MOBILE, Ala. ? University of South Alabama head men’s golf coach Ben Hannan announced Wednesday that McLain Leberte (pronounced leh-BERT), the top-ranked junior player in Alabama, has signed a National Letter-of-Intent and will join the program in the fall.

Leberte, a senior at Huntsville High School, posted top-10 finishes in each of his last three summer events.

“We are very excited about the addition of McLain to our team next fall.  As the No. 1-ranked junior in the state, he was recruited by some very good schools in the Southeast ? by choosing USA, he gives a lot of credibility to our program and shows where Jaguar golf is headed in the future,” said USA head coach Ben Hannan.  “McLain is physically a very talented player with good mechanics who is not afraid to shoot low numbers.  I expect for him to have an opportunity to compete right away and add depth to our line-up.”

Leberte ended the summer season by placing sixth in a field of 127 players at the Alabama State Junior Championships, recording a three-round 213 total including a 68 in the second round and a 71 on the final day of the event.  In his first two tournaments of July, he placed second in a pair of Southern Junior Golf Tour events ? the Ballantrae Junior Classic and the Match Play Championship.

Leberte also was third at the SJGT Hombre Junior Classic and recorded a 12th-place finish at the American Junior Golf Association Preseason Junior at Chateau Elan, giving him five top-20 performances in nine events in the last year.

He will be joining a program that posted three top-six finishes in the fall, including winning the Palmer’s Toyota Fall Intercollegiate in September for the Jaguars’ first tournament title since the spring of 2005.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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