Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
Senior Bence Kotel is leading the Rockets with a 72.7 stroke average.
Rocket Spotlight on Bence Kotel
4/29/2026 4:12:00 PM | Men's Golf
On swinging a golf club at two years old, finding Hungarian food in the U.S., and rushing the field at BG
Bence Kotel is a senior from Tihany, Hungary. Kotel is leading the Rockets this season with a career-low 72.8 stroke average. He is majoring in mechanical engineering and possesses a 3.641 grade-point average.
On how he started playing golf
I think the whole story that I heard was that I started super young. I think I was maybe 3-4 years old. I remember stories when my dad would say that my grandparents would have get-togethers where they were living and they had plastic golf clubs. They thought it would be fun to just get them for me. Then I started hitting them at two years old and my dad was like, 'Oh, he's actually doing pretty good at this!' After that, he started taking me to play real golf so we could see where it takes us.
On when he became serious about golf
I started traveling around Europe pretty young. I remember playing in a few tournaments in Scotland and England when I was around 10 years old. But I feel like you don't really have a say in it at that point. It's just like your parents are pushing you to do it. It was probably when I was 13 years old when I felt like this is something that I'm interested in and wanted to do it.
On having the opportunity to play golf at a university in the United States
It's been one of my big dreams. Coming from Hungary, where golf is not a huge thing and it's a case where if you're really good then you either turn professional right away, or you can come to college in the States, play some of the best amateurs in the world, go to some amazing courses, see the world in general, and meet some great people. I'm thankful to be here getting an education and playing the game I love.
On playing at the Balaton Golf Club in Tihany growing up
I grew up in Budapest until I was about 7 years old. Then we moved to Tihany. Balaton was less than 10 minutes away and super close to my house. They were super nice to let us practice whenever we wanted to. It's a beautiful course with great scenery. It has holes that are in a little forest and a hole that's above a quarry.
On growing up in Tihany
It's very different than Toledo. The town that I live in has about 800 people. It's a huge tourist destination in the summer with people from all over Europe. Everybody comes down there and goes sightseeing and to the beach in the summer, but it's completely dead in the winter. I would go to school and then go to practice in the afternoon. That was it.
On the golfers he modeled his game after
I would definitely say one of my favorite players growing up was Rory (McIlroy). I think he was a big inspiration. He has a great swing, and I looked up to him when I was younger. As I grew older, I really started liking Tommy Fleetwood. I liked watching them in the majors and seeing them compete.
On learning how to speak English at an early age
I think they do a pretty good job in the Hungarian education system teaching kids different languages. When you're in third grade, they make you either pick German or English. I picked English because I knew I wanted to do something along the lines of what I'm doing right now and to come to the States. A lot of people who are in Hungary picked German because they thought they might move to Austria or Germany. Then once you get to high school, you have to pick another language, so I picked German and I didn't like it.
On playing other sports growing up
I'd say I did a lot of things. Soccer's a huge thing in Hungary, but it was just a hobby for me playing in school with classmates and with my home club with friends. I swam for a few years and tried tennis too in elementary school. It was really hard to do other things, because golf is a pretty time-consuming game.
On keys to his successful senior season
Golf is a very mental game. Â I feel like something can just click in your mind at some point in your life and then things could start going well. It can happen in a bad way for you as well when you're not as confident chipping or putting, and it just spirals. I think I just found something along the way of just being more confident in myself. I started picking a better strategy on the course and just played safer. That has allowed me to put up the scores I have.
On living in Toledo
I've really enjoyed my time here and met so many good people. Toledo has given me great opportunities in golf and for my life to come too. I'm really grateful for that. I do miss the food we have back home. It's something that I've been trying to learn to cook for myself. My dad makes some great goulash soup, but I have not tried to make it yet. Me and my girlfriend went to Hungarian Rhapsody in Detroit, and they had pretty good food. It's also nice to go to Tony Packo's in Toledo.
On being a part of team in golf
It's been nice being part of a team since golf is an individual sport. I think it's super fun to get to know people from different places in the world. I think it's so cool that you have this connection for four years and then you're going to know these people for the rest of your life. You can always just shoot them a text, ask them how they are, and maybe when you're on that side of the world, you can go meet them again.
On being a mechanical engineering major
I have always liked physics and math, and mechanical engineering was a great field for me to go into and is definitely something that people will need in the future. I've already worked with 3D modeling and manufacturing in my internships. I like to think about people's problems and try to solve them. That's something that drew me to engineering. I think I would like to work in sales for an engineering company, because I like to talk to people about what they want and then just come up with solutions.
On favorite moments as a Rocket
There are definitely a few. There was one time when the whole team went to our football game at BG. We won and everybody rushed the field. It was super fun. Playing golf and traveling around the States has been great. I have been able to see a lot of different courses and different parts of the country. I don't know how many states I've been to, but there's some amazing courses I've seen that you would never hear about.
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On how he started playing golf
I think the whole story that I heard was that I started super young. I think I was maybe 3-4 years old. I remember stories when my dad would say that my grandparents would have get-togethers where they were living and they had plastic golf clubs. They thought it would be fun to just get them for me. Then I started hitting them at two years old and my dad was like, 'Oh, he's actually doing pretty good at this!' After that, he started taking me to play real golf so we could see where it takes us.
On when he became serious about golf
I started traveling around Europe pretty young. I remember playing in a few tournaments in Scotland and England when I was around 10 years old. But I feel like you don't really have a say in it at that point. It's just like your parents are pushing you to do it. It was probably when I was 13 years old when I felt like this is something that I'm interested in and wanted to do it.
On having the opportunity to play golf at a university in the United States
It's been one of my big dreams. Coming from Hungary, where golf is not a huge thing and it's a case where if you're really good then you either turn professional right away, or you can come to college in the States, play some of the best amateurs in the world, go to some amazing courses, see the world in general, and meet some great people. I'm thankful to be here getting an education and playing the game I love.
On playing at the Balaton Golf Club in Tihany growing up
I grew up in Budapest until I was about 7 years old. Then we moved to Tihany. Balaton was less than 10 minutes away and super close to my house. They were super nice to let us practice whenever we wanted to. It's a beautiful course with great scenery. It has holes that are in a little forest and a hole that's above a quarry.
On growing up in Tihany
It's very different than Toledo. The town that I live in has about 800 people. It's a huge tourist destination in the summer with people from all over Europe. Everybody comes down there and goes sightseeing and to the beach in the summer, but it's completely dead in the winter. I would go to school and then go to practice in the afternoon. That was it.
On the golfers he modeled his game after
I would definitely say one of my favorite players growing up was Rory (McIlroy). I think he was a big inspiration. He has a great swing, and I looked up to him when I was younger. As I grew older, I really started liking Tommy Fleetwood. I liked watching them in the majors and seeing them compete.
On learning how to speak English at an early age
I think they do a pretty good job in the Hungarian education system teaching kids different languages. When you're in third grade, they make you either pick German or English. I picked English because I knew I wanted to do something along the lines of what I'm doing right now and to come to the States. A lot of people who are in Hungary picked German because they thought they might move to Austria or Germany. Then once you get to high school, you have to pick another language, so I picked German and I didn't like it.
On playing other sports growing up
I'd say I did a lot of things. Soccer's a huge thing in Hungary, but it was just a hobby for me playing in school with classmates and with my home club with friends. I swam for a few years and tried tennis too in elementary school. It was really hard to do other things, because golf is a pretty time-consuming game.
On keys to his successful senior season
Golf is a very mental game. Â I feel like something can just click in your mind at some point in your life and then things could start going well. It can happen in a bad way for you as well when you're not as confident chipping or putting, and it just spirals. I think I just found something along the way of just being more confident in myself. I started picking a better strategy on the course and just played safer. That has allowed me to put up the scores I have.
On living in Toledo
I've really enjoyed my time here and met so many good people. Toledo has given me great opportunities in golf and for my life to come too. I'm really grateful for that. I do miss the food we have back home. It's something that I've been trying to learn to cook for myself. My dad makes some great goulash soup, but I have not tried to make it yet. Me and my girlfriend went to Hungarian Rhapsody in Detroit, and they had pretty good food. It's also nice to go to Tony Packo's in Toledo.
On being a part of team in golf
It's been nice being part of a team since golf is an individual sport. I think it's super fun to get to know people from different places in the world. I think it's so cool that you have this connection for four years and then you're going to know these people for the rest of your life. You can always just shoot them a text, ask them how they are, and maybe when you're on that side of the world, you can go meet them again.
On being a mechanical engineering major
I have always liked physics and math, and mechanical engineering was a great field for me to go into and is definitely something that people will need in the future. I've already worked with 3D modeling and manufacturing in my internships. I like to think about people's problems and try to solve them. That's something that drew me to engineering. I think I would like to work in sales for an engineering company, because I like to talk to people about what they want and then just come up with solutions.
On favorite moments as a Rocket
There are definitely a few. There was one time when the whole team went to our football game at BG. We won and everybody rushed the field. It was super fun. Playing golf and traveling around the States has been great. I have been able to see a lot of different courses and different parts of the country. I don't know how many states I've been to, but there's some amazing courses I've seen that you would never hear about.
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