Men (Amateur), taking direct responsibility for guiding and supporting the group of seven amateur prospects. Lemieux has been with the Team Canada program since 2021 and is a two-time recipient of the PGA of Quebec Coach of the Year award. In his time at Golf Canada, Lemieux has coached players to the Korn Ferry Tour and supported several top amateurs in their transition from amateur to professional golf. The coaching staff will be supported by mental performance coach, Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood (Winnipeg, Man.) along with strength and conditioning coach Greg Redman (Kelowna, B.C.). Team Canada – Women will be led by Stollery Family Women’s head coach Salimah Mussani (Vancouver, B.C.) along with associate coach Jennifer Greggain (Vancouver, B.C.), strength and conditioning coach Andrea Kosa (Calgary, Alta.) and mental performance coach Judy Goss (Toronto, Ont.).
Team Canada coaches work with athletes and their personal support teams to develop annual training plans and identify areas to impact athlete growth in all areas of their game. Athletes are also supported by a comprehensive sport science team that includes physical conditioning along with mental performance and mental health supports. Players are brought together regularly for training camps with national team coaches and sport science staff. The Team Canada – NextGen program also supports juniors and young amateurs across a range of pathways, including those who elect to pursue collegiate golf.
Team Canada Athletes….
The Women’s Amateur Team will have seven returning players, led by Lauren Kim (WAGR No. 19) of Surrey, B.C., who is currently in her junior year at the University of Texas. Kim earned her second collegiate win at the Betsy Rawls Invitational in March and added a pair of third place finishes as well as a top five. Kim also competed in her second consecutive Augusta National Women’s Amateur tournament in April. Kim represented Canada at the World Amateur Team Championship alongside returning teammate, Vanessa Borovilos of Etobicoke, Ont. Also returning in 2026 are: Katie Cranston of Oakville, Ont., Tillie Claggett of Calgary, Alta., Nicole Gal of Oakville, Ont., Vanessa Zhang of Vancouver, B.C. and Lauren Zaretsky of Thornhill, Ont. Borovilos (Chevron Collegiate), Claggett (PGA of Canada Women’s Championship), Gal (Women’s Porter Cup) and Zhang (Ivy League Women’s Golf Championship and Quinnipiac Classic) were all victorious in 2025.
The 2026 Men’s squad will feature seven amateurs led by the lowest ranked Canadian male on WAGR (No. 92), Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. McCulloch is a fifth year student-athlete at Michigan State University and recently represented Canada at the World Amateur Team Championship. This past season McCulloch competed in both the RBC Canadian Open and the Rocket Classic on the PGA TOUR. Collegiate players Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont., Isaiah Ibit of Orleans, Ont., Ethan Wilson of St. Alberta, Alta., Cooper Humphreys of Vernon, B.C. and Matthew Javier of North York, Ont. are all returning to the program and will move up from the NextGen team for 2026. Eric Zhao of North York, Ont., a freshman at Princeton University will be the lone new addition to the program. Zhao earned two titles this season, winning the 2025 NextGen Ontario Championship and the 2025 Ontario Men’s Amateur.
Team Canada – NextGen Coaches…
Matt Wilson (Toronto, Ont.) has been hired as the head coach for the Team Canada – NextGen Boys team. Wilson re-joins Golf Canada after serving the past five years as the director of instruction at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. Prior to his time at Baltusrol, Wilson was the head coach of Team Canada’s Junior Girls team and director of NextGen performance from 2017 to 2020. Earlier this month, Wilson was named to the latest edition of the Top 100 Teachers in America by GOLF Magazine. Wilson will be joined by mental performance coach Dr. Jonathan Lasnier (Ottawa, Ont.) along with strength and conditioning coaches Andrew Hoermann (Milton, Ont.) and Iordan Krouchev (Montreal, Que.).
Jeff MacDonald (Chester, N.S.) returns as Team Canada – NextGen Girls head coach and will be supported by assistant coach Jennifer Ha (Calgary, Alta.). Over the past three years, MacDonald has led Team Canada to a gold and back-to-back silvers at the World Junior Girls Golf Championship. They will be joined by mental performance coach Justin Fredette (Winnipeg, Man.) and strength and conditioning coach Dr. Emily Wiggin (Dartmouth, N.S.).
Tristan Mullally of Dundas, Ont. will continue as the head of National Talent Identification, overseeing the national talent identification system that was established in 2022. In this role, Mullally provides support to a promising group of young junior golfers and their existing coaching teams to grow the pool of future Team Canada prospects. In 2026, six players have transitioned from Talent ID to Team Canada – NextGen.
Team Canada – NextGen Athletes…
Team Canada – NextGen (Boys) features two returning players including 2025 Canada Summer Games winner, Austin Krahn of Christina Lake, B.C. Krahn added two additional provincial wins in 2025 winning the B.C. Amateur and B.C. Junior Championship. Jager Pain of Woodbridge, Ont. returns and has committed to the University of Virginia for 2026. They will be joined by eight newcomers led by 2025 Canadian Junior Boys champion, Dawson Lew of Toronto, Ont. Lew added four additional individual wins in 2025 and two inter-provincial team titles for Ontario at the Canadian Men’s Amateur and Canadian Junior Boys. Joining Lew are six in-year winners including (wins in brackets): Alexis Rouleau of Montreal, Que. (NextGen Selection Camp, Golf Quebec Junior Provincial Match Play Championship, Marathan Petroleum Preview at Findlay), Spencer Shropshire of Ramara, Ont. (Ontario Junior Boys Championship,), Emile Lebrun of Laval, Que. (Golf Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship), Thomas Grenier of Thetford Mines, Que. (Golf Quebec Boys Junior Championship, NB3 Elite), Maxim McKenzie of Chilliwack, B.C. (NextGen Pacific Championship), Eddie Gu of Aurora, Ont. (AM Technical Solutions Junior at Southpointe, Florida Junior Tour Labor Day Major). Also joining the team is Chase Jerome of Ottawa, Ont. Jerome earned 10 top 10 finishes across a number of tournaments this season.
Team Canada – NextGen (Girls) features eight returning members led by Aphrodite Deng of Calgary, Alta. In July, Deng won the 76th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship becoming the first Canadian to win the title in tournament history. One month later, Deng followed up her historic performance with a T20 finish at the CPKC Women’s Open, earning the Marlene Stewart Streit Award, given to the low amateur. Deng also won twice on the AJGA taking the Junior Invitational and Mizuho Americas Open and was recently named junior player of the year by the AJGA. Deng is currently the lowest ranked Canadian amateur player part of the national team program, currently No. 14 on WAGR. The 2025 Canadian Junior Girls Championship winner Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont. also headlines as a returnee. Liu added four additional wins in 2025, including the Peloton Glencoe Invitational and was part of Team Canada 1 that earned silver medal honours at the 2025 World Junior Girls Golf Championship. Michelle Xing of Richmond Hill, Ont. returns after winning the 2025 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO in July. Xing was also part of Team Canada 1’s silver medal team and represented Canada with Borovilos and Kim at the World Amateur Team Championship. Clairey Lin of Langley, B.C. won two AJGA events and added two runner-up finishes. Lin finished solo third at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship and at the World Junior Girls and was the third member of the silver medal side. Clara Ding of White Rock, B.C., Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta. and Ruihan Kendria Wang of Vancouver, B.C. all represented Team Canada 2 at the World Junior Girls Championship, leading the team to a sixth-place finish. In addition, Ding won the Women’s Orlando International Amateur Championship and the GolfBC Group BC Women’s Open to earn an exemption into the CPKC Women’s Open. Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont. returns after earning five wins this season on the provincial and AJGA circuits. Park has won 15 events over the past two seasons. Joining the returning members are new members Ann-Sophie Bourgault of Gatineau, Que. and Jodie Han of Vancouver, B.C. Bourgault earned three runner-up finishes as well as a third-place finish and two top 10’s on the AJGA this season. She added one win at the 54 Hole Fort Myers Junior Open. Han finished as runner-up at the Team Canada – NextGen Selection Camp tournament in September and won the adidas Junior All-Star and added two runner-up finishes and a top five finish on AJGA this year.
For full Team Canada athlete and coach bios along with tournament results and additional information, please click here. Team Canada is proudly supported by RBC, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Hilton, Puma, Foresight, Golf Canada Foundation and Sport Canada.
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