Scholar Stories: Naik's Unconventional Rise from Division III to Leaders and Best
4/22/2026 2:16:00 PM | Men's Golf
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories.
By Jonathan Franchi
In sports, as in life, the journey to the top is not always linear. Some student-athletes have been highly touted their whole lives. Others are late bloomers, and some just need a change of scenery. Becoming a college athlete at any level is a major accomplishment and a testament to dedication, diligence and perseverance. Advancing divisions in college sports is rare in today's landscape. Enter sophomore Nilay Naik, a first-year University of Michigan men's golfer who spent his freshman year at Pomona College in California. Naik, a Division III All-America honorable mention as a freshman, used his success to help pursue the Division I ranks, leading him to the Maize and Blue.
Naik was born in California and spent the later stages of his childhood in Oregon, where he attended high school. He grew up playing golf, soccer and tennis, but his father started taking him to the driving range at a young age. Having played multiple sports growing up, Naik is a fan of the unique aspects of golf.
"With golf, there are so many aspects to it, and you're just always learning," Naik said. "You can just go out whenever you want and be by yourself messing around, while improving your game."
Being introduced to golf at such a young age by his father, Naik is grateful for his parents' and his family's overall support throughout his journey, crediting them for his ascension in golf.
"I think playing a sport, especially at the collegiate level, is pretty uncommon, at least in my family," Naik said. "It took a lot of courage for them to allow me to keep playing and to support me along the way. It was never a situation of them forcing me to play -- it was just them supporting me, and they have been a huge part of my journey."
By the time his senior year of high school rolled around, Naik had not gotten much traction in terms of college recruitment. With most Division I golfers committing during their sophomore summer or junior seasons, Naik had only earned the attention of a couple of Division III programs at the time of his fall semester. However, that senior year was a year of growth.
"I was always a pretty small kid. I never really got that good at golf until my senior year of high school," Naik said. "During my senior year summer, I started playing a lot better. I got bigger and stronger and took a more overall structured approach to my practice habits. I had a lot of my credits in school done early, so I didn't have a really packed schedule, so I was able to commit myself more to the game. But, by that time over the summer when I was playing my best, I had already committed to Pomona College and said I was going to go there my first year."
At Pomona College, Naik picked up where he left off in high school. He made an immediate impact, helping lead the team to six top-three finishes and two team titles. From an individual standpoint, Naik recorded seven top-20, six top-10, and four top-five finishes, including two individual titles. He was named a PING All-American honorable mention selection and qualified for the NCAA National Championship, putting together an impressive freshman resume.
Capitalizing on his success, Naik entered the transfer portal after his freshman year to test the waters of the Division I world. However, he acknowledged that he was not going to transfer for the sake of transferring; he wanted to find a situation that excited him, knowing he could safely return to a good situation at Pomona. Late in the process, there was mutual interest with Michigan, and after meeting with the coaching staff, Naik's had made up his mind.
"Academics are super important to me, and Michigan obviously checks that box, and the facilities and coaches really sealed the deal for me," said Naik. "After talking to the coaches, who both played high-level college golf and both played professionally, I knew that Michigan would set me up for the future a lot better from a golf aspect."
Wanting to improve and take his game to the next level, making the jump from a Division III school to a high-level Division I program has been a big change. Being around more competition and a higher level of play, Naik has seen how easy it is to get caught up in the noise.
"There are obviously a lot more people, and my teammates are better, so it's easy to get trapped into admiring everyone else around me," said Naik. "I think being able to focus as much as I can on what works well for me and what I have to do to play well is important, and just understanding that I'm here for a reason."
So far, Naik has shown that he belongs. He has played and started in five events, helping Michigan to two top-five finishes and one top-three finish. He has two top-20 finishes individually and has tied his career-best round with a 67 in the second round of the Island Resort Intercollegiate, where he also tied his career-best tournament score with a 208 over three rounds.
Naik has adjusted well and has helped contribute immediately to a young Michigan team that is without a senior and has just two juniors. When asked about his favorite highlight as a Wolverine, it was not a particular shot or a career-best round; it was the moments he has been able to share with his teammates.
"There have been so many crazy experiences that I've had this year and places I've gone that I never would have thought I'd be able to go to," Naik said. "Traveling with the team is just so fun. We had a practice trip in Vegas at the beginning of the year, and we were just at Ohio State having dinner in our Michigan gear, getting heckled and stuff, and it's just been really fun."
Off the course, Naik is an economics major, citing a high school economics class as his inspiration for that decision. He enjoys how economic concepts appear in everyday life, and even in his golfing experiences at times. Only a sophomore, Naik is unsure of a particular career interest within the major, but he is committed to pursuing a professional golf career after graduating, and he believes that Michigan will help best prepare him for that future.
Naik still has room to grow on the course and in the classroom. His path to Michigan is a testament to his motivation, dedication and courage to take a chance and bet on himself. From being a late bloomer in high school to becoming successful at the D-III level and immediately contributing at Michigan, Naik's path shows that growth can come at any stage. Every stop along the way helped him in his journey, and he now looks forward to thriving at Michigan.
Players Mentioned
