Ryan Hand Named Assistant Coach for Men’s Golf Program

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ryan Hand has been named assistant men’s golf coach at the University of Louisville, UofL head coach Ryan Blagg announced Thursday.
 
“Ryan will be a great addition to our program,” Blagg said.  “His interpersonal skills, experience as a head coach, and devoted efforts to college golf separated him from our other highly qualified candidates. We are grateful to have him and Katie join us at Louisville.”
 

Hand joins the UofL program after one season as the head coach at Texas A&M-Commerce, where his team qualified for NCAA Regional play and developed an All-American and three Academic All-Americans during the 2021-22 season. Three golfers earned all-conference honors under his watch, including Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk, who was named the Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year. The Lions set the new program record for the lowest score through three rounds in its win at the DBU Patriot Classic, the Lions’ lone tournament win of the season. 
 
Under Hand’s watch, all nine players improved their scoring average from the fall to the spring and his team was named the school’s Athletic Academic Team and Athletic Team of the Year.
 
Prior to his stint at Commerce, Hand spent three seasons as assistant men’s and women’s golf coach at Barry University, an NCAA Division II institution in Miami Shores, Fla.
   
The 2020-21 season saw the men ‘s team finish the year ranked ninth in Division II in the Golfstat rankings, while the women were ranked 11^th. During that shortened season, both the men’s and the women’s teams qualified for the NCAA Regionals. Individually, 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-American and to the GCAA All-Freshman Team as one of the top-five rookies in Division II. Tyler Bakich was an honorable mention All-American. Ewart, Bakich and Nicolas Quintero were all named to the All-Region team. The women posted a 297.25 stroke average,…