University of Minnesota Athletics
Brinsmead Announced as New Head Coach
12/14/2020 4:30:00 PM | Women's Golf
The University of Minnesota has announced the hiring of Rhyll Brinsmead as its head women’s golf coach.
The University of Minnesota has announced the hiring of Rhyll Brinsmead as its head women's golf coach, Athletics Director Mark Coyle announced Monday. Brinsmead comes to Minnesota after spending thirteen years as the head coach at Kennesaw State University where she led the program to historic heights. The hire is pending completion of a background check, and Brinsmead will take over the program in January 2021.
"I am thrilled to welcome Rhyll to Minnesota," said Coyle. "Success has followed her wherever she has gone and the work that she has done at Kennesaw State has been tremendous. She has a proven record of producing results on the course and developing student-athletes off of it, and her passion for the well-being of her student-athletes really stood out during this process. I am excited for our team to get to know Rhyll and learn from her. The future of our women's golf program is in good hands under her leadership."
Kennesaw State has thrived under Brinsmead's guidance. Despite a shortened 2019-2020 season due to COVID-19 public health concerns, the program was off to an impressive start with three top-10 finishes against strong competitors at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, Magnolia Invitational and Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. The Owls also placed two members on the ASUN's all-conference team.
During the 2018-2019 season, Kennesaw State set a program scoring record with a 294.17 scoring average and finished the season at No. 43 in the Golfstat rankings. They posted top-10 finishes in ten of the eleven events and had three individuals ranked in the top-250 golfers in the nation according to Golfstat. The Owls claimed top honors at the Magnolia Invitational, Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic and the ASUN Championship, securing back-to-back ASUN titles for the first time in program history. Following the season, Brinsmead was named the ASUN Coach of the Year for the fifth time in her career. The 2018-2019 season was recently recognized as the best in Kennesaw State women's golf program history by the ASUN Conference.
"I am honored to be named the next women's golf coach at the University of Minnesota," Brinsmead said. "I would like to thank Mark Coyle, Julie Manning and Peyton Owens for their faith in me to lead the team. I am eager to get started and build upon the tradition of excellence while integrating a new standard and vision for this program. Throughout the hiring process, I saw how committed the athletic department is to supporting the student-athletes academically and athletically, while maintaining an elite level of success dedicated to winning championships at the Big Ten and NCAA level. The resources and facilities are in place for this program to excel at the national level, and I cannot wait to be a part of this ride. I look forward to building upon the talented roster that is in place, welcoming our new signees and recruiting future Golden Gophers. It would be remiss not to mention Kennesaw State and the appreciation I have for the leadership within the university and the athletic department. Ski-U-Mah!"
Under Brinsmead's leadership, Kennesaw State reached national recognition on numerous occasions. Six student-athletes have been named the ASUN Conference Women's Golfer of the Year, and there was one individual qualifier for the 2014 NCAA Championship. Brinsmead led the program to its first ASUN Conference title and NCAA postseason berth during the 2011-12 season. The Owls advanced to the NCAA West Regional at Colorado National Golf Club, where they placed 20th. The program has since appeared in three more NCAA Regionals (2014-15, 2017-18 and 2018-19).
Off the golf course, Brinsmead stresses the importance of academic success. The Owls women's golf program earned the highest team GPA at Kennesaw State during the 2019 spring semester with a 3.62 grade point average. Under Brinsmead, a total of sixteen student-athletes earned WGCA All-American honors, and nine received ASUN Conference All-Academic Team honors.
Prior to her time at Kennesaw State, Brinsmead served as the assistant coach at Iowa State from 2005-07. During her tenure, the Cyclones had the second best Big XII Conference finish in program history, and three players earned conference all-academic honors. Brinsmead began her coaching career at Texas State, her alma mater, as an assistant during the 2004-05 season.
Brinsmead was a four-year letter winner and served as team captain during her junior and senior seasons as a student-athlete at Texas State. She led the Bobcats to the 2002 Southland Conference championship and also earned an honorable mention all-conference selection as a senior.
During her time as a United States Golf Association (USGA) P.J. Boatright intern with the Central Texas Junior Golf Association, Brinsmead launched the region's LPGA-USGA Junior Girls Golf Club. She also led the 'Hook a Kid on Golf' junior camp, a free camp for junior golfers.
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Brinsmead received a bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science from Texas State and a master's degree in educational leadership and policy studies from Iowa State.
At the helm at Kennesaw State:
Four ASUN Conference championships
Four NCAA Regional appearances
Posted 92 Top-10 and 55 Top-5 tournament finishes
Captured nine tournament titles
One CoSIDA Academic All-District Team Selection
16 WGCA All-American Scholars
Two ASUN Scholar Athletes of the Year
Nine players selected to the ASUN Conference All-Academic Team
One player qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championships
Six individuals named ASUN Golfer of the Year
32 players selected ASUN All-Conference
Four players garnered ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year honors
13 players earned ASUN Conference All-Freshman Team accolades
Five-time ASUN Conference Coach of the Year
Coaching history:
2007-20 Kennesaw State, Head Coach
2005-07 Iowa State, Assistant Coach
2004-05 Texas State, Assistant Coach
"I am thrilled to welcome Rhyll to Minnesota," said Coyle. "Success has followed her wherever she has gone and the work that she has done at Kennesaw State has been tremendous. She has a proven record of producing results on the course and developing student-athletes off of it, and her passion for the well-being of her student-athletes really stood out during this process. I am excited for our team to get to know Rhyll and learn from her. The future of our women's golf program is in good hands under her leadership."
Kennesaw State has thrived under Brinsmead's guidance. Despite a shortened 2019-2020 season due to COVID-19 public health concerns, the program was off to an impressive start with three top-10 finishes against strong competitors at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, Magnolia Invitational and Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. The Owls also placed two members on the ASUN's all-conference team.
During the 2018-2019 season, Kennesaw State set a program scoring record with a 294.17 scoring average and finished the season at No. 43 in the Golfstat rankings. They posted top-10 finishes in ten of the eleven events and had three individuals ranked in the top-250 golfers in the nation according to Golfstat. The Owls claimed top honors at the Magnolia Invitational, Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic and the ASUN Championship, securing back-to-back ASUN titles for the first time in program history. Following the season, Brinsmead was named the ASUN Coach of the Year for the fifth time in her career. The 2018-2019 season was recently recognized as the best in Kennesaw State women's golf program history by the ASUN Conference.
"I am honored to be named the next women's golf coach at the University of Minnesota," Brinsmead said. "I would like to thank Mark Coyle, Julie Manning and Peyton Owens for their faith in me to lead the team. I am eager to get started and build upon the tradition of excellence while integrating a new standard and vision for this program. Throughout the hiring process, I saw how committed the athletic department is to supporting the student-athletes academically and athletically, while maintaining an elite level of success dedicated to winning championships at the Big Ten and NCAA level. The resources and facilities are in place for this program to excel at the national level, and I cannot wait to be a part of this ride. I look forward to building upon the talented roster that is in place, welcoming our new signees and recruiting future Golden Gophers. It would be remiss not to mention Kennesaw State and the appreciation I have for the leadership within the university and the athletic department. Ski-U-Mah!"
Under Brinsmead's leadership, Kennesaw State reached national recognition on numerous occasions. Six student-athletes have been named the ASUN Conference Women's Golfer of the Year, and there was one individual qualifier for the 2014 NCAA Championship. Brinsmead led the program to its first ASUN Conference title and NCAA postseason berth during the 2011-12 season. The Owls advanced to the NCAA West Regional at Colorado National Golf Club, where they placed 20th. The program has since appeared in three more NCAA Regionals (2014-15, 2017-18 and 2018-19).
Off the golf course, Brinsmead stresses the importance of academic success. The Owls women's golf program earned the highest team GPA at Kennesaw State during the 2019 spring semester with a 3.62 grade point average. Under Brinsmead, a total of sixteen student-athletes earned WGCA All-American honors, and nine received ASUN Conference All-Academic Team honors.
Prior to her time at Kennesaw State, Brinsmead served as the assistant coach at Iowa State from 2005-07. During her tenure, the Cyclones had the second best Big XII Conference finish in program history, and three players earned conference all-academic honors. Brinsmead began her coaching career at Texas State, her alma mater, as an assistant during the 2004-05 season.
Brinsmead was a four-year letter winner and served as team captain during her junior and senior seasons as a student-athlete at Texas State. She led the Bobcats to the 2002 Southland Conference championship and also earned an honorable mention all-conference selection as a senior.
During her time as a United States Golf Association (USGA) P.J. Boatright intern with the Central Texas Junior Golf Association, Brinsmead launched the region's LPGA-USGA Junior Girls Golf Club. She also led the 'Hook a Kid on Golf' junior camp, a free camp for junior golfers.
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Brinsmead received a bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science from Texas State and a master's degree in educational leadership and policy studies from Iowa State.
At the helm at Kennesaw State:
Four ASUN Conference championships
Four NCAA Regional appearances
Posted 92 Top-10 and 55 Top-5 tournament finishes
Captured nine tournament titles
One CoSIDA Academic All-District Team Selection
16 WGCA All-American Scholars
Two ASUN Scholar Athletes of the Year
Nine players selected to the ASUN Conference All-Academic Team
One player qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championships
Six individuals named ASUN Golfer of the Year
32 players selected ASUN All-Conference
Four players garnered ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year honors
13 players earned ASUN Conference All-Freshman Team accolades
Five-time ASUN Conference Coach of the Year
Coaching history:
2007-20 Kennesaw State, Head Coach
2005-07 Iowa State, Assistant Coach
2004-05 Texas State, Assistant Coach
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