CSU men’s golf gets new head coach for 2nd time in last 3 summers as Jack Kennedy joins Rams after successful run at University of San Francisco
By Gary Baines – 8/9/2024
Representatives of the Colorado State University men’s golf team — past and present — have been making some significant golf news in recent months:
— Connor Jones of Westminster, who wrapped up his CSU career in the spring, just earned the prestigious honor of winning the Men’s Elite Amateur Cup by finishing atop the point standings in the 2024 Elite Amateur Series.
— Another former Ram, Davis Bryant of Aurora, followed up his first victory as a pro — at the Wyoming State Open — with a win at his home course in the Inspirato Colorado Open, with the victory worth $100,000. Bryant became the first Colorado resident since 2017 to earn the Colorado Open title.
— In June, current CSU player Matthew Wilkinson won one of the CGA’s majors, the CGA Match Play. And this month, he finished second in the other major, the CGA Amateur.
— Also in June, former CSU golfer Gunnar Broin qualified for and competed in the U.S. Open as an amateur.
But while some of this was going on, the CSU men’s program was in the midst of hiring a new head coach — for the second time in the last three summers after previously having just three men’s golf head coaches in over three decades (Mark Crabtree, Jamie Bermel and Christian Newton).
Michael Wilson, hired two years ago to take over the CSU program, resigned effective on July 22 to take the coaching job at his alma mater, Cal. Wilson, who played for Cal’s 2004 NCAA title team, led CSU to the NCAA national championship tournament in 2023, when they finished 28th in the 30-team field.
On Friday, the Rams filled their vacancy by announcing that Jack Kennedy, until recent the men’s head coach at the University of San Francisco, has been named CSU’s men’s head coach by athletic director John Weber.
Kennedy spent eight years at the Dons’ helm, including one year as the interim head coach. During that time, San Francisco advanced to four NCAA regional tournaments and two NCAA national championship appearances, in 2021 and ’23, placing 20th in the country in the latter. Last season, the Dons won the team title at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. That was one of eight team victories USF posted under Kennedy’s watch.
“His vision for a complete student experience at Colorado State stood out amongst our strong candidate pool for the position,” Weber said in a release. “Jack has a track record of success with his program on and off the golf course. He has helped many of his students at San Francisco achieve their dreams of professional golf. While winning and high achievement on the golf course are important to Jack, he puts a premium on education. We look forward to him continuing the strong tradition that is Colorado State men’s golf.”
Kennedy hopes that he can bring similar success to CSU as he had at San Francisco.
“I am grateful for the opportunity and belief that John Weber has in my vision for CSU golf,” Kennedy said in Friday’s media release. “His enthusiasm and desire to make CSU a national contender was a huge draw. We want to be great on the course, in the classroom, and in the community. I am confident that we can continue to attract great players to our program.”
The Tucson native — who started his coaching career in men’s basketball, as a graduate assistant at USF from 2008 to ’10 — played his college golf at Grinnell (Iowa) College, where he also was a basketball player.
The CSU men will be one of two Colorado-based NCAA Division I golf programs that will start the 2024-25 season with a new head coach, the other being the University of Colorado women. Madeleine Sheils, a former CU associate head coach, is taking over the Buffs’ women’s team from Anne Kelly, who retired at the end of last season after a 27-year-run in the position.
The CSU men are scheduled to begin the new season with their own tournament, the Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club, set for Sept. 17-18. In fact, the Rams’ first three tournaments will be in Colorado, with the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club Sept. 21-23, and the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com