Division I Dave Williams Award presented by Golf Pride Grips Finalists Announced
MESA, Ariz. – Division I finalists for the Dave Williams Award presented by Golf Pride Grips have been announced by the GCAA. The Williams Award honors the national coach of the year in Division I men’s golf.
The five finalists are Jason Enloe of SMU, Wake Forest’s Jerry Haas, Conrad Ray of Stanford, Mike Small of Illinois, and Arizona State’s Matt Thurmond. If a team wins the NCAA Championship and its coach was not previously named a finalist for the Dave Williams Award that coach will be added for coach of the year consideration.
Enloe led the Mustangs to four victories in their 12 events over this season. The Mustangs also added four top five finishes and a pair of top ten performances to cap off their 2019 campaign. Mustang Sophomore Mac Meissner was named American Conference Player of the Year under the direction of Enloe.
Haas helped lead the Wake Forest to five victories in their 11 starts this season, while the Demon Deacons never finished outside of the top five in their remaining seven tournaments. Wake Forest was ranked in the Bushnell Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll all season and finished No. 3 in the final regular season poll.
The Big 10 Coach of the Year, Small led the Illini to their 10th Big Ten title in 11 years, and their 17th in program history. It is Smalls’ fifth straight Big Ten Coach of the Year award. The Illini won four tournaments during the 2018-19 season, with the most recent coming after their fifth NCAA Regional victory in seven years, capturing the Myrtle Beach Regional title.
Ray helped lead Stanford to a five-win 2018-19 season, while the Cardinal only finished outside of the top ten one time all year. The 2019 Pac-12 Champions, Stanford also earned a regional victory, taking home a 12-shot win in the Stanford regional earlier this month.
The 2019 PAC-12 Coach of the Year, Thurmond helped lead the Sun Devils to second-place finishes in 10 of their 13 tournaments including four victories during 2018-19. Arizona State most recently earned fourth place at the PAC-12 Championships and a second-place finish at the Stanford Regional.
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