Last year was a fresh start for Greensboro’s Tanner Cadieux. New school, new team, new surroundings.
And everything seemed to fall into place after an uneventful year at N.C. State.
As a sophomore at Viriginia Commonwealth, the Greensboro native quickly became a mainstay on the team on his way to Atlantic 10 All-Conference team honors.
In a few months, Cadieux went from a forgotten player at N.C. State to a confident all-conference performer.
“It was definitely a big year for me,” said Cadieux.
Cadieux’s biggest highlight was winning medalist honors while leading the Rams to the team championship at the Bentwater Intercollegiate hosted by Sam Houston State. Cadieux shot 6-under-par 65 in the final round to cruise to a four-shot victory with a 7-under 206 total for 54 holes.
Cadieux was second on the team in stroke average at 72.46, only 0.25 behind Carson Looney, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year who transferred to Duke.
Ironically, it was Looney, a friend from their days in junior golf, who recruited Looney to VCU when Bo Andrews took over as N.C. State’s head coach in May 2025 and made roster changes. Looney saw Cadieux’s name in the transfer portal.
Richmond carried good vibes for Cadieux, who qualified for the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes as a co-medalist at the city’s Lakeside Park Club.
“He told me, ‘Come here and play with me and see what happens,” Cadieux remembers.
Cadieux had made the N.C. State lineup for the first tournament during the fall of his first year. But when the tournament was canceled due to poor weather. Cadieux lost his spot before the next event — an 11-team event at Duke that the Wolfpack won — and never got it back.
“We won by 10 strokes (the Wolfpack’s Nick Mathews of Mebane was medalist) at Duke, and it was obvious that there wouldn’t be a lot of lineup changes,” Cadieux said.
This weekend, Cadieux and the Rams begin the fall season with high hopes at the Island Resort Collegiate in Bark River, Michigan, in a tournament including Michigan, West Virginia, St. Mary’s (California) and Central Florida.
“My goal is to be the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year,” said Cadieux. “I’ve trained hard all year. I want to put the pedal to the media and play well every week. That’s what the good players do. If I play to my capabilities, I hope it will be special.”
After the victory in Houston, Cadieux finished 12th in a field of 100 players at a tournament at Mid Pines Club. But he had mixed results from there, finishing the season with a tie for 24th at the Atlantic 10 Championship.
During the summer, Cadieux shot back-to-back 67s at Governor’s Club and was tied for the 54-hole lead at the Carolinas Amateur before posting 77 in the final round.
“I tailed off a little at the end of the season, but I’m back even better than when I was playing well,” Cadieux said.
Moving to Richmond may have helped Cadieux’s development. At N.C. State, the Page High standout was in familiar places with familiar faces and many social options.
Not in the lineup, he was discouraged and lost his focus.
“I had a few other chances,” he said. “I wasn’t sharp. I was not working hard enough. Because I knew I didn’t have much chance to play, I slacked off. I feel bad about that.
“Coming up here, it’s been easier to be dialed in and focused. I’ve been able to play a lot of golf and get some experience. It worked out phenomenally. At State, I went nine months and played one event. Doing that, it was tough to stay consistently good and shoot good numbers under competition.”
Cadieux credits much of his success the past year to work on his wedge game, which he targeted as his big weakness at State. His instructor is Lonnie Poole-based Chase Duncan, whose pupils include PGA Tour star Akshay Bhatia.
A golfer in a football player’s body, Cadieux has never had problems generating distance off the tee.
“My ball-striking has always been a strength,” he said. “Now, my wedge game is sneaking in there as the best part of my game.”
In his victory at Houston, Cadieux relied on his short game to stay in contention before catching fire on the final day.
“It wasn’t the best ball-striking week,” Cadieux said. “I was able to think through the process, try to play as smart as smart as possible and grind it out mentally. I won without my best stuff.”
