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    Wofford hires new golf coach

    11 hours ago

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1JXTHx_0udjO7FT00

    SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College has announced that Todd Eckstein has been named the new head coach of the men’s golf program. Eckstein joins the Terriers to lead the team after serving as the head coach of the High Point University men’s golf team for the past two seasons.

    “I’d like to thank President Samhat and Scott Kull for the opportunity to lead the Wofford men’s golf program,” said Eckstein. “The combination of deep tradition, liberal arts education and athletic excellence at Wofford has the men’s golf program primed to grow into a thriving mid-major program. I’m really looking forward to the relationships I’ll share with our student-athletes as we build not only toward championship-level golf, but also successful lives beyond Wofford.”

    In two seasons at the helm of the Panthers, Eckstein led the squad to 15 total top-10 finishes. He coached a total of four All-Big South players, including the 2024 Big South Newcomer of the Year in Fred Roberts IV. Roberts earned medalist honors at the 2024 Big South Championship with a 9-under 204 performance and became the third Panther ever to advance to the NCAA Regionals. On top of leading Roberts to victory, Eckstein guided High Point to a first-place finish by 18 strokes in the stroke play portion of the Big South Championship in 2024 to send the Panthers to the match play portion for the first time ever. He also coached a US Amateur Qualifier in Charlie Barr.

    On top of the success Eckstein saw on the course for his Panthers squad, many of his players also excelled in the classroom. He has seen two Big South All-Academic Team honorees and coached four GCAA All-America Scholars in just two seasons. The program had only garnered one such honoree prior to his arrival in 2022.

    “I am proud and excited to welcome Todd Eckstein as the next head coach of the Wofford men’s golf program,” said Robert D. Atkins ’65 Director of Athletics Scott Kull. “Throughout this search process, we strived to find an individual with a proven track record of success, and Todd has shown his ability to elevate a program in just two years as the head coach at High Point. Between his time as a student-athlete at Davidson and as a coach at Furman and Mercer, he understands the importance of academics and holds an advantageous viewpoint of the academic rigors here at Wofford as well as the competitive landscape of the Southern Conference. We were impressed by Todd’s ability to recruit and develop talented players, and I have no doubt that he is the right person to lead our proud program and help elevate it to the next level in a competitive Southern Conference.”

    Prior to his time at High Point, Eckstein spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech with a focus on recruiting. The Hokies improved as much as 54 spots in the national rankings after his arrival in Blacksburg in July of 2019. Eckstein helped Virginia Tech win the 2021 Oldfield Invitational for the program’s first team victory since 2016. As a recruiter, he signed multiple top-100 players to the Hokies program in the 2020-22 classes. Eckstein coached a VSGA Player of the Year, a VSGA Junior Player of the Year, two NAA Regional Qualifiers, a Korn Ferry Tour member and a US Amateur Qualifier.

    Preceding his time with the Hokies, Eckstein spent three seasons in the Southern Conference between two different programs. From 2016-19, he was an assistant coach for the Furman men’s program. During his tenure with the Paladins, the team improved 90 spots in the national rankings. With a triumph at the 2019 Wofford Invitational, he helped the team secure its first tournament title in nine years. Eckstein helped coach two SoCon Players of the Year, a SoCon Freshman of the Year and four All-SoCon selections.

    Eckstein served as an assistant in the spring of 2016 with Mercer before his arrival in Greenville. In the fall of 2015, he was a volunteer assistant with his alma mater, Davidson College.

    Before joining the coaching ranks, Eckstein was an all-conference golfer at Davidson. A four-year letterwinner with the Wildcats, he was a two-time Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-American Scholar. He secured Atlantic 10 All-Conference recognition in 2015 after being named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team in 2013. Eckstein finished in the top 10 six times individually while lifting his squad to a pair of team wins. Eckstein graduated from Davidson College in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

    Eckstein takes the helm of the Wofford men’s golf program after Van Williams departed to join the coaching staff at Wake Forest.

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