Hughes, Herman lead Golf Oklahoma’s top juniors for 2026
By Scott Wright
The depth and competitiveness of Oklahoma junior golf is strong once again in 2026, with long-established older players and younger players blossoming into stars.
Multiple players, both boys and girls, have been competitive on the national level and 23 different state players won at least one tournament on the Oklahoma Junior Golf Tour in 2025.
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association state tournaments in May will be equally competitive.
Here’s a look at Oklahoma’s top players at the high school level:
Boys Top 10
1. Chase Hughes, OKC Storm
One of two 15-year-olds currently in the USGA Developmental Program and Junior National Team, Hughes is a top-20 player in junior golf rankings.
A sophomore with the OKC Storm homeschool team, Hughes is on track to become one of the top junior players the state has produced in recent years.
2. Emerson Majma, OKC Storm
Hughes’ teammate with the OKC Storm, Majma is a junior who has been holding a spot in the top 100 of the national rankings for a while now. He had a strong 2025 showing in AJGA events, with multiple top-five finishes.
While the Storm does not compete in OSSAA state tournaments, they participate in a variety of regular-season events against high schools across the state.
3. Ben Lathrop, Heritage Hall
The defending Class 4A state champion for Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City, Lathrop has been a name to know since he arrived on the high school scene.
Now a senior, the Oklahoma State signee finished in the top 10 of his last five OGA and OJGT events he played, including a tie for second at the OJGT/TJGT Red River Team Challenge.
4. Ainslie Stanford, Oklahoma Christian School
A sophomore at OCS in Edmond, Stanford finished 2025 with a bang, winning the Allstate Sugar Bowl Tommy Moore Memorial with a final-round 67.
He finished eighth at state in Class 4A while helping OCS to the team title. And he was second in the OJGT points standings thanks to three top-three finishes.
5. Jacob Newsom, Broken Arrow
Newsom won the Class 6A title by three shots last year as the only player under par, helping Broken Arrow to the team title as well.
Now a junior, he also posted an OJGT win and multiple AJGA top-10s, topped by a fifth-place finish at the Roper Honda Junior Championship in August.
6. Tripp Anderson, OKC Storm
Another member of the OKC Storm homeschool team, Anderson has signed with Baylor.
He had a pair of wins in the fall OJGT season, which included firing a 62 in the first round of Lincoln Park’s Best of the West Classic.
7. Grady Thompson, Edmond Santa Fe
Thompson just missed out on a top 10 at the Class 6A state tournament with Edmond Santa Fe last spring, but quickly went to work on a strong OJGT season that resulted in a points title.
He won the OGA Junior and had four more top-5s in OJGT events. Only a junior, he has committed to Iowa State.
8. Chase Blaser, Edmond North
The junior has found success at a variety of places, with wins at the OJGT Earlywine Spring Challenge and South Central PGA Forest Ridge Players Tour. He also added a pair of top-20s on the AJGA schedule.
9. Harrison Shaw, Booker T. Washington
The reigning Class 5A champion with a six-stroke victory, Shaw posted two wins and three more top-10s on the OJGT circuit to finish third in the points standings.
10. John Helzer, OKC Storm
Helzer started his senior season with a bang, tying the course record at Lake Hefner’s North Course with a 10-under 62 in the Putnam City North Tournament in September. He also logged a fourth-place points finish in OJGT after finishing seventh or better in five of six events.
Other names to know:Â Porter Hart, Broken Arrow; Ty Netherlin, Oklahoma Christian School; Cooper Watson, Lawton MacArthur; Will Whorton, Community Christian; Jack Williams, Claremore.
Girls Top 10
1. Lisa Herman, Jenks
Ranked in the top five nationally in the senior class and the top 15 in all of junior golf, Herman has signed with Ole Miss. She competed almost exclusively on the AGJA tour last year, where she posted three top-three finishes, including a runner-up at the Mizuno Junior. She tied for 10th at the Junior PGA Championship. Herman did not compete in school golf last year, but is back in the Jenks lineup this season looking for another state title to cap her high school career.
2. Juliana Hong, Norman North
A top-100 player in the country as a senior, Hong has been piling up victories over the last year.
She won two in three tries in OGA/OJGT events, and won the WOGA State Championship, the Mack Champ Invitational and the AJGA C.T. Pan Foundation Junior. She has signed with Columbia.
3. Harlow Gregory, Norman North
Hong’s teammate and the reigning Class 6A champion with a three-stroke victory as a freshman last spring, Gregory also dominated the OJGT season. She won five times in seven events to score 1,550 points, while no other player reached 1,000. She also added wins in the AJGA and South Central PGA last year, which helped boost her national ranking into the top 200.
4. Megan Kalapura, Holland Hall
Another member of the state’s strong senior class, Kalapura is the reigning Class 4A state champion with Tulsa’s Holland Hall.
She posted multiple top-15s in AJGA events over the last year, led by a ninth-place finish at the Roper Honda Junior Championship in August.
5. Kylie Fisher, Tahlequah
A freshman, Fisher got her high school career off to a strong start, shooting a 67 to finish as the runner-up at the Union Girls Fall Invitational last October.
That followed an OJGT season which saw her win two of the seven tournaments she entered and finish second in points behind Gregory.
6. Dia Singh, Bixby
Only a seventh-grader, Singh has already begun to make a rise up the national rankings with multiple top-20 finishes at out-of-state events, most recently taking 12th in the AJGA Callaway Junior All-Star in March.
She finished sixth in OJGT points last year, placing fourth or better in five of the seven events she entered, winning the 36-hole Bailey Ranch Bash with a final-day 68.
7. Maggie Ruby, Stillwater
A key player in helping Stillwater to a runner-up finish at Class 6A state last year, Ruby finished fourth as a sophomore, one of several notable top-10 finishes in the last year.
She took ninth at the AJGA Ann Arbor Preview and was third in points in the OJGT season, finishing fourth or better in six of 10 events.
8. Nikki Pitts, Stillwater
Another important piece in the Stillwater lineup, Pitts won the OJGT Firelake Junior last fall and added two more runner-up finishes in five starts on the circuit.
That landed her an eighth-place finish in points. She also was top 10 at the WOGA Girls Junior and the OGA Girls Junior.
9. Tori Kirberger, Jenks
She finished sixth at the Class 6A state tournament to lead Jenks to a third-place team finish.
And she followed that up by coming in fourth in points on the OJGT circuit with a season that included five top-5s in 10 starts heading into her senior season, including a win at the Ponca City Spring Classic.
10. Gabriella Gross, Heritage Hall
Now a senior, Gross was the Class 4A state runner-up last spring. Shortly after, she added an OJGT win at the Oak Tree Junior with a final-round 69. That boosted her to a fifth-place points finish.
Other names to know:Â MacKinlee Brunker, Cordell; Lorelei Efaw, Cascia Hall; Kate Koehn, Edmond North; Kate Moore, Metro Christian; Lily Thomas, Duncan.