BATON ROUGE – While the LSU men’s golf team competes with one of the nation’s more talented teams this season, the future certainly looks even brighter for the Tigers as head coach Chuck Winstead has received National Letters of Intent from four of the nation’s top recruits during the fall signing period.

Franco Castro of Alpharetta, Ga., Smylie Kaufman of Birmingham, Ala., Landon Lyons of Baton Rouge, La., and Andrew Presley of Fort Worth, Texas, have signed with LSU and will be eligible to compete for the Tigers beginning in the fall of 2010.

Winstead has inked one of the premier signing classes in the country again this season as each member is ranked among the Top 50 recruits in the country for the Class of 2010.

“We are very happy to have these young men joining our program. Not only are they talented young men on the course with their best golf in front of them, but they are the type of quality individuals that all fans would want to represent our program and university,” Winstead said. “We look forward to their arrival on campus in the fall and the impact they will have on our program during their time here at LSU.”

Presley signs with the Tigers as the 15th-ranked recruit in the country for the Class of 2010 in the National Junior Golf Scoreboard, while he is also ranked No. 16 nationally in the Polo Golf Junior Rankings and No. 36 in the country in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

An active member of the American Junior Golf Association throughout his junior career, Presley received an honorable mention selection to the AJGA Rolex Junior All-America Team in 2009.

Presley kicked off his 2009 season in April by winning his first career tournament title as a member of the AJGA with a three-shot victory at the Under Armour/Hunter Mahan Championship held at the TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, while firing a 5-under par 211 for 54 holes. He also earned a Top 10 finish in AJGA competition with a third-place finish at the Elbit Systems of America Junior Golf Classic in June.

A product of Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth, Presley was also a participant at the 2009 United States Junior Amateur Championship held at Trump National Golf Club in New York, which is the nation’s most prestigious junior championship sponsored by the United States Golf Association.

Kaufman also signs with LSU as one of the top recruits in the country as he is ranked No. 21 nationally in the Class of 2010 in the latest Golfweek rankings, while he is also the nation’s No. 38 recruit according to the National Junior Golf Scoreboard and No. 43 recruit in the Polo Golf Junior Rankings.

Like Presley, Kaufman is an experienced member of the AJGA with three top 10 finishes to his credit this season, including back-to-back sixth-place finishes at the AJGA Mizuno Junior at Innisbrook in April and the AJGA Junior at Steelwood presented by AT&T in June.

Not only that, but Kaufman also fired a three-round score of 1-under 215 to finish in a tie for fifth place at the 37th Southern Junior Championship at Reynolds Landing in Greensboro, Ga.

Kaufman, a senior at Vestavia High School, was an alternate at this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur following his runner-up finish in the sectional qualifier at Bakker Crossing Golf Course in Sioux Falls, S.D. Despite not competing in the field this summer, Kaufman was a member of the field at the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2006 at the age of 14 as one of the youngest qualifiers in tournament history.

While his success on the course is well-documented, Kaufman has also been honored for his outstanding community service efforts throughout his high school career. He was the recipient of the 2008 Presidents’ Youth Leadership Award presented by the AJGA for his efforts in joining the fight against cancer.

Kaufman is the co-founder of Kids vs. Cancer, a fundraising charity that benefits the pediatric cancer unit at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama. He has joined his brother, Luckie, in raising more than $50,000 for cancer research since forming the charity in 2006.

Castro, a product of Alpharetta High School, is also a nationally-ranked recruit for the Class of 2010 as he is rated No. 22 in the class by the National Junior Golf Scoreboard, as well as No. 26 nationally in the Polo Golf Junior Rankings and No. 41 in the country in the latest Golfweek rankings.

An honorable mention selection to the AJGA Rolex Junior All-America Team in 2008, Castro has carried that success into 2009 as he has earned a pair of Top 10 finishes in AJGA competition this season.

He captured his first career victory as a member of the AJGA in April at the Aldila Junior Open where he fired rounds of even-par 72 and 6-under 66 for a 36-hole score of 6-under 138 at The Country Club of the South in Johns Creek, Ga. He also earned a top 10 finish in one of the AJGA’s premier events this season with a seventh-place tie at the AJGA Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville, Fla.

Castro has also competed in such prestigious AJGA events as the FootJoy Invitational, PING Invitational and Rolex Tournament of Champions during the 2009 season.

Lyons is also ranked among the Top 50 recruits in the country for the Class of 2010 as he currently stands at No. 42 nationally according to the National Junior Golf Scoreboard.

A product of Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Lyons has proven to be the top recruit in the state of Louisiana for the Class of 2010 as he enters his senior season as the two-time defending state champion of Class 2A, including his win in the spring of 2009 at Copper Mill Golf Club in Zachary where he fired two rounds of 3-under 69 and 4-under 68 to finish with a two-day total of 7-under 137.

Like his fellow signees, Lyons is an active member of the AJGA as he has earned a pair of top 10 finishes in AJGA events in 2009, including a runner-up finish at the AJGA Junior at Steelwood. He also boasts one victory as a member of the AJGA at the Junior All-Star at Grand National during the 2007 season.

Lyons just missed qualifying for the field at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship this summer while he was an alternate following a fourth-place finish at the section qualifier at Bowling Green Country Club in Bowling Green, Ky.