Carson High golfer Lukas Taggart smiles after signing his Letter of Intent to continue his athletic and academic career at the Colorado School of Mines Wednesday inside of Carson High School.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
Lukas Taggart had been talking to a lot of coaches this summer in hopes of finding the right fit to continue his golf career.
Taggart, who is the top of his class academically at Carson High, will head to one of the highest rated academic schools in the country in the fall, in the Colorado School of Mines.
It was an easy decision for Taggart after he got his offer and took a tour of the campus in Golden, Colorado.
“It’s awesome. It’s everything I hoped for the last couple of years,” said Taggart. “It’s really cool that I get to go to a school with a great golf team and great academics for engineering.”
Taggart will join a men’s golf program has dominated the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in the last decade, winning four conference titles since 2012.
The Orediggers have made the NCAA Div. II super regionals as a team in nine of the last 11 years.
Carson High boys’ golf coach Wade Greenlee felt as though the Colorado School of Mines was getting the perfect candidate.
“He was basically my assistant coach. He helped some of the younger guys and he is such a hard worker,” said Greenlee. “They are going to get a guy who is used to playing a lot of golf and under pressure.”
While at Carson High, Taggart took 13th in the Class 4A regional tournament in 2019 before going on to state as a freshman.
Despite not getting a 2020 season due to COVID, he was right back in the front of the pack in 2021, taking 11th at the two-day regional tournament.
Last summer, Taggart represented the state of Nevada in the Junior America’s Cup in Wyoming where he competed against golfers from 16 other states.
“This summer was a pretty good jump for Lukas,” said Greenlee. “He’s a scratch golfer. I can’t imagine it’s going to be a whole lot harder for him.”
The Senator senior says putting is his biggest strength around the golf course, but it’s not a talent he’s lucked into.
“It takes a lot of work, to keep that up and keep that going,” said Taggart.
Recently, his drills have been designed around speed and strength to propel the ball further.
Making a decision prior to his senior season on the links will take some pressure off of Taggart, who was determined to figure out his next best move after high school.
Taggart says once he gets to Golden, Colorado, his plans are to major in biomedical engineering.
