Three months removed from a historic season, the Bruins are back in full swing.

UCLA men’s golf will be stepping up to the tee box for the first event of the 2026-27 season Saturday and Sunday at the Sahalee Players Championship in Sammamish, Washington. The Bruins are coming off their best season since 2008, having placed second at the 2026 NCAA championship.

Coach Armen Kirakossian said the team was well-prepared to attack the season with renewed energy.

“The biggest enemy in golf can be satisfaction or complacency,” Kirakossian said. “I don’t think we have any of that. The guys are still really hungry, eager to go out and compete and try to put ourselves in position to make another run.”

If the Bruins are seeking a rehash of last year’s performance, this event could be an auspicious start. UCLA marked the beginning of the 2025-26 season with a third-place finish at Sahalee Country Club, bolstered by then-sophomore Baylor Larrabee’s 13th-place landing.

The Ferndale, Washington, local said the heavily forested course, which features punishingly narrow tree-lined fairways, demands accuracy off the tee.

“There’s these huge, hundreds-of-feet-tall evergreen trees that you can’t curve it around,” Larrabee said. “It’s really nothing like we play all year, considering that. That’s a main focus: If you’re driving it really well out there, you’re going to have a good week.”

The Bruin squad saw three summer additions in freshmen Matthew Hull and Baron Nguyen and Richmond transfer sophomore Lucas Rizo-Patron. Hull will be featured on the UCLA squad this weekend, while Rizo-Patron will compete as an individual.

“One thing that he (Hull) made pretty apparent in his junior golf and during the recruiting process – he has an ability to shoot low scores, and he did that in qualifying, and that’s what earned him the spot on the trip,” Kirakossian said.

Larrabee said he was excited to have the fresh faces joining the team, adding that they have brought great energy to the roster.

And that roster is coming off a summer of strong individual performances.

Larrabee nabbed ninth at the Western Amateur and Hull came second at the Beau Hossler Junior Championship, while Rizo-Patron finished second at the New York State Amateur.

“It’s been a good summer,” Larrabee said. “Definitely feel like we’re ready to go and prepared for the season.”

The Bruins – who are entering the season with a preseason ranking of No. 14 – will be joined in Sammamish by a gauntlet of ranked preseason favorites, including a trio of top-five squads in No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Arizona State.

UCLA will tee off at 7 a.m. Saturday, kicking off a 36-hole day before playing another 18 holes Sunday. Kirakossian said he was excited to get the ball rolling in what will be his fifth season at the helm of the program.

“I love being with the guys, working on their games, watching them compete, getting better each week,” Kirakossian said. “Trying to do the best we can to put ourselves in the best position that we can to have a good run at it in the postseason, and it starts now.”