How Indiana women’s golf went from beating one team to Big 10 Champs

Kendall Griffin had every right to be picky. But she knew right away she wanted to work for Brian May.

Griffin was finishing her college golfing career at Louisville, her fifth collegiate season playing after four years donning purple and gold for LSU. Once having aspirations to be a professional golfer, those dreams changed after she got into the day in and day out of college golf. She realized coaching could be a great avenue for her to stay connected in the sport, but she wanted to make sure the right opportunity presented itself.

Enter May, who in May of 2022 became the fifth coach in the history of the Indiana women’s golf program. The former assistant at Kentucky had gotten to know Griffin a bit from her time at LSU, but it was perhaps May’s peers who gave a more stellar impression of their coach to Griffin.

Three years ago, Indiana women’s golf beat one team all season long. Now, the Hoosiers are Big 10 champions for the first time since 1998 and are back in NCAA Regionals for just the third time since 2010. It’s a culmination of May’s vision, Griffin’s guidance and a team featuring six newcomers on its roster this season coming together when it mattered most.

It’s also because May took a chance on hiring Griffin fresh out of college, and their partnership has revived a program that’s heading into the postseason with nothing to lose.

“It was extremely important for us to have Kendall Griffin,” May said. “She was the first piece of the puzzle and how important she is as a piece to the program. To be able to have somebody by my side that I know is going to put these girls in the best position possible whenever she’s out on the golf course, she’s so important to what we’re doing.”

Griffin expressed her desire to get into coaching to her coach at Louisville, Whitney Young, as Griffin’s career was winding down. That’s when May took the Indiana job, and Griffin wanted to join him.

“One day I got a text from her,” Griffin said. “And she said, ‘hey, you know, Brian May got the head coaching job at Indiana, would you want to work for him?’ I was like, ‘yes, absolutely. Like when can I talk to him?’ You know, would he be willing to just at least give me a conversation right? Like maybe I’m not what he’s looking for, but I would love to learn from that conversation to learn from him.

“Being a player, you’re around others all the time. You get to know how coaches really are. And I never heard one bad…