STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men’s golf coach Dusty Smith is pleased to announce the signing of Ruan Pretorius, a graduate transfer from Point University and the No. 1 individual in the final 2021 Golfstat NAIA Rankings.

Pretorius is following the footsteps of his former head coach turned Bulldog assistant, Steven Paine, in coming to Starkville.

Pretorius finished tied for fifth at this year’s NAIA National Championship and helped the Skyhawks to a fourth-place team finish. The Bloemfontein, South Africa, native finished the year with an adjusted scoring average of 71.53 and went 21-2 against top-25 opponents. His final comparative record in 2021 was 1,261-2.

“We are thrilled to add Ruan to the Mississippi State family,” Smith said. “He is going to bring a lot of experience to our program. He knows what it takes to be great, and he understands the sacrifices that need to be made on a daily basis to ultimately be a champion.”

In his senior season, Pretorius was named captain of the No. 1-ranked Skyhawks. He is a two-time PING First Team All-American and was selected as the Georgia PGA Amateur Player of the Year in 2020, topping the state’s Amateur Points List with more than double the points of the second-place golfer.

Pretorius has claimed four career individual victories along with 14 top-10 finishes. In October 2020, he won the Appalachian Athletic Conference Fall individual title.

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