Second in Y2K.

Kansas University men’s golf program is on a roll, that’s for sure.

“We do have a nice record. We’ll do our best to continue it,” said Ross Randall, who is beginning his 22nd season as KU men’s golf coach.

The Jayhawks, who advanced to the NCAAs last year for the second straight season and five times in eight years, return seniors Andy Stewart and Conrad Roberts, plus junior Casey Harbour.

Lost to graduation is No. 5 golfer Jake Istnick, plus No. 1 Ryan Vermeer. Vermeer won four tournaments a year ago and 11 in his collegiate career.

Vermeer, who finished last season with a KU school record 71.31 stroke average, is expected to make a living playing professional golf.

“Everybody thought when Chris Thompson graduated we’d drop. Some people said, ‘You won’t be real good,”’ Randall said of the Jayhawks’ hopes a year ago minus Thompson and Brad Davis, who was lost to the team his senior year because of injury.

“Ryan Vermeer had the best year of any player we’ve ever had. I’m sure we’ll miss him as much as we did Chris. As long as the guys work as hard as they did a year ago, I think we’ll be able to accomplish some good things once again.”

KU’s team, which finished the season with the lowest stroke average in school history (72.68) placed 21st overall at NCAA’s last spring in Alabama.

Harbour, who hails from Lake Quivera, compiled a 73.89 stroke average his sophomore season. He placed fourth at the Big 12 championships, tied for 32nd at NCAA Regionals with Vermeer, yet slipped to rounds of 81-77 at NCAAs, placing fifth of KU’s five golfers.

Harbour played well at regional a year ago, despite a case of the flu. He had his first-ever hole-in-one at the tourney in Texas.

“Part of the success of the team was Casey stepping to the plate,” Randall said. “Placing fourth at the Big 12 championships has given him a lot of confidence.”

Roberts, a senior from Brecon, Wales, had a 73.72 stroke average, third best on the team. He tied for second at Colorado’s Stevinson Ranch Classic. Also, he was KU’s leading finisher at regional, placing 21st overall as the Jayhawks qualified for nationals. Roberts shot 77-70 at the NCAA championships.

Stewart, a senior from Independence, had a stellar junior season. He finished second on the team in stroke average at 73.59. Stewart placed second at Nebraska’s Firethorn Invitational and tied for fifth at the Intercollegiate in Cary, N.C.

“It was a nice year,” said Randall, who served as head coach of the U.S. Palmer Cup team in England during late summer. “What normally happens in our program is the more kids play, the more experienced they become and the more they help. Jake, Conrad, Casey and Andy all came on, played a lot better and made us a solid team.”

Other golfers on the roster are: seniors Jason deBuhr and Jim Gates; juniors Jason Byler and Nick Rebne; and sophomores Tyler Hall and Chris Marshall.

Randall is bringing in two golfers Travis Hurst of Butler County CC and Andrew Price of Lake Forest, Ill. A native of Erie, Hurst is a past Kansas Amateur second-place finisher.

So can the Jayhawks continue winning?

“I think we’re in really good shape,” Randall said. “We’ll lose Ryan. We can’t replace Ryan. We lose Jake. But we’ve got some young guys working hard all year. One player coming in will be of immediate help. Travis Hurst.”

KU’s No. 1 slot, ably managed by Thompson and Vermeer the past two years, could be up for grabs.

“I don’t think of it that way,” noted Harbour, KU’s leading finisher at Big 12s. “To go anywhere, you have to have a team. As much as golf is an individual game … you need the team playing well. We picked up for Thompson (last season). We’ll have to do it next year. We return three who went to nationals, a lot of experience.”

The Jayhawks were one of just six cold weather programs to advance to the NCAAs.

Brigham Young, Northwestern and Kent were the only cold-weather schools ranked higher than Kansas in the 30-team field. Washington and Minnesota are the other cold-weather entries.

“I’m proud of our guys and what they’ve accomplished,” Randall said. “We work really hard. We are one of the few sports that competes officially both semesters. Everybody gets good grades. Everybody finishes (school). Everybody cares.”

And “everybody” is geared for the coming season.

“We should be good,” Rebne said. “We lose, of course, our All-American in (Ryan) Vermeer, but we’ve still got some good players coming back. I think we can be just as good next year.”

“We’re going to have very capable guys, maybe not guys that have had the experience of like a Ryan Vermeer or a Chris Thompson, but guys who are capable of shooting those same numbers,” noted deBuhr. “We just need to kind of get in there and have some experience and the confidence to shoot those same scores.”

“I’m so jacked,” Marshall commented. “We’ve got a kid named Travis Hurst from Butler Community College. He’s just an incredible golfer, an All-American. We only lose three. I think we’re going to be just as solid as we were this year.”