Wren commits to Temple
Published 10:01 pm Thursday, April 16, 2015
Former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy standout golfer Trey Wren’s post-high school plan seems to be proceeding right on schedule. A major part of it formally fell into place on Wednesday when he signed to play golf for Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa.
After graduating from NSA last June, he decided to take a year off from school to attend the International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head, S.C., to improve his golf game and get more opportunities to be recruited.
Having drawn Temple’s interest, he will be joining their NCAA Division I golf program.
“It’s a big deal,” Wren said of his Division I college signing. “It’s been my goal for a while now,” ever since he started playing golf seriously around his eighth- and ninth-grade years.
He said Temple’s coaches had met him before extending an offer, but they had never actually seen him play golf.
“They’d just seen my scores,” he said.
Wren said what drew Temple’s interest was mostly his tournament play, but he figured helping the Saints win the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II state championship in high school probably helped a little bit, too.
He has certainly represented himself well during his time at the International Junior Golf Academy. Out of the 10 tournaments he has participated in this season, he has finished in the top 10 in six of them, and he won The Lowcountry Junior at Wexford Plantation Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Wren has some second-place finishes and has also qualified for the North American Junior Amateur Championship. He is currently ranked No. 8 in the Boys’ 15- to 19-year-old division of the International Junior Golf Tour.
In the course of the college selection process, Wren said he looked at Appalachian State University, George Mason University and Villanova University.
He noted Temple stood out to him for its atmosphere as a big school, and he really liked the coaches.
“Out of my options, it looks like the best place for me to really get better as a student and as a golfer,” he said.
Wren said he will be getting some sort of academic scholarship, but he will have to earn his golf scholarship on the links.
“If I’m in the top five consistently, I’ll earn a scholarship,” he said, and he could even end up with a full scholarship.
His coach at the International Junior Golf Academy has been Dwight Nevil, and he was on hand for Wren’s signing ceremony on Wednesday.
“I’m very happy for him,” Nevil said. “He’s worked hard through the year, and he’s done everything that I’ve asked him to do. He’s learned to make changes in his swing a little bit and make changes to his attitude in tournaments.”
As for what Wren will bring to Temple’s golf team, the coach said, “Attitude, for one thing. He’s got a great attitude, and he’s super long off the tee. He’s got a great golf game.”
“He’ll have no problem making the team,” Nevil said. “He will earn that scholarship quickly.”
Reacting to Wren’s signing, Katie Murphy, his former coach at NSA, said, “I think it’s great for him. It’s a D-I school. That was his goal and his dream. “
Wren said he wants to major in either business management or finance.