The Valparaiso University men’s golf program has announced the addition of a pair of signees for the 2023-2024 season. Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville, Ind.) and Elliot Lee (Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook) have both signed their National Letters of Intent to join head coach Dave Gring’s program.

Melliere earned all-state honors in 2022 after finishing in ninth at the IHSAA State Finals (73-74). He garnered the Zionsville boys golf Mental Attitude Award in both 2021 and 2022 and was also an all-conference performer in 2021. During the 2021 campaign, Melliere placed third in the Sectional round of the IHSAA postseason (71) before he placed third in the Regional round in 2022 (72).

Melliere’s long list of golf accomplishments includes the following – 2021 Indiana State Junior Championship Stroke Play second place (68-71) and match play t-9^th, 2022 Indiana State junior Championship stroke play fifth place (68-76) and match play t-5^th, 2021 Golfweek at Indiana University first place (74-72), 2021 Indiana Golf Central Masters Championship first place (70-74), 2022 AJGA UHY Detroit Junior ninth place (76-72-72), 2022 Golfweek Junior Tour at Purdue fourth place (75-67) and 2022 Golfweek Junior Tour at Ball State third place (73-73). He posted a 2022 scoring average of 73.4.

“Adam comes to us from our home state of Indiana, where he has been one of the top-ranked players in the state for years,” Gring said. “He’s a tremendous competitor and he has been an integral part of a distinguished high school golf program at Zionsville. His swing coach and high school coach have done a masterful job in developing his skills, and Adam will continue to grow in our golf program. He is an excellent ball-striker and he’s especially talented with his wedge game, both in distance control and accuracy. Another one of his strengths is his long iron play, being able to take advantage of hitting Par 5s in two and efficiently playing long Par 3s.”

Melliere also thrives in the classroom, where he owns a 4.03 cumulative grade point average. He played high school basketball in 2019-20 and 2020-21 and also played baseball growing up.

Lee was a high school state champion in both 2021 and 2022 in addition to earning the OSAA Most Outstanding 4A Golfer of the Year in 2022. He was also an all-state golfer in 2021 and 2022 and a 2022 regional champion.

A four-year varsity letter winner, Lee also achieved the following accomplishments – won the 2021 Oregon junior Amateur, Team Oregon for the 2021 Juniors America’s Cup, Team Oregon for 2021 Eddie Hogan Cup, played in the IMG Junior Worlds at Torrey Pines Golf Course in 2021, OGA Oregon Junior Amateur champion, OGA Peter Jacobsen Junior Challenge second of 69 (69-70) and U.S. Junior Amateur qualifying (71) fourth/49.

“Elliot is yet another terrific student-athlete coming to us from the fine state of Oregon,” Gring said. “We have had a solid pipeline of players from Oregon over the years and Elliot comes to us with an impressive amount of experience and a successful junior and high school career. He seems to play especially well in highly competitive tournaments, with excellent course management skills and playing to his strengths. Elliot’s short game is exemplary in getting up-and-down around the greens. He has a lot of confidence with his driver and possesses outstanding accuracy off the tee. Like Adam, he is another strong long iron player which is always a benefit with the yardage we play in our tournaments.”

Lee is the student body vice president at his high school and holds an unweighted grade point average of 3.98. He also earned three varsity letters in soccer during his prep tenure. Lee’s brother Carter is on the men’s golf team at Missouri State University in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“Both of these young men have an extraordinary support system around them, which includes their families, coaches, home golf courses, teachers and more,” Gring said. “Both Adam and Elliot are balanced young men, with a tremendous focus on their work in the classroom, their performance on the golf course, their extracurricular activities, family and friendships. The two of them excel in the classroom and their work ethics are exceptional. Our team has won championships on the golf course and in the classroom, and these two young men will continue that tradition of winning on the golf course and a high level of performance and results in the classroom. We welcome Adam and Elliot and their families to the Valpo Athletics Family.”