CARLSBAD, Calif. | It's not hard to know when Carson Bacha is approaching on the golf course. The redshirt senior always has an entourage following him that we can label the Bacha Bunch. Led by his parents, Kevin and Kerri, Bacha has a lot of support while grinding on the course.
"I think it's really special to share the support they have for me, and I'm forever grateful for all they do," Bacha said.
That support turns to competition once the Bacha family hits the pickleball court. Kevin and Kerri play on the senior tour, traveling around the country, with Kevin being one of the top-ranked players in the country. It goes back to Carson's parents' background in tennis. Kerri played at NC State before transferring to Penn State, while Kevin played at Campbell before deciding to focus on academics at the State College university.
It's usually Carson and one of his brothers against their parents, and the games can get intense.
And while it is Carson's second sport, playing it does transition to his golf game.
"It's definitely similar body movement," Bacha said. "There's a lot of rotation, a lot of gun release, so it's kind of interesting. I mean, even still to this day and some of the lessons I go through, we talk about pickleball a little bit and how the body moves there, and it can help me to understand the movements some more as well."
Those movements have helped Bacha become the No. 14 player in the PGA Tour University rankings and one of the top college golfers in the country. The York, Pa., native was vital in Nick Clinard's squad winning the national title last year, and after blowing away the competition in the NCAA Regional last week at the Auburn University Club, the Tigers are one of the favorites to lift the trophy again.
While that gives Bacha and his teammates confidence, he also knows that being the top overall seed doesn't guarantee anything.
"At the end of the day, it doesn't really do anything," Bacha said. "You're still going to show up, and you still have to play really well. So it definitely gives us some confidence that we've done it before, but we're also not going to be thinking too much about it."
It's also the last tournament he will play for Auburn, a bittersweet moment for Bacha and his two fellow seniors, Brendan Valdes and Ryan Eshleman. Bacha plans on going all out in his final rounds as a Tiger.
"We're just going into it just ready to have a lot of fun and soak up it throughout the week, and at the end of the day, we're going to go out, focus on our end game and compete as hard as we can and hopefully things will fall our way," he said.
The Bacha Bunch will be following right behind.
