Two honored in NJCAA DI Men's Golf CA HOF
Charlotte, NC – The NJCAA has announced two honorees to be inducted into the NJCAA Division I Men's Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame. One coach and one student-athlete have been admitted to the honorable 2023 class. Read below for more on Brad Smith and Chris Young.
Brad Smith | Student-Athlete | Indian Hills Community College (IA)
Brad Smith was a member of the Indian Hills Community College men's golf program during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. During his time at Indian Hills, Smith earned numerous accolades including being named a two-time NJCAA All-American, 2006 First-Team NJCAA All-American, and 2005 Second-Team All-American.
Smith was inducted into the Indian Hills Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 and is the Indian Hills record holder for lowest single, 36-hole, 54-hole, and 72-hole. He placed 7th in the 2005 NJCAA DI Men's Golf Championship and was the NJCAA Individual National Champion in 2006. In 2006, he was the NJCAA record holder for the lowest four-round total with 271, and in 2006 was also the NJCAA record holder for the lowest single round with 62.
After concluding his two-year career at Indian Hills, Smith went on to attend the University of Alabama-Birmingham where he continued to have a successful collegiate career at the four-year level. During his time at UAB, he received all-conference honors as well as newcomer of the year honors. Following his collegiate career, Smith acquired a successful professional career spanning 10 years across the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Latin America, Australia PGA Tour, and European Tour. He is now the current coach at Webster University in St. Louis, MO, his second season with the Gorloks.
Chris Young | Coach | Hutchinson Community College (KS)
Chris Young led the Hutchinson Community College men's golf team to win the program's first NJCAA DI Men's Golf Championship title in 2021 and then went on to lead the Blue Dragons to a second-straight national championship in 2022. Young is currently in his 23rd season with the Blue Dragons and has led them to 21 consecutive NJCAA national tournament appearances and 10 Jayhawk Conference team championships. In 2022, Young was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame.
Young has led his team to 10 Conference Championships, nine Region 6 Team Championships, three district team championships, two NJCAA national championships, and two NJCAA individual national runners-Up. He has coached one National Player of the Year, two National Outstanding Freshman award winners, 15 NJCAA All-Americans, 13 PING/NJCAA All-Americans, nine Jayhawk Conference individual league champions, eight Region 6 individual champions, and four district individual champions. Young has been named the Delnor Poss NJCAA Division I National Tournament Coach of the Year twice and the Dave Williams/Golf Coaches Association of America NJCAA Division I National Coach of the Year once.