Bio

Coach Middleton enters his 21st season guiding the men's and women's golf programs at CBC in 2024-25.

20245-25 saw the Mustangs win two tournaments (WBU Fall Invitational, and CBC Fall Invitational) and finish fourth in the AMC Championship. Cooper Hermann was named AMC Newcomer of the Year while Jakub Slapal earned Second Team honors from the AMC. Slapal, Preston Nesterenko, Luke Raney, Jack Higginbotham, Gustavo Bello and Hermann all earned All-Academic team selections and Slapal and Nestorenko also earned NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athlete honors. 

2023-24 was a historic season for CBC as the Mustangs won three tournaments (WBU Fall Invitational, Lyon College Invitational and the MBU Spring Invitational) and finished second in the AMC Championship. Kitsakon Jairak (second team), Slapal (second team), Leopold Maes (honorable mention) and Emmanuel LaBeur (honorable mention) all earned a sport on the All-Conference teams with Slapal, LaBeur and Preston Nestorenko earning a spot on the All-Academic team and Slapal earning a spot on the NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athlete team.

2022-23 saw the Mustangs win two tournaments, the Fremont Hills Challenge and the CBC Invitational, with a finish of third in the American Midwest Conference Championship. Slapal (first team) earned all-conference selection while he and LaBeur were both named to the AMC All-Academic team with Slapal also earning a selection as an NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athlete.

In 2021-22 CBC finished sixth in the American Midwest Conference Championship. Suraprat Pareepart earned Newcomer of the Year honors in the conference while Slapal, LaBeur and Travis Toebben were each named to the AMC all-academic team.

The 2020-21 season saw the Mustang Men's Golf Team enter ranked 17th in the Bushnell/Golfweek Pre-Spring Poll after finishing the previous season ranked 16th in the NAIA. The Mustangs played in eight tournaments which included a win for the third straight year at the FHU Fall Invitational. CBC finished fourth in the American Midwest Conference Tournament and saw three golfers, Colton Ryan (first-team), Spencer LaBarbera (second-team) and Anupon Wandee (honorable mention) earn all-AMC honors. Ryan nearly won the individual championship in the AMC, finishing the final round tied before losing on the third playoff hole. Ryan and LaBarbera were also both named to the Ping NAIA All-North Region Team while Ryan and Emmanuel LaBeur both picked up AMC All-Academic Team honors and Ryan earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

The 2019-20 season was the most successful season for the Mustangs since they joined the NAIA. CBC was ranked as high as #16 in the NAIA National Poll and never posted a finish lower than fifth in any of the six tournaments they played in. CBC won three tournaments consecutively (Lyon Fall Invitational, FHU Fall Invitational and SCU Fall Invitational) while posting finishes of second at the Dornick Hills Invitational and the Baker Match Play and third at the U.C. Ferguson Classic. Spencer LaBarbera earned GCAA/NAIA All-Central Region honors and Colton Ryan and Archie Palmer were both named to the AMC's All-Academic Team. CBC also had two individual winners, with Leyton Clark capturing the title at the Lyon Fall tournament, and LaBarbera winning the FHU Fall Invitational at -7.

The 2018-19 season was one of the most successful seasons in men's golf history. The team won three times (FHU Fall Invitational, Dornick Hills Invitational, Lyon College Fall Invitational) in the fall and was included in the receiving votes category in the second poll of the season. Spencer LaBarbera, who posted two wins during the season, was a first-team all-conference selection in the American Midwest Conference and was also the Newcomer of the Year while Colton Ryan earned second-team honors while helping lead the team to a seventh-place finish in the AMC Championship in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

2017-18 saw the Mustangs finish seventh in the AMC again, winning one tournament during the season, the CBC Invitational. Colton Ryan was named the AMC Freshman of the Year, a first-team all-conference selection and a Ping All-North Region Selection after winning the NCCAA Central Regional Championship and posting three other top-10s. Leyton Clark was named a second-team all-AMC selection after winning the individual title at the CBC Invitational and finishing in the top-10 two other times.

2016-17 brought more accolades for men's golf as Austin Harmon was selected as an NAIA second-team All-America and a third-team Ping All-America and was an AMC first-team selection after finishing 10th individually at the AMC Championship, where the team finished sixth. Harmon won three tournaments during the season. Cameron Reesor was also named to the AMC honorable mention team and nine players earned academic all-conference honors.

2015-16 was CBC's first year competing in the AMC and the Mustangs finished second in the conference championship, led by a sixth-place finish from Luke Cornett and a 10th place finish from Austin Harmon, who walked away with AMC first-team honors for his performance during the season. Both Cornett and Harmon were selected as NCCAA All-Americans after helping the Mustangs finish third in the NCCAA National Championship.

In 2011 Middleton coached Justin Burns to an individual NCCAA National Championship, with Burns winning by two strokes for the only individual national title in program history.

Coach Middleton and his wife, Tracie, live in Vilonia with their two children, Gram and Sidni. They are members at Antioch Baptist Church.  His hobbies include golf and duck hunting/duck guiding. He played on the Adam's Tightlies Tour and NGA Hooter's Golf Tour 2008 – 2009.  He has made the Arkansas Cup Team twice representing Arkansas in the Arkansas Nike Cup and the Governor's Cup. 
 

AMC AWARDS

2024-25
Cooper Hermann - AMC Newcomer of the Year

Jakub Slapal - All-AMC Second Team

2023-24
Kitsakon Jairak - All-AMC Second Team

Jakub Slapal - All-AMC Second Team

Leopold Maes - All-AMC Honorable Mention

Emmanuel LaBeur - All-AMC Honorable Mention

2022-23
Jakub Slapal - All-AMC First Team

2021-22
Suraprat Pareepart - AMC Newcomer of the Year

2020-21

Colton Ryan - All-AMC First Team

Spencer LaBarbera - All-AMC Second Team

Anupon Wandee - All-AMC Honorable Mention

2018-19

Spencer LaBarbera - AMC Newcomer of the Year/All-AMC First Team

Colton Ryan - All-AMC Second Team

2017-18

Colton Ryan - AMC Freshman of the Year/All-AMC First Team

Leyton Clark - All-AMC Second Team

2016-17

Austin Harmon - All-AMC First Team

Cameron Reeser - All-AMC Honorable Mention

2015-16

Austin Harmon - All-AMC First Team

MCAC Awards

2013-14

Jared Davis - All-MCAC Second Team

Preston Harmon - All-MCAC Second Team

2011-12

Justin Burns - Conference Champion

PING ALL-REGION TEAM

2020-21

Colton Ryan - North

Spencer LaBarbera - North

2017-18

Colton Ryan - North

GCAA/NAIA ALL-REGION 

2019-20

Spencer LaBarbera - Central

NAIA ALL-AMERICA

Austin Harmon - 2016-17 Second Team

PING ALL-AMERICA

Austin Harmon - 2016-17 Third Team

NCCAA NATIONAL CHAMPION (INDIVIDUAL)

Justin Burns - 2011