From The Fairway: Jack Burke’s Commitment

We last shared a conversation with Texas State men’s golf standout Jack Burke in April of 2023. He was a sophomore that season. A lot has changed since then.

In 2024, the Bobcats reached match play at the Sun Belt Conference Championship, the first time in program history. Burke, now a senior and the most experienced Bobcat on the roster, is set to marry fiancé Madeline come June. The college golf (correction), the college athletics landscape has seen more unprecedented shakeups than we can all count (and counting…).

To avoid sounding cliché, one thing that hasn’t changed is Burke’s commitment to Texas State. He’s coming up on four years with the men’s golf team, something that is trending toward rare status these days.

The Orange, Texas, native grew up on golf and Mexican restaurants in the small, eastern-most Texas town. Perhaps that’s why he feels right at home in San Marcos. Burke became part of the in-crowd in his hometown, golfing with the locals had him ahead of his time. July 9 was even declared ‘Jack Burke Day’ in Orange after he won a state championship.

There were 200 kids in his graduating class and the 2020 census marked Orange as a town of just over 19,000. For reference, Texas State had an enrollment of more than 40,000 in the fall of 2024. 

As a reminder, Burke was one of only five kids from Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School’s Class of 2021 to go on and have a collegiate athletic career after winning a state championship, three district titles and two region championships for the Battlin’ Bears. 

Since then, Burke has been named an All-Sun Belt Conference selection and multi-time conference golfer of the week, a GCAA All-America Scholar, a member of the Sun Belt Commissioner’s List and a member of the Dean’s List at Texas State. 

For the Bobcat program, he has been a mainstay in the Texas State lineup. 

It wasn’t without struggle to get here.

“The recruiting process was a little, you know, it was really good my sophomore, junior year,” Burke said. “But, COVID hit, and Texas State was one of a couple schools that really stayed with me through the process. [They] took a chance on me when colleges were taking their older guys back for that extra year.

Getting somewhere is one thing. For Burke, it was probably more than half the battle. Staying here, though, seemed to be rather easy for him.

Following the 2023-24 season, more than 250 Division I men's golfers entered the transfer portal. Of that number, just over 170 were marked as matriculated at an NCAA school for the 2024-25 season.

Burke isn’t the only one who has made the commitment to Texas State. Bobcat head coach Shane Howell has been with the program since 2007. He’s coached TXST across three conferences, has had two individuals win Sun Belt Championships since entering the conference in 2014 and was at the helm when the squad advanced to match play at the event for the first time in 2024.

“He definitely wants the best for you. He'll get on you when you need to work on some things, and need to be better at things and clean your act up. And he'll show you when you're doing stuff good and give you that boost of confidence. And you know, just stick with you through.”

Another guy that Jack’s familiar with who also just can’t seem to shake that States Up mindset, assistant coach Harrison Hineline. Hineline was a grad transfer for the Bobcats during the 2022-23 season and competed in eight tournaments. He was Jack’s teammate.

“When he came in [to coach], it was just like having another teammate, so it's awesome.”

Burke admitted it can be hard at times, “Because I remember just playing tournaments with him and rooming with him on the road. So, you know, it's not odd, but he's just part of the team, like a teammate.” 

Perhaps down the road Burke will also be able to mentor a former teammate of his. He has plenty to choose from and has already started in a sense. The Texas State men’s golf roster is made up of 10 student-athletes, seven of them upperclassmen. But, that number is rather deceiving.

Of the seven upperclassmen on the roster, only two others have been at Texas State more than a season in Hynek Groh and Sakke Siltala. The Bobcats lost five members of the 2023-24 team, three of which competed at the SBC Championship alongside Burke and Siltala.

“We had that taste of getting to match play last year at conference, and we lost majority of that team, but me and Sakke, we kind of understand we still have that chance this year and the fall was kind of our get everybody adjusted to what DI golf is because we had a lot of JUCO transfers, DIII transfers.”

One of those new faces, freshman Jaxon Donaldson. From up the road in Wimberley, Texas*, Donaldson has been in the lineup for each of TXST’s nine tournaments this season. A feat Burke didn’t accomplish his first year as a Bobcat.

Burke’s calm demeanor and small smirk said it all when asked about the newcomer.

“Just a stud. I like Jackson.” 

“I kind of view him as like my little brother. We have a lot of things in common, I think he's going to do great things. I remember me being a freshman, there's just a lot to learn in such a short period, and especially him coming in and playing right away. I have all the confidence and faith in him in the world, just ready to see what he's going to do.”

Burke has come a long way since rolling up in his car seat with his very own set of nerf clubs as a three-year-old. Now he’s 22 years old, playing college golf.

When we talked to Burke in 2023, Howell, also a native of the region, had this to say about his second-year golfer who was already starting to make his mark on the program…

“One thing to know about growing up in the Golden Triangle is, although you might leave town to spread your wings, you will always be that community’s guy.”

Same is true for Burke when he eventually must leave Texas State.

The Bobcats head into the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Championship with three top five finishes this season, posting back-to-back fourth place finishes at the Kapolei Invitational and Hal Williams Collegiate for season bests. Sakke Siltala has led the Bobcats in six of nine tournaments, posting three top five finishes, with Burke taking the lead in the remaining three, placing in the top 10 twice. For their efforts, Siltala was twice named the Sun Belt Golfer of the Week, with Burke also picking up an honor of his own.

Texas State recorded four top five finishes during the 2023-24 season that included claiming the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate title. They qualified for match play at the SBC Championship for the first time in team history after tying for third in the 72-hole stroke play portion. The group also earned Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Presidents Special Recognition, while five Bobcats were named Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars.

*Read more on freshman Jaxon Donaldson | From the Fairway: Jaxon Donaldson’s 30 Minute Journey that was 18 Years in the Making