ATHENS, Ga. — Dalton Stevens, who helped South Florida to consecutive NCAA Regional bids over the past two seasons for the first time since 2002, has been named associate head coach for the University of Georgia women’s golf program. Head coach Erika Brennan, who has worked with Stevens for the past six seasons at USF, announced his hiring on Thursday.
“Coach DS is a tremendous person who prioritizes the welfare of student-athletes and ensures they achieve at their greatest potential,” Brennan said. “He is a tenacious recruiter and a proven developer. I’m thrilled he and Christina have chosen to join the Georgia family. After almost seven years I can say with great enthusiasm and great certainty, there is nobody else on earth I’d rather coach alongside of than Coach Stevens. Georgia Women’s Golf just got better today!”
Stevens joined the USF staff in June 2018 as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2023-24 season. All told, he has 10 seasons of collegiate coaching experience.
“I feel incredibly honored and thankful to be a part of the University of Georgia as the Associate Head Coach for the women’s golf program,” Stevens said. “Coaching in the SEC has been a long-standing aspiration of mine, and I’m thrilled about the journey ahead for our program. A heartfelt thank you goes out to Coach Erika Brennan and Mr. Josh Brooks for entrusting me with this amazing opportunity. My wife Christina and I are eager to immerse ourselves in the Athens community. Go Dawgs!”
Brennan and Stevens teamed together as South Florida rewrote almost all of its team and individual records over the past several years, culminating with one of its most successful campaigns ever during 2023-24. The Bulls shattered numerous team and individual records en route to winning three tournaments and finishing third or better in seven of 11 events last season. Most notably, Melanie Green’s school-record season scoring average of 69.73 led to a new USF team average mark of 287.30. Green also produced the lowest 18- and 54-hole scores ever by a Bull – 8-under 64 (twice) and 11-under 205 (twice). Team wise, USF posted its best round ever – a 17-under 271 – on the way to the best tournament mark – a 28-under 836 – to win the Westbrook Invitational.
Green became one of the most decorated golfers in school history. She was named 2024 American Athletic Conference Golfer of the Year and is set to become the Bulls’ first two-time All-American since 1993. Green also has been named to the U.S. team for the Arnold Palmer Cup later this summer.
USF won 11 titles – six team and seven individual – over the past six seasons. During Stevens’ first year with the Bulls, they climbed 111 spots in the national rankings from No. 154 to No. 80. That ascension continued as the Bulls rose to No. 32 last season.
The team also excelled academically, finishing the 2021-22 season with the ninth-best grade point average in the country and producing 11 WGCA All-American Scholars between 2019-23.
Stevens arrived at USF with four seasons of collegiate coaching experience. Immediately before joining Brennan’s staff in Tampa, he spent two seasons as head coach of both the men’s and women’s golf teams at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. Stevens was named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for men’s and women’s golf in 2018.
On the men’s side, Stevens led Bethany to a runner-up finish at the KCAC Championships in 2017 before the Swedes won the conference title by 12 shots in his season. The Bethany women showed dramatic improvement under Stevens, improving to fourth to second at the KCAC Championships during his two seasons and moving up 55 spots in the Golfstat national rankings in the process.
Stevens began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Iowa Central Community College in 2014-15 before returning to his alma mater, Kirkwood Community College, the following campaign. He helped Kirkwood’s Eagles finish as runner-up at the 2016 NJCAA Division II Championships while producing a trio of All-Americans.
Stevens played two seasons at Kirkwood from 2010-12. He earned PING All-Central Region honors, was medalist at the 2011 Region XI Championship, qualified for the NJCAA Championships both years and helped the Eagles finish ninth at the 2012 national championships. Stevens then played at Saint Xavier University in Chicago as a junior and at Mount Mercy University in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa as a senior. He earned an Associate of Arts degree from Kirkwood in 2012 and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Management) from Mount Mercy in 2014.