Vogt

CRANBERRY TWP — Matt Vogt's skills on the golf course have taken him many places, most recently to York for the PIAA individual championships.

He soon will add Butler University to that list.

Vogt, a Seneca Valley senior who will turn 18 next month, recently signed a letter of intent to play golf at the school, located in Indianapolis.

"I took my first visit there in September," said Vogt. "They offer a good education and I liked the fact that it's a smaller school with a good atmosphere."

Bulldogs coach Bill Mattingly has led the men's golf team for the past two years.

"The program had been struggling, but Coach Mattingly is starting to turn it around," said Vogt. "They've got a solid recruiting class coming in. It's a program with a lot of potential."

Butler is a member of the NCAA's Division I Horizon League, which also includes Youngstown State, Loyola of Chicago, Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State.

Vogt will receive a partial scholarship at Butler University. Other schools he considered included Drake, Brown, Villanova and Bucknell.

"I don't know if Seneca Valley has ever had a golfer go Division I," said SV coach Steve Mayes. "I've had kids play at Grove City College, Washington & Jefferson, Westminster, (Indiana [Pa.]), but I've never had one of my players go Division I and I've been coaching here for 20 years."

Vogt began golfing competitively less than three years ago and has accomplished a lot in a short period of time.

He's won several junior tournaments, including a Tri-State PGA event at Aubrey's Dubbs Dred Golf Course, and the Best of the Best tournament last summer, an event that includes the best golfers in the WPIAL.

"It was when I started golfing and doing well in more competitive events that I realized I had a chance to play in college," he said.

Vogt placed fourth at last month's PIAA Championship at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York.

"He's a good athlete," Mayes said of Vogt, who also will be starting for SV's boys basketball team. "Golf is his passion and he works hard at it."

"I just enjoy it so much," Vogt said. "It doesn't seem like work to me."

Making the jump from high school to the collegiate ranks will not be easy.

"Understanding the competition will be the biggest key for Matt," said Mayes. "A high school team may have three or four good players, but the fifth player may not be able to break 50. In college, all the players are going to be great."

Any golfer's best friend is a confident mindset and Vogt will be showing up in Indianapolis with that in his back pocket.

"I hope to make an immediate impact," he said.

Vogt plans to study biology with the hope of entering the medical field.