Springfield Standard

A pair of junior golfers have committed to join the Missouri State University Lady Bears Golf team for the 2026-27 season. Head coach Kevin Kane announced that Clementina Castaño from General Pico, Argentina, and Josey Roberts from Ozark, Missouri, will be joining the program.

Castaño is currently ranked 691st in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and is considered the second-best junior golfer in Argentina. In her most recent season, she achieved a top national ranking and participated in several international tournaments including the Junior Orange Bowl Invitational, Junior World Championship, and World Junior Championship. Earlier this month, she won the Club Amancay title in Argentina. Over the past year, Castaño has also secured victories at the Women's Argentina Open, finished second at both the national junior championship and Argentina National Championship, and placed third in the Copa Enrique Santos. She has recorded 16 top-five finishes in WAGR events over two seasons.

Roberts had a strong summer performance by winning the St. Louis Junior Invitational and placing eighth at the Optimist International Junior Championship in Miami. She added four more individual titles during summer competitions before completing a record-setting high school season with a fourth-place finish at the Missouri Class 4 Championship for a third time. Roberts set a new state high school record by shooting an eight-under-par 62 at Horton Smith Golf Course on a par-70 course. She also achieved two rounds of 65 during her season, placing her among Missouri's all-time best performances and earned medalist honors six times out of eight tournaments.

Coach Kane commented on their addition: "I'm so excited about these two becoming Bears, one from a different hemisphere and the other right in our back yard," Kane said. "They both have the ability to make an immediate impact on our program and in Conference USA, and are not only outstanding players, but even better people. Clementina has lots of tournament experience, not only in her home country, but internationally as well. She's enjoyed success around the world and closer to home and is one of the best players in Argentina. And Josey is the classic late-bloomer...hampered in previous years with injuries from playing basketball. But this past summer, when she was healthy and focusing on golf, she showed how good she can be. We're thrilled to keep her close to home."

The Lady Bears recently completed their fall season by winning their Payne Stewart Memorial event, finishing fourth at Missouri’s tournament, and setting a school record during their final competition of autumn held in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The spring schedule will begin February 16-17 at the Great River Cup tournament taking place in Gulfport, Mississippi.