PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University men's golf team added the final member to its 2020 recruiting class, as head coach Dustin White announced the addition of graduate transfer Eric Hagen on Thursday, May 21.
Hagen, who comes to the Palouse from the University of Denver, will be immediately eligible to play for the Cougars in the upcoming 2020-21 season. The move to the Evergreen State to play for the Cougars is a homecoming of sorts, as Hagen is a native of Olympia, Washington.
"We are really excited to have Eric come in and be a part of the program," Coach White said of his newest Coug. "He grew up in the Northwest and is a great fit in terms of what we value here at WSU."
During his four-year tenure at Denver, Hagen was a mainstay in the lineup. He played in a total of 117 rounds, shot par-or-better in 21 of those rounds, and logged three top-10 finishes for the Pioneers. As a junior, Hagen was named the Summit League Golfer of the Week for the week of April 18, 2018.
Hagen comes to the Palouse after posting arguably his best collegiate season. During the 2019-20 campaign, he shot a career-low 67 in the final round of the Rams Master Invitational on Sept. 17 and also collected a personal-best ninth-place finish at both the Les Fowler Invitational (Oct. 21) and Sacramento State Invitational (March 3). Hagen appeared in a total of seven tournaments for Denver and held a scoring average of 74.05 in 20 rounds of play.
"He loves to compete and will show up every day ready to work," expressed White. "Being able to add someone with his level of experience makes us better, plus, Eric will be a great teammate and solid representative of Washington State Athletics."
Prior to his time at Denver, Hagen was a standout prep player inside the state of Washington. He played his first three seasons at Aberdeen High School, before playing his senior season at Capital High School in Olympia. Hagen was he was a four-time first team all-conference selection and was named team MVP three times at AHS and once at CHS. He only began playing competitive golf in 2013, but caught on fast, earning a top-10 finish at the Toyota Tour Cup Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, California in 2015.
The son of Wayne and Jennifer Hagen, Eric graduated from Denver with bachelor's degree in finance. His father was a member of the University of Washington men's tennis team, while his mom is a Washington State alum. He also has one younger sister, Anna.
Hagen becomes the fifth member of Washington State's 2020 recruiting class. The grad transfer joins incoming freshmen Preston Bebich, Jaden Cantafio, Nate Plaster and Max Sekulic. Sekulic, who transferred to WSU from Grand Canyon, joined the team in January, while the other four will join the Cougars in the Fall of 2020.
