COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce has announced the hiring of Ryan Hand as head men's golf coach, effective August 1.
With Hand's hiring, the men's and women's golf programs at A&M-Commerce will have different head coaches for the first time since the women's program was inaugurated in the 1996-97 season. In 2020-21, the Lion men won their first-ever Division II regional championship and advanced to the Division II national tournament for the first time in program history. At nationals, the Lions placed fifth after advancing to the match play quarterfinals.
"Coming off an historic season for our men's golf program, the level of interest in our head coach position was exceptional," said A&M-Commerce director of athletics Tim McMurray. "In a deep and talented pool of candidates, Ryan Hand not only matched the specific qualities for our new leader of Lion men's golf, he exceeded them. His golf acumen is exceeded only by his desire to help our young men excel in all facets of life. It is a distinct privilege to welcome he and Katie to our Best in Class Lion family."
Hand comes to Commerce after three seasons as assistant men's and women's golf coach at Barry University, an NCAA Division II institution in Miami Shores, Fla.
In 2020-21, the Barry men finished the year ranked ninth in Division II in the Golfstat rankings, while the women were ranked 11th. The Buc men had a second team All-American and two honorable mention All-Americans, while the women had one first team All-American. In a truncated season, both teams qualified for their respective NCAA regional tournaments.
In 2019-20, the Bucs were among the top teams in NCAA Division II in both men and women. The men posted a 289.05 stroke average and won five of seven tournaments. All five wins came in a row, setting the school record. A.J. Ewart was named Third-Team All-America and to the GCAA All-Freshman Team as one of the top-five rookies in Division II. Tyler Bakich was honorable mention All-America. Ewart, Bakich and Nicolas Quintero were all named to the All-Region team. The women posted a 297.25 stroke average, good for second place in school history and won once. Noemie Paré and Alice Götbring were both named second team All-America. Pare was also and Academic All-American, along with Josefina Foa Torres.
In his first season, both the men's and women's teams finished tied for fifth at their respective national championships. Both teams finished first in the final Golfstat national rankings. The men produced four GCAA/ PING All-Americans, including the Nicklaus National Player of the Year Jorge Garcia. Niclas Weiland was also named to the First-Team, making Barry the only school with teammates on the First-Team, while Bakich and Daniel Faccini were named honorable mention. For the women, Tilda Larsson was a First-Team All-American and Foa Torres was named honorable mention. Larsson was the only NCAA Division II player selected to compete at the inaugural Augusta Women's Amateur.
The men set the school record in 2018-19 with a 283.67 stroke average (-2.67 versus par), becoming the first Buccaneer squad to break par for the season. They tied the school record with eight tournament wins (set in 2013-14). The women also set the school record for stroke average in 2018-19 at 297.13 and tied the record with five tournament wins (set in 2016-17).
Hand came to the Bucs from Missouri Western State where he was the graduate assistant for both the men's and women's programs for the 2017-18 season. He helped lead the Griffons from a 170 national ranking for the men to 53 and a 74 ranking for the women to 62. The men posted a school-record 294 scoring average and their first NCAA Regional appearance in 10 years. The Griffons posted two tournament wins on the season, their first in eight years. The women also reached the NCAA Regional and junior Shi Qing Ong qualified for the national tournament as an individual.
He was a two-year member of the Griffons' men's golf team. As a senior, he carded one top-5, three top-10 and four top-20 performances in 10 events. As a junior, in 10 events, he had two top-5, two top-10 and two top-20 finishes. He tied for first at the Holiday Inn Classic as a junior for his only win.
A native of Savannah, Mo., Hand has a bachelor's of science in sports management (2016) and a master's of applied science in sport and fitness management (2018), both from MWSU.