JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ledger Conley didn't commit to Jacksonville to sit idly by. He came to compete and to win. If his career up to starting his freshman year in Duval County is any indication, Conley is on the right track.

Like most athletes, Conley fell in love with his game of choice at a young age. Playing a local course in Georgia with his dad Barry, Conley picked up clubs at the age of four. He was never big on individual lessons or coaching, rather sticking to practicing with his father and feeling the game out on his own.

By 10 years old, Conley started playing in his first tournaments. But it was a few years before when he decided to pick between soccer and golf and make a choice that years later found him as a Division 1 men's golfer.

Around eight years old, Conley started playing with locals from his area. Not kids his age but adults. Sure, Conley had to play from the senior tees due to the fact he simply wasn't even double digits in age, but that didn't stop him from winning.

"It got to a point where they couldn't play with me anymore," Conley said with a chuckle. "They couldn't take the embarrassment. That's when I realized that golf might be my sport."

The early age winning saw Conley take his talents to the high school ranks at Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, Georgia. By his junior year, Conley was already an individual state champion.

Playing at Kinderlou forest Golf Club in Valdosta – the site of the 2025 and 2026 ASUN Men's Golf Championship – Conley won the Georgia High School Association 6A individual state title under head coach Ron Smith.

"It was one of my goals since I got to high school. I did it," Conley said. "I was playing very well. Every part of my game was playing well. It was a dream come true."        

That wasn't the only winning Conley earned during his high school days. Along the way, Conley helped his Richmond Hill Wildcats to a ninth-place finish in the state tournament and the school's first area championship. Conley also appeared in the Georgia vs. South Carolina match play tournament two years in row. In the 2025 tournament, Conley finished second across the Peachtree State.

All that success saw the young Georgian qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2025, the most prestigious junior championship in the world. Just to qualify, players under 19 years old must carry a handicap below 4.4 while also advancing through local section qualifying. 

With his friend Will McNeely on the bag, Conley competed against the best amateur golfers from all corners of the globe. He didn't make the cut, but that wasn't the last the Junior Am. would see of Conley.

In 2026, Conley was back in the Junior Amateur competition, McNeely still carrying the clubs. Though he didn't birdie a single hole at his first Junior Amateur, Conley picked up a stroke after a single hole his second time around.

"The experience helped after that first time," Conley said. "I went in without many nerves, and I laughed after I birdied my first hole. It was just such a big experience. It was such an honor to be out there."

By tournament's end Conley had five total birdies.

"It's hard enough just to make it. But to make it twice? It just gave me a lot of confidence," Conley said. "It's very cool that I was there twice. Even though I didn't win or get a trophy, it felt like a win just being there."

Success across his junior and senior high school seasons saw a handful of Division 2 offers come Conley's way. It wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but schools were starting to take notice.

When deciding where he wanted to play, Conley took a visit down to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida to play the infamous TPC Sawgrass course. The same Sawgrass course that has seen the best moments of the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson saw Conley stepping onto the green alongside JU head coach Mike Blackburn.

Following the front nine, Conley was one under par. With one Division 1 offer to show for it.

After nine holes, Blackburn decided he'd seen enough and extended an offer to Conley to join him in Jacksonville. For good measure, Conley tore up the back nine, throwing down a three-under round and a par on the Island Green 17^th hole to boot.

"Who wouldn't want to live in Florida," Conley said of deciding to play for JU. "There are a bunch of great people already on the team. I love coach Blackburn; he's a great guy. It's close to home. After I thought about it, I knew I couldn't pass it up. It all fell in perfectly."

It's now onto freshman year for Conley since moving into his dorm on Tuesday. He's joined by fellow freshmen Sean Reddy and Billy Ver Straate. All three players live on the same end of one dormitory hall.

The expectation for Conley is never to be good enough and when his first season as a college golfer starts, Conley knows he's right where he belongs. 

"I want to qualify for every event," Conley said. "You don't come to college golf to not play. I plan to come out hot and make that first tournament lineup. I want to win."