Massachusetts golf star recruit joins Temple men’s team

High school senior Ethan Whitney signed a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 12 to play for Temple University golf in Fall 2021.

Temple golf recruit Ethan Whitney competes at the 2020 Massachusetts Junior Amateur Championship at Cranberry Valley in Harwich, Mass. on Aug. 5. | MASS GOLF / COURTESY

Surrounded by offers in his Massachusetts hometown, Ethan Whitney had to decide where he would spend the next four years. But after learning Temple University golf’s head coach was an alumni of his high school, he knew Temple would be a “really good fit.” 

Whitney signed a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 12 to play golf in the Fall 2021 semester. He was crowned the MVP of the Catholic Conference Championship his junior year and was named to Team Massachusetts twice at the New England Junior Amateur Championships.

“I felt like it would be a really good fit for me,” Whitney added. “Him coming from Saint John’s where I go to school is another really cool thing to keep the brotherhood alive.”

For Whitney, a senior golfer at Saint John’s High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, the opportunity to compete at Temple is exactly what he needed to maintain “camaraderie within a team,” he said.

“It’s just been a lot of hard work, and it’s paying off, which is really nice to see,” Whitney said. 

Quinn found out about Whitney through his brother, Chris Quinn, who told Brian Quinn to start recruiting Whitney, he said.

Brian Quinn and his brother also attended St. John’s High School.  

As former Saint John’s golfers, they both had an extensive amount of knowledge of the school’s golf program, which gave them extra confidence when recruiting Whitney, Quinn added. 

“He’s a top-notch junior golfer in the state of Massachusetts and New England, and I think he’s going to be a great fit for our program,” Quinn said. 

Whitney is looking forward to competing at a high level, as he’ll be the first person in his family to play a Division I sport, he said.  

“It’s definitely a milestone and something to be proud of,” Whitney added. 

Sean Noonan, Whitney’s coach at Saint John’s, likes how Temple’s golf team incorporates leadership and organization within the program and believes it is a good fit for Whitney, he said. 

“Ethan’s a hard worker,” Noonan added. “He loves golf, which is huge. He loves the game, he loves the challenge.”

Whitney started playing golf when he was 10 years old as a hobby, but two years ago he began singularly focusing on the sport, which led to significant improvement in his abilities, he said.

While many student-athletes haven’t been able to practice much during the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitney was able to hone in on his skills because one of his friends owned a local golf course and allowed him to practice when other golf courses were shut down, Whitney said. 

“It was a little frustrating in the beginning,” Whitney said. “We ended up being able to have a pretty full season this summer and I was able to get a lot of good results.” 

Whitney is excited about the chance to join the Owls upon graduating, believing he can help the team in a major way.

“I feel like I can bring some energy to the team,” Whitney added. “I feel like I have a lot to offer with my ability.”

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