Chase Hughes named to U.S. National Junior Team

By Ken MacLeod

Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, the No. 1 ranked junior in the state, has been named to the roster for the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team, the youngest at 15 of the 12 boys named to the prestigious development team.

The U.S. National Junior Team, now in its third year as the flagship program of the USGA’s U.S. National Development Program established in 2023, gives the United States a national program to match or exceed the national programs offered by numerous other countries that have given their junior golfers a leg up in developing world class golfers.

Twelve boys and twelve girls were named to the rosters for 2026. Fourteen of the 24 members were on the teams in 2025 including six of the 12 boys. Hughes, ranked No. 12 nationally by Junior Golf Scoreboard, is the youngest member of the team by a few months over fellow 15-year-old Jaden Soong of Burbank, Calif. He is a home schooled sophomore who by NCAA rules cannot speak to college recruiters until next June while six members have already committed to Division I schools.

For Hughes, his inclusion brings the opportunity for year-round coaching, competition, training, sports psychology and nutritional guidance. Team members will attend at least two four-day camps, have the opportunity to play and practice against each other, earn spots in international competitions and collegiate events and much more.

His swing instructor, Ryan Rody of Southern Hills since he was five years old, will not change. But Hughes will be able to benefit from advanced analytics and statistics that can lead to more informed practice habits.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for Chase to further his development,” Rody said. “He’s such an elite player and this will open up some unique doors for him.”

Chase and his father Nick said they have known about the selection for a few weeks but had to keep their collective excitement bottled up.

“It’s been tough to keep it a secret,” Chase said. “I know most of the guys from AJGA or other events and I’m good friends with a lot of them. It’s going to be a lot of fun. The resources are amazing.”

Hughes started winning tournaments early in U.S. Kids and never stopped. The USGA listed the following achievements as part of his resume for being included.

• Won 2025 K.J. Choi Foundation Texas Junior Championship
• Shot 12 under par (62-65-73) to set a scoring record in the Texas-based Twisted 54 high school championship, leading the Oklahoma City Storm to a 10-shot victory over HSAA, a home school team from Texas.
• Semifinalist in the 2025 RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic
• Advanced to the Round of 32 of 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur
• T-6 in the 2024 Ping Invitational
• Second-team AJGA Rolex All-American (2025)

As a team member, Hughes will be supported in all team functions and travel support for USGA or select other events. Nick, whose oldest son Rhett has also been through the junior circuits and is now on the golf team at Central Oklahoma, appreciates the help as his talented son tests the limits of his seemingly boundless potential.

Now 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Chase is already able to drive the ball 330 yards with 121 mph club head speed.

“At 15, his distance is above PGA Tour average through the bag,” Rody said. “With his increased speed, driver precision is important and he made significant improvement there this year.”

Chase said his putting needs improvement and he is looking forward to all of the advanced training and metrics his inclusion on the national team will provide.

He joined Oak Tree National in Edmond this summer where he plays frequently with Oklahoma State commit Emerson Majma and OSU signee Ben Lathrop. He has also appreciated the chance to learn from some of OTN’s young professionals such as Austin Eckroat and Logan McAllister.

“Just seeing how hard they work and all that they do to improve has been great,” he said. “I’m trying to implement some of what they do in my own way.”

Last year’s team members made 34 collective appearances in USGA championships, led by the U.S. Junior Amateur (9), U.S. Amateur (8) and U.S. Girls’ Junior (7). The average World Amateur Golf Ranking® of team members rose 132 spots with a collective gain of 2,933.

“We are very excited about this group going into year three of our U.S. National Junior Team,” said Chris Zambri, head coach of the USNDP. “We’ve seen tremendous growth over the first two years in our athletes and are excited to build on that momentum. We could not have had the successes we’ve had as a program without our continued support of our partners and generous donors.”

2026 U.S. National Junior Team Roster – Girls

2026 U.S. National Junior Team Roster – Boys