Ema Narita has emerged as one of the Mountain West Conference's premier golfers after a stellar junior season at San Diego State. The Tokyo native earned All-Mountain West First Team honors in May 2026, the program's first all-conference first-team selection since 2022. Narita led the Aztecs in every major statistical category, including a 72.79 stroke average (fourth-best single-season mark in SDSU history), a 603-178-26 win-loss record, a 95.6% count percentage, six rounds in the 60s, 11 rounds under par and 90 birdies. She recorded three top-10 finishes and placed in the top-20 six times, averaging a 16th-place finish across the season. Narita was also recognized on the Mountain West All-Academic Team in 2024–25.
Her standout moment of the season came at the Yale Invitational West, where she fired a career-best six-under-par 210 to tie for second, the best 54-hole score by an Aztec since 2019.
Before arriving at SDSU, Narita built an impressive junior resume in Japan, winning the 2020 Japan Junior Golf Association Tournament, finishing second at the 2021 Kanto High School Tournament, placing third at the 2022 Tokyo Junior Tournament and earning a seventh-place finish at the IMG World Junior Championship. A graduate of Gakushuin High School in Tokyo, she has continued to elevate her game with each passing season on the Mesa.
From Tokyo to San Diego State, Narita shares what drives her game and her goals.
Photo credit: Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State Athletics
How does it feel to receive the honor being named to the All-Mountain West First Team?
Being named to the All-Mountain West First Team is a huge honor, and it motivates me even more going into next year, which will be my last year at SDSU. Looking back, I can really see how much I’ve improved since my freshman year, not only in golf but also in adjusting to a completely different environment, language, and lifestyle away from home in Japan.
What part of your golf game are you the most proud of right now?
I think the part of my game I’m most proud of right now is my short game, especially chipping. Earlier in my career, I used to hit a lot of greens in regulation, so I didn’t have many chances to chip for par. But after dealing with a wrist injury and losing some confidence in my ball striking, I started missing more greens and realized I needed to improve my short game. I worked hard to build confidence around the greens and get myself into a position where I trust I can make up-and-downs consistently. I think that helped me shoot lower scores more consistently this season. The practice facility at The Farms has also helped me a lot because it gave me such a great environment to spend hours practicing different shots and preparing myself for what comes after my college career. Being able to practice there every day has motivated me to keep improving and become more consistent with my practice habits.
Photo credit: Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State Athletics
What’s something about growing up in Tokyo that shapes who you are today, even outside of golf?
Growing up in Tokyo shaped me a lot outside of golf because I went to a private school that didn’t even have a golf team and people seriously pursuing golf either. Most of my friends were involved in completely different activities, but they always supported and cheered for me whenever I had tournaments. Even now, many of those friends still check my results through Instagram, and seeing their support makes me really happy and motivated. Since I missed classes a lot for tournaments, I also learned how important it was to communicate with teachers and reach out whenever I had concerns about schoolwork. That experience helped me become more independent and taught me how to balance academics and athletics, which has helped me a lot here in San Diego as a student-athlete. I also appreciated being surrounded by friends outside of the golf because it allowed me to enjoy everyday experiences and build relationships beyond sports, which helped shape who I am today.
Photo credit: Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State Athletics
What’s something people in your golfing community might not know about you or about life growing up in Japan?
Something people in the golf community might not know is how much living in the U.S. has changed me as a person overall. Since coming here from Japan, I’ve become much more extroverted and comfortable communicating and expressing my opinions to others. Growing up, golf was one of the few things I had strong preferences and opinions about, but now I’ve developed interests and perspectives in many other areas too, which is something I really appreciate about my experience here. I also feel like speaking English has helped me connect with people more openly and build close and meaningful relationships with teammates, friends, and people around me.
Top Photo Credit: Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State Athletics
