The TCU men’s golf team finished off last year’s season placing 10th at the NCAA Championships.

Coach Bill Montigel said he is looking forward to the new season and believes, this year, the Frogs are ready to contend for a national championship.

The team returns five players and adds five talented freshmen.

“I am looking forward to our upcoming spring season with returning players Paul Barjon, Chelso Barrett, Giulio Castagnara, Ryan Books and Sarosh Adi,” said Montigel. “Along with these talented players, we have some incredibly talented freshman — Pierre Mazier, Stefano Mazzoli, Triston Fisher, Turner MacLean and Jason Fitzgerald.”

Montigel said he expects big things from all his returners, but is still counting on the five freshmen to contribute.

“I expect all the returning players to have breakout seasons and I think we need to let the freshman get a few tournaments under their belts before we make any predictions,” said Montigel.

The Frogs start off the season traveling to Hawaii to play in the Amer Ari Invitational.  The tournament kicks off on February 4 and features some of the best teams in the nation.

Three of the top 15 teams in the nation, No. 8 University of Southern California, N0.10 University of Texas and No. 11 Oklahoma State, will make the trip out to Hawaii.

“The Amer Air Invitational is always a great tournament and this year is no different,”said Montigel. “Some of the teams in the field that we will be competing against are some of the best in college golf.”

Montigel said he is excited to see how well his team will match up against top competition.

“It will give us a great barometer to how we stack up to some of the best teams in the country,” said Montigel.

After the Amir Ari, the Frogs will play in five more tournaments before the Big 12 Championships, which start on April 29.

If the mix of young and old talent comes together as well as Montigel hopes, the Frogs will end their season in Eugene, Oregon, where the NCAA Championships will be held in late May.