Salisbury's John McCoy. Photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post

 

The Hornets, 2A state champs.

 

By Mike London

Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — Salisbury rising senior John McCoy has enjoyed three stellar, accolades-filled seasons of high school golf, but the 2025 season was the most satisfying so far because it concluded with a team 2A state championship.

“Being a state champion is just an awesome feeling,” McCoy said. “Especially the way that we won state, with three teams coning right down to the wire. We had the lead, lost the lead, got it back, lost it again, and finally got it back again at the end.”

McCoy figures that his most important hole out of the 36 he played was a bogey. That sounds strange for someone who makes a lot of birdies, but it was a sensational bogey that was critical for the Hornets.

“I hit my drive out of bounds, but was able to save bogey with a couple of really good shots,” McCoy said. “You can get a bogey back on the next hole, but a double or triple bogey, that’s tough to overcome.”

McCoy’s 76-74 — 150 in the 2A State Championships staged on Pinehurst No. 6 wasn’t the best he can play, but it was stout enough to finish tied for sixth individually, and the Hornets got the scores they needed from the whole team, especially Sam Goodman, who had a stellar tournament and tied with McCoy.

McCoy is the Post’s Player of the Year for the third time. He shared that honor when he was a sophomore with East Rowan graduate and Coker recruit Landon Merrell, who always was a force in the county tournament.

McCoy and Merrell tied for first in the county tournament in 2023. McCoy rallied past another East golfer, Brady McIntyre, for the championship at Rolling Hills this season.

Rivals, but also best friends who will be Labor Day Four-Ball partners, McCoy and McIntyre were playing in the same group.

“Brady hits it a long way and he made a birdie on the par-5 16th to take the lead,” McCoy said. “Then we both parred 17, so I was still a shot back.”

Under pressure, McCoy responded favorably by smashing his best drive of the day on the 18th. Then he executed a “flop shot” that Phil Mickelson would have been proud of, putting the ball 18 inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie. Meanwhile, McIntyre ran into trouble off the tee, had an impossible lie for his second shot, and took a double bogey to finish tied for second, two shots behind McCoy.

McCoy led the Hornets to their third straight county team championship. The Hornets shot 292 (top four scorers) and were the first team to break 300 in the county event since 2016 when East had future Division I players Nick Lyerly and Logan Shuping in the lineup.

McCoy also led the Hornets to their third straight Central Carolina Conference championship.

He had a disappointing day individually at Sapona in the CCC Tournament, shooting 77 and finishing second in the league for the season, after being the conference champion in 2023 and 2024.

But he rebounded from that off day with a strong regional performance on the challenging course at Pilot Knob. He shot 70, tied for second individually, and led the Hornets to their second straight regional crown.

There’s a lot of pressure at the regional, as that one-day event determines qualification for the state tournament, but McCoy and his teammates handled it well. Then the Hornets, coached by Josh Brincefield, prevailed in a tight, tense battle in the state event, winning by one shot over Pine Lake Prep and two over Seaforth.

That was Salisbury’s first state title in boys golf since 2012. The Hornets had finished third in the team standings in 2024 and sixth in 2023.

Salisbury won three straight state championships from 1993-95, an era when Brincefield was playing for the Hornets. Christopher McCoy, John’s father, was individual state champion in 1995. He was the Hornets’ first individual state champ.

John has been in the top eight at state three straight seasons and still has his senior year to go.

The Hornets graduated four good golfers, but have some replacements coming, so they may be in the hunt again next spring. One of those replacements will be rising freshman Ryan McCoy, John’s younger brother, although he’s not his little brother, as Ryan is quite a bit taller. The younger McCoy is considered a special athlete who could be important for the Hornets in football and basketball as well as golf.

“I’m going to do my best to try to keep him humble,” John said with a laugh.

All in all, McCoy was pleased with his third season.

“I got tougher mentally and I got more consistent this year, and that was the most important thing, staying away from those doubles, avoiding the big numbers,” McCoy said. “I’ll stay busy playing in some major qualifiers and tournaments during the summer months. I’l also be trying to get stronger, so I can hit for more distance. Hopefully, I can get recruited by some bigger schools.”

 

All-Rowan County (determined by county tournament)

Salisbury — John McCoy, Jacob Trainor, Bo Brincefield, Jackson Sparger, Warren Fesperman, Sam Goodman

East — Brady McIntyre (SPC champion), Griffin Robbins, Mason Mainville

West — Samuel Faulkner

Carson — Jacob Rockwell

South — Dane Wheeler

Player of the Year — McCoy, Salisbury

Coach of the Year — Josh Brincefield, Salisbury