It was an exciting year of competitive amateur golf in Massachusetts. The talent pool is deep, and I think there’s an argument that we’re in a golden generation of Massachusetts Golf.

So let’s celebrate some of the best performers from the 2025 season.

Similar to the NBA, which selects All-NBA teams of five players, I made “teams” of four to highlight some of the best performers from 2025.

How did I make my picks?

I stuck to amateur golfers and used some of the MassGolf Player of the Year points. Then I dug around for results in college and amateur events outside of Massachusetts, which don’t always count towards MassGolf PoY points.

I also liked the idea of mixing men’s and women’s players in the groups.

The First team represents the four best players of 2025, and then we work our way to the fifth team.

So, here are the 20 players who stood out in 2025.

Matt Parziale (Brockton, Mass.)

Parziale won his tenth MassGolf Player of the Year award in 2025. He won the Ouimet Memorial and also finished T2 in the New England Amateur. The story of Parziale’s career is consistency; his finishes this year highlighted that again. He notched five top-seven finishes (3rd in Worcester County Amateur, T4 Mass. Mid-Amateur and 7th in Invitational). He also qualified for the U.S. Amateur and is exempt for the U.S. Mid-Amateur due to his 2017 victory.

Shannon Johnson (Easton, Mass.)

Johnson put together a strong 2025 season that earned her the 2025 Mass. Women’s Player of the Year and Mass. Women’s Mid-Amateur PoY. She put in an incredible showing at the Mass. Women’s Amateur. She was a medalist and then pushed winner Isabel Brozena to the edge in a stellar 18-hole championship match at Concord CC. That final match went 18 holes, and Isabel Brozena held off Johnson. She backed that up with another runner-up in the Women’s Mass Mid-Amateur. She also reached the Round of 16 in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and joined up with Megan Buck to win their sixth straight Mass. Women’s Four-Ball.

Nick Maccario (Hingham, Mass.)

Maccario moved to Georgia in 2025 but returned to Massachusetts to collect a couple of trophies. He won the Hornblower at Plymouth CC to start the year and took home his second Mass. Mid-Amateur championship at Andover CC. Beyond the Bay State, Maccario continues to make waves, too. He won Joseph Healey Memorial Tournament at Atkinson Resort and then took home the John R. Williams Four-Ball Invitational with Matt Parziale at Oak Hill CC in Rochester, NY. The Lupton Memorial is a new Mid-Amateur event at The Honors Course, and Maccario finished 4th in that event and had a 12th place in the Gasparilla.

Ryan Downes (Longmeadow, Mass.)

Ryan Downes has put his stamp on the amateur game over the last few years. He won his second Mass. Amateur championship in 2025 at GreatHorse. The college sophomore took home his first collegiate win at the Bryson Invitational while competing for Vanderbilt. His strong fall season is part of the reason Vanderbilt is ranked third in the nation. In August, Downes used his U.S. Amateur exemption and reached the Round of 64 at Olympic Club in San Francisco. Downes also made the cut at the Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett (Rumsford, RI), one of the most prestigious events in Amateur golf.

Isabel Brozena (North Reading, Mass.)

Brozena’s jaw-dropping distance and swashbuckling attitude helped her win the Mass. Women’s Amateur in thrilling fashion. She also finished third in the Ouimet Memorial. In her freshman spring at Xavier, Brozena helped her team win the Big East Conference title. She finished 8th in the conference championship and then 18th in her NCAA Regional. Her best finish this fall for Xavier was 5th place in the Boilermaker Classic.

Maddie Smith (Westford, Mass.)

Smith won three big events this summer. She notched the New England double, taking home the New England Women’s Amateur and the individual New England Junior Girls’ titles. On top of that, she took home her second Mass. Girls’ Junior Championship. She also made a nice run to the Round of 16 in the Mass. Women’s Amateur. Smith also helped her Westford team reach the state championship, and she finished T16 in the state title. She will attend Memphis in the fall.

Joey Lenane (Dedham, Mass.)

Lenane was a semi-finalist in the Mass. Amateur. His loss to Ryan Downes might have been the match of the year, a classic with two of the best players in the state going toe-to-toe. Lenane played many premium events on the amateur circuit. He made the cut in the Northeast Amateur and reached the Round of 16 in the North and South down at Pinehurst.

Aidan Emmerich (Swampscott, Mass.)

Emmerich had a couple close calls this summer. He reached the semi-finals of the Mass. Amateur before bowing out to Patrick Kilcoyne. He also finished runner-up in the Hornblower, a tournament he won in 2023. Emmerich recorded a T9 in the Ouimet Memorial and made the cut in the Mass Open.

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Molly Smith (Westford, Massachusetts)

Smith battled injury early in the summer, but she bounced back with a 10th-place finish in the Canadian Women’s Amateur and then reached the semi-final of the Mass. Women’s Amateur. Now back on campus at UCF, she hasn’t finished outside of the top 18 this fall, including a runner-up in the Illini Invitational.

Jake Ratti (Plymouth, Mass.)

Ratti reached the quarterfinals in the Mass. Amateur before bowing out to the eventual champion, Ryan Downes. He was the low amateur at the Mass. Open and qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur as medalist at Boston Golf Club. A T13 finish in the Ouimet Memorial was another solid finish for one of the best mid-amateurs in the state.

Patrick Kilcoyne (Belmont, Mass.)

Kilcoyne had an incredible and surprising run in the Mass. Amateur, reaching the final before losing to Ryan Downes. He rode that wave of momentum and finished T13 in the Ouimet Memorial and made the cut in the New England Amateur. Kilcoyne is a senior at Gettysburg and has been a consistent contributor for that team; he won the Centennial Conference championship in the spring of 2025.

Thomas Constantine (Franklin, Mass.)

Constantine delivered a breakout 2025 junior season, winning the Massachusetts Junior Amateur Championship and the New England Junior Open. This fall, Constantine was a big part of Xavier’s state title run. He has committed to Bryant University.

Lillian Guleserian (Westwood, Mass.)

Guleserian put together an impressive 2025 season. She finished third in the New England Women’s Amateur and fourth in the Ouimet Memorial. A good run in the Mass. Women’s Amateur ended in the quarterfinals.

Ben Balter (Weston, Mass.)

Balter enjoyed a standout 2025 on the Mass Golf circuit, winning the Massachusetts Men’s Four-Ball Championship alongside partner Benn Knott. He made the cut in the Massachusetts Open and placed runner-up at the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur.

Tara Connelly (Middleborough, Mass.)

Connelly capped a dominant 2025 season by winning the Massachusetts Women’s Senior Amateur Championship at The Cape Club and the New England Women’s Senior Amateur. Her consistent play across the calendar earned her Mass Golf Women’s Senior Player of the Year honors. She also claimed medalist honors in U.S. Senior Women’s Open qualifying and then reached the Round of 32 in the tournament.

Brendan Hester (Northbridge, Mass.)

Hester delivered a consistent 2025 campaign, highlighted by two wins. In July, he won the Ouimet Memorial Lowery Division and then capped off the season with a Mass Senior Amateur at Worcester CC. He earned recognition as the George M. Cohen Senior Player of the Year.

Ben Spitz (Milton, Mass.)

Spitz was a quarterfinalist in the Mass. Amatuer, losing to Joey Lenane. He qualified for the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur and also nearly pulled out a Ouimet Memorial win. He ended up finishing runner-up behind Parziale.

Alexis Florio (Boston, Mass.)

Florio earned her spot in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur by qualifying at Boston Golf Club, finishing even par to advance. She also made a deep run to the semi-finals at the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur before losing to fellow mid-amateur Shannon Johnson.

Steve Tasho (Easton, Mass.)

Possibly the most impressive result for Tasho, the Super Senior Player of the Year in Massachusetts, was a T4 in the Hornblower Memorial. In impressive feat given the strength of field. He also had third-place finishes in the Ouimet Memorial Lowery Division and the Mass. Senior Amateur.

Max McColgan (Lincoln, Mass.)

McColgan advanced to match play at the 2025 Massachusetts Amateur and won his Round of 32 match before exiting in the Round of 16. He finished second in the NEPGA Junior Championship and made the cut in the Mass. Open. This fall as a freshman at St. John’s he finished runner-up in the Wykagyl Invitational.