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Salisbury Golf Tees Up a New Season
After battling tough competition last season, Salisbury Varsity Golf returns with renewed confidence. Key wins in head-to-head matches against schools like Millbrook, Trinity-Pawling, and Berkshire, along with Rhett duPont ‘27 winning the Independent International Invitational (III), served as major highlights for the 2025 campaign.
With a core group of promising younger players, there is no doubt the team has its sights set on climbing higher this season.
Athletic Director and former head coach of the team Mr. Tim Sinclair ‘91 described the group as a “good core group with a plethora of kids that want to play.” Despite losing six seniors, Mr. Sinclair notes two key players who will lead the Knights this year: duPont, last year’s most complete player, and Mauricio Garcia-Cepeda ‘28, who made history by becoming the first third former to shoot under par during current Head Coach Brent Barbato ‘02’s tenure.
After winning the III at Crumpin-Fox Golf Club last year, duPont reminisced about the performance, saying, “To play the way I did, it was a lot of fun.” He has already turned the page to 2026, though, noting, “We only need six guys to break below 40. And I think we have that this year.”
That team-wide success is duPont’s goal this year, with one particular trophy in mind: the New England Championship. The tournament combines the best of the best in the region. This year, the Knights are looking to follow in the footsteps of the 2022 team that won the title.
One way that may happen is through the addition of new players such as Samuel Beebe ‘29, Parker Tumelty ‘27, and Jack Solon ‘28. “We’re expecting big things out of them,” Coach Barbato said. “Those are the guys that I’m hoping will turn things around for us.”
The team will start off the season by traveling down to Yeamans Hall in South Carolina, a top-100 course in the U.S., to prepare for the spring. Coach Barbato said the biggest thing for the team during spring break is “just finding that chemistry — the guys playing well, staying positive, and enjoying being out there, enjoying the range, and traveling around playing golf together.”
While there were great individual performances in 2025, it wasn’t what the Knights needed to win big. Coach Barbato said the key for the team this season is “finding a consistent, competitive, and fun environment for these guys… getting the guys to buy in and play confidently. If you’re playing confident and not putting pressure on yourself, that’s when you’re at your best.”
Two-year player Thomas Molloy ‘27 credits a big part of keeping it light and fun to Coach Barbato. “The team culture is great… it’s a really tight-knit group because there aren’t a lot of kids, and Barbs is really good at making it feel like a family,” he said. “Being close with your team by far adds more success.”
The team has all of the tools to go out and win it this year. With a strong, consistent lineup backed by good culture and coaching, Salisbury Golf will certainly be a fun team to watch this spring.
This preview was written by Matthew Chirumbolo ‘26. It was first published in the March 2026 issue of The Cupola.