WBU Athletics
Kevin Lewis
Wayland Baptist’s Tom Harp was named Golf Coaches Association of America NAIA Central Region Coach of the Year.
Harp, now in his 21st year at Wayland, was honored after guiding the Pioneers to a ranking as high as No. 3 in the NAIA last season when they captured four tournament victories, including the Innisbrook Invitational in Palm Harbor, Fla., the TPC San Antonio Shootout, and the Texas Intercollegiate in Fort Worth. The Pioneers finished third at the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament – which also featured No. 8 Texas Wesleyan, No. 12 Oklahoma City and No. 16 Southwestern Christian – and qualified for the NAIA National Championships where they narrowly missed the 36-hole cut.
Under Harp, Wayland has qualified for nationals as a team every year except two since 2003. The only years the Pioneers didn’t qualify as a team were 2011, when they were represented by individual Michael Loppnow, and last year when they event was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Wayland finished the season ranked seventh in the NAIA.
The GCAA regional coaches awards are presented in conjunction with Golf Pride Grips.