It’s been five years since the Illinois men’s golf team has had a busy schedule this time of year, but it’s a safe bet no one’s going to complain.

The Illini’s third-place finish in last weekend’s NCAA Central Regional provided a welcome extension to their season and the team’s first NCAA Championships berth in five years.

“We’re just on a roll right now,” head coach Mike Small said.

Larry Blatt, in his first year with the team after transferring from Mississippi, is a big reason why. The junior’s score of eight-over-par 221 was good enough for 11th in the tournament’s individual competition and was Illinois’ lowest score at the 7400-yard Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. The recently lengthened course, paired with windy conditions Saturday, proved challenging.

“It was a constant grind out there,” Blatt said. “You just make a lot of pars and you feel like you’re playing well.”

Blatt, along with fellow first-year player Scott Langley, have been major contributors for a reshaped Illini roster this season. Following the loss of All-Big Ten selection Patrick Nagle and other veterans last year, Small said the team has taken on a “totally different look.”

“These are five guys, none of them played very much (last year),” Small said. “This is kind of a new team. The new freshmen have brought some energy, brought some talent, and Larry brought some veteran experience with him, too.”

Small added that the influx of new players has added a surprising amount of depth to the program. At the Central Regional, the four players contributing to the team’s score finished within three shots of each other. Only Chris DeForest, who shot 234 (+21) at the Regional, did not count towards the team’s combined stroke total in any of the three rounds.

“We’re not counting the higher scores in the fourth and fifth slots like we were last year. We’re a much deeper team,” Small said.

The Illini now prepare for the NCAA finals, which will be held in familiar territory. Purdue’s 7,072-yard Kampen Course, where Illinois competed just one month ago at the Boilermaker Invite, will play host to the tournament May 28-31.

“We’ve already got four rounds under our belt there, so that’s definitely an advantage,” Blatt said.

While the players will now enjoy some downtime before preparing for the biggest tournament of the year, Small said he will definitely be occupied. The eighth-year head coach competed in local qualifying for the U.S. Open in Harvard, Ill., on Monday and earned a spot in a sectional qualifier on June 2. His team’s upcoming tournament has made a crowded schedule even more hectic.

“It’s always busy for me,” Small said. “I’ve got two recruiting trips in there, too, to North Carolina and to Iowa, in all this mess.”

Not that he’s complaining.