Jay Seawell and Scott Limbaugh can still remember where they were when Justin Thomas verbally committed to the University of Alabama. They were in the old Pate Center in Tuscaloosa, within feet of each other, listening to the trajectory of the Crimson Tide program skyrocket with just a few words.
“I think we went outside and did a chest bump on the practice tee,” recalled Seawell, who’d lead Alabama to an NCAA runner-up finish in 2012, Thomas’ freshman season, before winning the first of back-to-back titles in 2013, Thomas’ second and final year before turning pro early. Tom Lovelady, the second signee in Alabama’s 2011 class, would play a key role in that 2014 title at Prairie Dunes.
Limbaugh, who took the head-coaching position at Vanderbilt in Fall 2012, verified the over-the-top celebration: “We can’t ever rule that out with me, unfortunately.”
Added Seawell: “It was definitely a milkshake day.”
Fourteen years later, Seawell was on his way to get another milkshake.
The early signing period for the Class of 2026 began on Wednesday with much fanfare. Many coaches will argue that it’s the best class since that 2011 group that included Thomas and Jordan Spieth, whose Texas Longhorns were on the victorious end of the 2012 NCAA Championship final against Thomas’ Tide. And Alabama, well, it again signed two blue-chippers – Bailey Sutter of Cullman, Alabama, and Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – as part of its fourth-ranked class, according to Golf Channel.
Limbaugh did even better, bringing in, for the second straight year, the No. 1 recruiting class in the country – top-ranked Luke Colton of Frisco, Texas, and fifth-ranked Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island, Florida, both members of the U.S. National Development Junior Team.
“Boy, it really is good,” Limbaugh said of the 2026 class as a whole. “I remember when this class was starting to line up, as a recruiter, you’re like, we’ve got to get somebody, we’ve got to get one of these guys, and if you’re able to get two, that’s icing on the cake.”
Along with Vanderbilt and Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Arizona State and North Carolina all nabbed at least one top-10 recruit for next fall. The Bulldogs, Vols and Tar Heels, like the Commodores and Tide, boast two in the top 15. Georgia signed three in the top 26, including top-seven talents who were also USGA champions this summer, Mason Howell of Thomasville, Georgia (U.S. Amateur), and Hamilton Coleman of Augusta, Georgia (U.S. Junior).
“2011, 2022 and 2026; those are the three best that I’ve seen, but it’s the best class we’ve certainly had at Tennessee,” said Vols head coach Brennan Webb, who signed Caleb Surratt four years ago, one of the top names in that class along with Nick Dunlap (Alabama), Luke Clanton (Florida State) and Ben James (Virginia). This year, it’s third-ranked Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Alabama, and Penson Badgett of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, headed to Knoxville.
By November 2010, three Class of 2011 guys had made the cut in PGA Tour events – Spieth, Thomas and top-ranked Anthony Paolucci (USC). Spieth and Patrick Rodgers (Stanford) played in the 2011 Walker Cup before arriving in college. Daniel Berger (Florida State), Emiliano Grillo (turned pro), Michael Kim (Cal) and C.T. Pan (Washington) were all highly regarded, and all three ended up not just on the PGA Tour but as PGA Tour winners. So, too, did two-time major champ Xander Schauffele, though at the time, he was a little-known commodity headed to Long Beach State; he’d later transfer to San Diego State. And don’t forget about Ollie Schniederjans (Georgia Tech), who played a few competitive years on the PGA Tour. Webb was an assistant at South Florida for the 2011 cycle, and even the Bulls pulled in that program’s best class, Chase Koepka and Rigel Fernandes, who’d later lead the school to match play at the 2015 NCAA Championship.
To compare, Watts made the cut at the Procore Championship earlier this fall, and Mawhinney led the RBC Canadian Open in total driving this summer while punching his ticket to the weekend. Howell has already played – and starred – in one Walker Cup and is one of three high-schoolers invited to this year’s practice session, along with Colton and Watts. And there is a formidable contingent out of France, including Hugo Le Goff (Virginia), Oscar Couilleau (Arizona State) and Lev Grinberg (Arkansas), the latter of whom reps the Ukrainian flag but attends academy at Le Golf National.
And imagine if this class still had Henry Guan, the top-ranked player years ago before reclassifying to 2025 and signing with Oklahoma State last year, and Blades Brown, who tied for 26th at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic and opted to skip school.
Brown’s recruitment is believed to have boiled down to Tennessee and Vanderbilt, the latter being the alma mater of Brown’s mother, Rhonda, who went on to play in the WNBA. But he ultimately decided to turn pro and debut at the American Express in January, and he’s since secured full Korn Ferry Tour status for next season.
“Those two guys probably would’ve put this class over the top,” Seawell said.
With so many five-star 2026s, Seawell brought in double-digit recruits on visits, way more than normal. But he quickly narrowed his targets to Sutter and Dunham, two players who, when they stand beside each other, there’s a big difference. Sutter is small in stature but has a “lionheart of competitiveness,” Seawell said. “I don’t want to compare him to Justin, that’s not fair, but he has that same trait.” As for Dunham, Seawell likens him to Bryson DeChambeau, a “big, strong rascal” who Seawell first saw play at the 2022 AJGA Team TaylorMade Invitational in Tequesta, Florida. Dunham was one of just two 2026 recruits in the field, along with Guan, and he’d find himself grouped with Dunlap before shooting 38 over in three rounds and finishing last by four shots. “He was 13 years old, and he was in way over his head,” Seawell said. “But I just remember how he handled that, and he’s since grown into this great player. … He’s just at the tip of the iceberg.”
“You like deep classes, but there are some complications,” Seawell added. “There are so many good players, who do you go with? If you’re not careful, you’ll start recruiting everybody and get nobody. I’m proud of us for sticking to the guys who we thought fit us best, and I’m just thankful that both of those guys believed in us, too.”
Limbaugh has had his eye on the ultra-polished Colton for years, since before assistant Gator Todd went to Kentucky in 2023. “He’s just a winner,” Limbaugh said of Colton. “He doesn’t have to talk a lot; his game does his talking for him.” Mawhinney, who can move the ball, had long favored the Commodores as a close friend of current Vanderbilt freshmen Michael Riebe and Will Hartman.
Perhaps no top recruit had been tracked longer than Howell, whose instructor, Bill Connally, the longtime director of golf at Glen Arven Country Club, taught former Bulldogs Harris English and Hudson Swafford. Howell grew nearly a foot before his freshman year of high school, and now, standing 6 feet, 4 inches, he’s taken off in the past seven months, winning the Georgia Independent Athletic Association’s Class AAA state individual title, shooting 63-63 to qualify for his first U.S. Open and grabbing medalist honors at the U.S. Junior, all before his magical run at Olympic Club and 2-0-1 performance at Cypress Point.
“They bring a level of experience and championship caliber that will propel us for seasons to come,” Haack said of his class.
As we’ve seen in the past, especially with the vaunted Class of 2011, it all starts on signing day.