Kentucky Men’s Golf signs three for 2022
Gee, Petrie and Watts signed national letters of intent to join the Wildcats
LEXINGTON, Ky. (UK Athletics) – The Kentucky men’s golf team has added three high-level players in Oakley Gee, Solomon Petrie and Kevin Watts during the fall signing period head coach Brian Craig announced.
“This is one of the absolute best classes that we have signed in my tenure at Kentucky,” Craig said. “Solomon, Kevin and Oakley are proven performers that are outstanding young men in every regard and the upside of all three of these players is off the charts. Even though they are all very distinguished junior players, I firmly believe their best golf is in front of them and that golf has the opportunity to be elite at the SEC and Division I level. I cannot wait to get Sol, Kevin and Oakley on campus next fall and help them to achieve extraordinary milestones during their Wildcat careers.”
All three players are not only exceptional players, but they are all tremendous students as well. Each player has won on the junior club level and ranks among the best via the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
Oakley Gee (pronounced ‘G’)
Carmi, Ill.
Carmi-White County High School
Notables: Ranked inside the top 100 overall, top 50 for the class of 2022 and No. 1 in the state of Illinois on Junior Golf Scoreboard … Alternate for the 2018 and 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur … Qualified for the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur at the Country Club of North Carolina … Two GolfWeek Junior Tour wins … Second lowest score in GolfWeek Junior Tour history with a 63 at Harmony Landing Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky … Earned second place at the BDC conference tournament as a sophomore … Was a medalist at the IHSA Regional and at the IHSA Sectional … As a freshman, tied the Carmi-White 9-hole match record with a score of 30 (-5) … Won the BDC Conference tournament … Second place at the IHSA Regional … Medalist at IHSA Sectional … Sixth place at the IHSA State final … High Honor Roll … Owns a 4.0 grade-point average … Awarded the DAR Citizenship Award.
Why Kentucky: “I am beyond excited to join the Big Blue Nation and to become a Wildcat. I look forward to representing the best fan base in the nation!”
Coach Craig: “Oakley is one of the most disciplined and hard-working young men I have ever recruited. I love his character, dedication and fabulous attitude toward this life and his golf game. For a good bit of the time I was after Oakley, he was a little bit under the radar, but his talent was undeniable. He is definitely not under the radar anymore. This young man has shown exceptional improvement and his tournament record is reflecting that talent that I could always see. Oakley has speed to burn and a fabulous short game. His future is bright in this game and I could not be happier to help Oakley continue to get better while he represents the Big Blue Nation.”
Solomon Petrie
Akron, Ohio
Archbishop Hoban High School
Notables: Internationally ranked as the 33rd overall player in American Junior Golf Association rankings … 2021 AJGA Rolex Junior All-America selection … Three top-three finishes in AJGA events … 2017 USKG Teen World Champion … Three top-two finishes in the USKG Teen World Championship … Three-time USKG Van Horn Cup team member … 2020 AJGA Imperial Headwear Junior Classic champion … Two-time All-Ohio First Team selection … Also owns an All-Ohio Second Team honor … State champion … Owns the 18-hole school record at 8-under par with a 62 at the Portage Country Club in the Hoban Invitational … School record with a season average of 71.00 … Carded a sectional record of 6-under par (65) … Has been a 17-time high school medalist honoree … Has seven medalists honors during his senior season … 2020 Akron Beacon Journal Player of the Year … Also plays varsity basketball … Honor Roll student.
Why Kentucky: “I am forever blessed for the opportunity to join Big Blue Nation and I can’t wait to get to work in the fall!”
Coach Craig: “Solomon is an exceptional talent and a fabulous young man. His beautiful and powerful golf swing along with his great touch on and around the greens are easy for anyone to see, but what I love most about Sol is his desire and character. This young man knows where he wants to go in this game and is all in on getting there. I can’t wait to have Sol join our team in the fall and start making his mark within our Kentucky golf family.”
Kevin Watts
Colleyville, Texas
Colleyville Heritage High School
Notables: 2021 Texas Junior Amateur Championship runner-up … 2021 STPGA PGA Boys runner-up … 2020 AJGA Bob Estes Preview champion … Career-low tournament score of 66 to win AJGA Bob Estes Preview … 2020 Legends Tour Texas Junior Alliance champion … 2019 Legends Tour Texas Junior Alliance runner-up … 2018 Texas State High School 5A runner-up … Began playing golf in 2017, the summer before his freshman season of high school … Also played hockey and basketball.
Why Kentucky: “I’m excited to join Big Blue Nation because of Coach Craig’s experience from his highly decorated junior and college career along with his track record of developing his players. After visiting Lexington, I got to see the great team chemistry he has built.”
Coach Craig: “Kevin is on a trajectory of improvement that is quite extraordinary. He decided to start playing golf about five years ago and has already proven that he can compete at the highest level of junior golf with his stellar performance at the Texas State Junior Championship, among other quality performances. Fundamentally, Kevin is absolutely brilliant and is an incredible driver of the golf ball. Most of all, he is the exact type of young man with high character and integrity that we desire to have in our program. I look forward to Kevin wearing the Blue and White and helping our program achieve its goals.”
