Figuring out which five golfers will fill out the Franklin men's lineup this spring will be a challenge for coach Kyle Dell — but it's a problem he doesn't mind being stuck with.

There is, of course, no such thing as having too many good players, and the idea is that having so many people pushing for starting spots will force everyone to improve.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of moving parts in the lineup, just given the fact that we do have a lot of depth," Dell said. "I told the guys that it's going to prepare us for the long run, learning how to compete amongst yourselves. The toughest part is qualifying, being able to prove that you have what it takes to qualify — and then the tournament actually becomes the easiest part. With the talent we have, qualifiers are very, very tight and competitive, but if you have the right mindset, that competitiveness in the qualifiers is going to help us succeed in the future."

The Grizzlies have already enjoyed some success this year, finishing out the fall with a third-place finish at the HCAC Preview and also placing sixth at the 45-team Midwest Region Classic in Wisconsin. Though two players from those lineups are no longer on the team, Dell is confident that there is enough strength left on the roster to fill those spots without any dropoff in production.

Leading the way is junior Nick Stewart, who was an All-HCAC performer as a sophomore. Dell says that "his steadiness is going to be really crucial for us up top."

Senior Angel Soria, who played the last two seasons at the Division I level for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, provides another seasoned veteran.

The presence of those two elder statesmen will be important on a team whose other nine players are all freshmen and sophomores — but what the younger Grizzlies lack in collegiate experience, they make up in talent.

Sophomores Caden Anderson and Tyler Young have established themselves, with Anderson tying for sixth individually at the HCAC Preview with a 73-78—151. A deep freshman class will be paced by Hunter Riggs, who also cracked the top 10 at that tournament with a 153, and Jake Garrison.

With all of those players in the fold and others to push them, Dell believes that Franklin has a shot to win its first conference championship since 2006.

"We have the talent to do it," he said. "It's just taking it day by day, shot by shot, not getting ahead of ourselves — but we have the talent to go out there and compete at that conference championship level. ... We just have to keep the correct mindset day by day, stack the small wins, and then we'll be right where we want to be come May.

"The goal is to get back to nationals where we belong."