Baylor

Three-time national champion coach Mike McGraw became Baylor's head coach on June 16, 2014. McGraw joined the Bears following one season as assistant coach at Alabama, where he helped lead the Crimson Tide to the 2014 NCAA Championship title. With ten seasons at Baylor and nine seasons at Oklahoma State, McGraw totals 20 years as a Division I head coach. Including his time as an assistant at Oklahoma and Alabama, McGraw has 28 years of experience coaching at the Division I level, and he’s led teams to the NCAA Championship in 21 of 26 possible seasons (no championship in 2020 due to COVID-19). Nearly half of McGraw’s 26 potential championship seasons have ended with top-five finishes at the NCAA Championship, including 11 times in the top five, three times as national runner-up and three national titles.

McGraw’s teams have won 50 tournament titles and advanced to 14 of 20 possible NCAA Championships in his time as a Division I men’s golf head coach. He’s coached players to 44 individual medalist honors and produced 32 All-Americans.

McGRAW AT BAYLOR
In 11 seasons, McGraw has led the Baylor program to unprecedented heights, including 20 team titles, 13 individual titles and 11 All-America selections. Prior to his arrival, Baylor had advanced to the NCAA Championship five times in program history, but under McGraw’s guidance BU has earned NCAA Championship berths in five of the last eight potential championship seasons (no championship in 2020 due to COVID-19). The Bears achieved their first-ever No. 1 national ranking, won their first NCAA Regional title and advanced to NCAA Championship match play for the first time in program history, earning the best NCAA Championship finish in program history.

McGraw's 11th season at Baylor was highlighted by a spirited showing at the Big 12 Match Play Championship, defeating No. 2 Arizona State 3-2 in the Big 12 Match Play semifinals. The Bears advanced to the finals for the fourth time in seven events, the most appearances by any team in the Big 12 Conference. Junior Jonas Appel led the team with a 73.25 scoring average, contributing to the team score in an impressive 92.9% of his rounds.

In 2023-24, McGraw led the Bears back to the NCAA Championship, making the 54-hole cut for the second time in his tenure and carding the third-best NCAA finish in program history (14th). The No. 6 seeded Bears held off No. 2 seed Alabama in the Chapel Hill regional on the strength of a second-place finish by Johnny Keefer, who set the Baylor tournament scoring record (198) in the process. BU opened the postseason with a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship at Whispering Pines, the Bears' best finish at Big 12s since 2002. Keefer earned all-tournament team honors with a tie for sixth, the seventh Big 12 All-Tournament Team in McGraw's tenure at Baylor. McGraw's 50th win came at the Aggie Invitational at Traditions Golf Club in early April, where the Bears overcame windy conditions to beat the host Aggies by six shots. BU opened the season with three top-5 finishes in the fall, including a second-place finish at the Big 12 Match Play. The Bears started 4-0 with wins over UCF, Iowa State, TCU and Houston before dropping the championship match against Texas 4-1. Zach Heffernan finished the week with a 5-0 mark, becoming the third Bear to accomplish that feat, joining Cooper Dossey and Colin Kober, who each went 5-0 en route to the 2018 Big 12 Match Play title. Baylor opened the season at the inaugural Valero Texas Collegiate, carding a third-place finish on the strength of Keefer's tie for first. The senior ended the season and his career solidifying himself as one of the greatest players in program history, breaking Jimmy Walker's career stroke-average record by .1 shots (71.45). He also left with the single-round (63) and tournament scoring record (198). In addition to becoming the first three-time All-American in school history, he also became the only men's golfer ever to win Big 12 Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year three times.

The 2022-23 Bears made their return to the postseason for the 24th time in the last 25 seasons and made the most of it with a return to the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in seven seasons and the 10th time in program history. BU was one of just 16 teams to play in five of the last seven NCAA Championships and Johnny Keefer became the first player to advance to the final round of stroke play since 2017 where he finished 52nd. The Bears advanced to the NCAA's by way of a fourth-place finish at the Morgan Hill Regional, its best regional finish since 2019. The first of BU's two team titles in 2022-23 came at Ridgewood Country Club in the Bear Brawl and secured at least one team win in all nine seasons in Waco. Six Baylor players finished in the top 10 to give McGraw his 16th win as a head coach at BU, with his 17th win coming a few months later at the Border Olympics to open the spring slate. The win marked the 10th time in program history the Bears captured the Border Olympics title. Keefer earned All-Region honors for the third time in his career adding upping Baylor's total to16 All-Region selections during McGraw's tenure in Waco. Trey Bosco and Luke Dossey captured individual titles for the Bears in 2022-23. Bosco burst out of the gates with a win as an individual at the Minnesota Golf Classic, his first event of the season, while Dossey shared co-medalist honors with one of McGraw's former players, Brandon Hoff, at the Bear Brawl. Drew Wrightson put up a career performance at the Big 12 Championship at Prairie Dunes tying a program record for the best individual Big 12 Championship round with a second-round 65 at Prairie Dunes. Wrightson’s 72-hole Big 12 Championship score of 282 also ranked second in program history.

In 2021-22 McGraw helped Johnny Keefer to one of the best years by an individual in BU history. Keefer became the second player in program history to be named All-American (Golfweek and PING/GCAA), All-Big 12 and the Big 12 Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Bears won a tournament for the second year in a row, outlasting ACU and UTSA in the inaugural Bear Brawl, a four-team match-play event held at Ridgewood Country Club. BU went 2-0 on the day, getting clutch 19th-hole victories from Mark Reppe in the morning session and Luke Dossey in the afternoon session to win the first event held in Waco since 2005.
 
The Bears made the postseason for a 23rd-straight year in 2020-21, garnering a No. 7 seed in the Stillwater Regional, where they missed a fifth-straight NCAA Championship appearance by just a single shot. BU finished sixth at the Big 12 Championship and had multiple players (Colin Kober and Mark Reppe) on the All-Tournament Team for the first time since 2001. Baylor started the spring semester strong with a six-shot win at the Rice Intercollegiate, over-taking Houston with a final-round 275. After winning the inaugural event in 2018, BU Captured the 2020 Big 12 Match Play Championship at the Golf Club at Houston Oaks, winning all five matches, including the Championship over Oklahoma State with a 9-4-hole differential.
In 2019-2020 McGraw and the Bears got off to a blistering start with wins in each of their first two starts at the Gopher Invitational and the Fighting Illini Invitational. As a freshman, Keefer burst onto the scene leading the Bears with a score of 3-under 210, which was good enough for a tie for 3rd at the Gopher. The following week the Bears tied for first at the Fighting Illini Invitational led by Cooper Dossey. He took home individual medalist honors while Colin Kober also finished in the top-10, in a tie for seventh. BU was ranked No. 9 nationally when the season was canceled in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Dossey was named a First Team All-American By PING/GCAA and Golfweek, while Keefer was named to the third team by PING/GCAA and an honorable mention by Golfweek. It marked the third time in four seasons that McGraw and the Bears boasted multiple All-Americans.
 
After opening the 2018-19 season with a 13th-place finish at the Fighting Illini Invitational, the Bears won the second event at the Trinity Forrest Invitational thanks to a final-round 270. BU toppled host SMU by one stroke, thanks partly to four players finishing in the top 10 and all five in the lineup finishing in the top 18. The following event was the inaugural Big 12 Match Play Championship, in which the Bears won with a perfect 5-0 record, combining to go 20-5-5 in their individual matches. BU finished the regular season ranked at No. 25, earning a No. 5 seed at the Louisville regional. They punched a fourth-straight ticket to the NCAA Championship thanks to a third-place finish at Louisville Golf Club. Baylor ended the season tied for 27th in three rounds at the NCAA championship in Fayetteville, Ark.

The 2017-18 Bears finished the season ranked No. 16 nationally according to Golfstat. They started the season with six consecutive top-four finishes, including a second straight Royal Oaks Intercollegiate title and second-place finishes at the Gopher Invitational and the All-American Intercollegiate. BU also finished third at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and the Arizona Intercollegiate. They advanced to the NCAA Championship for a school-record third consecutive season by finishing in third place at the NCAA Bryan Regional.

Three Baylor golfers picked up All-America recognition for their efforts during the 2017-18 season, with Braden Bailey, Garrett May and Matthew Perrine all honored. Additionally, Cooper Dossey joined that trio to give the Bears four PING All-Central Region selections. Perrine was named the 2018 Byron Nelson Award winner, and Colin Kober won the NCAA Elite 90 Award.

 

THE McGRAW FILE
MIKE McGRAW
College	Central Oklahoma, 1982
Family	wife, Pam
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Year	School, Position
1984-86	Edmond (Okla.) Memorial HS, volunteer assistant coach
1987-93	Edmond (Okla.) Memorial HS, assistant coach
1994-97	Edmond (Okla.) North HS, head coach
1998-04	Oklahoma State, assistant coach
2004-05	Oklahoma State, women's head coach
2006-13	Oklahoma State, head coach
2013-14	Alabama, assistant coach
2014-pres.	Baylor, head coach
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
Year	School, Position
1998	NCAA Championship (4th), assistant coach, OSU
1999	NCAA Championship (2nd), assistant coach, OSU
2000	NCAA Championship (1st), assistant coach, OSU
2001	NCAA Championship (t-24th), assistant coach, OSU
2002	NCAA Championship (16th), assistant coach, OSU
2003	NCAA Championship (2nd), assistant coach, OSU
2004	NCAA Championship (13th), assistant coach, OSU
2005	NCAA WG Championship (8th), head coach, OSU
2006	NCAA Championship (1st), head coach, OSU
2007	NCAA Championship (15th), head coach, OSU
2008	NCAA Championship (4th), head coach, OSU
2009	NCAA Championship (t5th), head coach, OSU
2010	NCAA Championship (2nd), head coach, OSU
2011	NCAA Championship (t3rd), head coach, OSU
2012	NCAA Ann Arbor Regional (8th), head coach, OSU
2013	NCAA Championship (14th), head coach, OSU
2014	NCAA Championship (1st), assistant coach, Alabama
2015	NCAA Bremerton Regional (6th), head coach, Baylor
2016	NCAA Championship (27th), head coach, Baylor
2017	NCAA Championship (t-5th), head coach, Baylor
2018	NCAA Championship (30th), head coach, Baylor
2019	NCAA Championship (t-27th), head coach, Baylor
2021	NCAA Regional (t-6th), head coach, Baylor
2023	NCAA Championship (30th), head coach, Baylor

Baylor’s success carried over to the classroom, as Bailey, May and Perrine combined to give the Bears a school-record three GCAA All-America Scholars and extended a school record to four straight seasons with multiple All-American Scholars. Their recognition brought the program’s total to nine All-America Scholar honorees in McGraw’s four seasons. BU had 13 selections in the 21 seasons prior to McGraw’s arrival. BU also had every member of the roster earn Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognition for a third consecutive season.

The 2016-17 BU squad won four tournaments and had a streak of seven consecutive top-three finishes. The Bears won the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, the All-American, the Linger Longer Invitational and shared the title with the tournament host at the NCAA Stanford Regional. BU also took second place at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and the Aggie Invitational. BU earned its first-ever No. 1 national ranking in Golfweek’s April 3, 2017, poll.

Baylor advanced to match play at the 2017 NCAA Championship, earning the program’s best finish with a tie for fifth place after falling 3-2 in a 19th hole playoff against eventual national champion Oklahoma.

A trio of players on the 2016-17 squad earned All-America honors, with Bailey, Dossey and Perrine all recognized. Dossey was named 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was selected to the five-member GCAA All-Freshmen Team. Hunter Shattuck and May joined that trio to give the Bears a school-record five All-Region honorees. Additionally, McGraw was one of five finalists for the Dave Williams Award, and assistant coach Ryan Blagg won the 2017 Jan Strickland Award.

The 2016-17 Bears had a school-record nine Academic All-Big 12 honorees, including six first-team selections. Shattuck and Perrine were named All-American Scholars and all 11 members of the roster earned Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognition.

In just his second season in Waco, McGraw led the Bears to their first NCAA Championship berth since 2010. Baylor advanced to the NCAA Kohler (Wis.) Regional, extending one of the nation’s longest active streaks with a 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bears mounted a back-nine comeback in the final round of the regional, combining for 17 birdies to finish tied for fourth and earn one of five NCAA Championship spots awarded at the regional.

BU placed 27th at the NCAA Championship, marking the fifth-best end-of-season finish in program history. The 2015-16 Baylor squad claimed tournament titles at the Oak Hills Invitational and the Border Olympics, finished second in The Maxwell Intercollegiate and went on to record nine top-five finishes in 13 tournaments.

In his first season at Baylor, McGraw led the Bears to three tournament titles and seven top-three finishes. Baylor finished in seventh place or better in every tournament, placing in the top half of the field in 11 of 12 events. BU finished in sixth place at the NCAA Bremerton (Wash.) Regional, one spot back of an NCAA Championship berth.

The Bears claimed tournament titles at the Gopher Invitational, Oak Hills Invitational and Border Olympics. BU also placed second at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate and finished in third place at the Fighting Illini Invitational, Rod Myers Invitational and Bayou City Collegiate Championship.

Kyle Jones set the school record with a 70.47 stroke average in 2014-15 on his way to becoming McGraw’s first All-American at Baylor and the third player in program history to earn back-to-back All-Big 12 honors .

PRIOR TO BAYLOR
McGraw spent the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach at Alabama, where he assisted head coach Jay Seawell in leading the Crimson Tide to the 2014 NCAA Championship title. Alabama won the championship match 4-1 over an Oklahoma State team comprised entirely of players McGraw recruited to OSU.

Prior to joining the Alabama staff, McGraw was head coach at Oklahoma State for eight seasons, where he led the Cowboys to a national title in 2006 and a national runner-up finish in 2010. He was an assistant coach at OSU when the Cowboys won the 2000 national title.

McGraw led Oklahoma State to five Big 12 titles and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year five times in his eight seasons as men’s golf head coach. The Cowboys won 30 total tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Championships seven times, recording five top-five national finishes during his tenure. His players earned 30 individual medalist honors and he produced 21 All-Americans while he was men’s team head coach at OSU.

McGraw joined Oklahoma State in 1997 as an assistant coach after leading the golf program at Edmond (Okla.) High School for four seasons. He spent seven years as men’s team assistant coach, guiding the Cowboys to 16 tournament titles, including the 2000 national championship, and producing 19 All-Americans.

OSU named McGraw women’s team head coach prior to the 2004-05 season, and he guided that team to a Big 12 championship. He became men’s team head coach in 2006, and held that position through the 2012-13 season.

Regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters, McGraw has produced numerous PGA Tour players, including Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Charles Howell III, Morgan Hoffman and Casey Wittenberg.

In his four years leading the program at Edmond North High School, McGraw led the team to three state titles. The team claimed titles in 36 of its 46 events played and finished as runners-up seven times. He served as assistant coach at Edmond Memorial High School from 1987 through 1993, helping the Bulldogs reach six state championships in seven seasons.

As a player, McGraw was a three-year letterwinner at Central Oklahoma. He earned honorable mention All-America recognition after finishing 16th at the 1981 NAIA Championship. A 1982 graduate of Central Oklahoma with a degree in broadcast communications, McGraw married his wife, Pam, in 1996.

McGraw authored a book titled Better Than I Found It, which was published in February 2017. He also spearheaded the effort to build the state-of-the-art on-campus Billy W. Williams Golf Practice Facility, which opened to Baylor student-athletes in January 2017.