Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Brewer Named to Watch List for WGCA Coach of the Year
5/4/2026 3:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
National list features 20 head coaches ahead of the NCAA Regionals (May 11-13)
FRISCO, Texas (EMUEagles.com) – Josh Brewer, the second-year head coach of the Eastern Michigan University women's golf program, has been named to the watch list for the 2025-26 Division I Jackie Steinmann Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) National Coach of the Year Award presented by Golf Pride the association announced today, May 4.
Brewer is one of 20 head coaches from across the country selected for the watch list with the winner set to be announced following the conclusion of the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships, May 22-27, in Carlsbad, Calif. Recognized as the highest annual coaching honor in women's collegiate golf, the Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year Presented by Golf Pride is awarded annually to the top coach in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA women's golf.
The 2025-26 season has been historic for the Eagles as the team won three tournaments and placed second in six more to help them climb to No. 19 in the Scoreboard/Clippd and No. 23 in the WGCA Coaches Poll rankings, both the highest in program history and the first time Eastern has been included in the top 25 in either. Based upon their high ranking and success on the course, Eastern was selected as an at-large team into the 2026 NCAA Tallahassee Regional (May 11-13), marking the first time in program history the Eagles will compete in the national tournament.
Brewer, who recently guided the team to second place in the MAC Championships for its best finish since taking second in 2015, has helped two players earn medalist honors this year with Janae Leovao (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino/Long Beach State) winning The Southern (Sept. 8-9) and the Leadership & Golf Invitational (Sept. 15-16) in the first two weeks of the season before Baiyok Sukterm (Bang Yi, Thailand/Panitchayakan Rajdamnern Tech/Lindsey Wilson) won the Silicon Valley Showcase (March 30-31). At the conference event, three of his players earned top 10 finishes, including Savannah de Bock (Ecaussinnes-d'enghien, Belgium/Institut de l'Enfant-Jésus-Lycée/Georgia), who finished third to mark the best showing at the MAC Championships by an EMU player since 2011.
Overall, the team has continued to shoot low scores. Since taking over ahead of the 2024-25 season, Brewer's Eagles have broken the school record for low team round six times while breaking the 54-hole team score mark four times. Overall, Eastern had shot 890 or lower in a 54-hole event just seven times ahead of Brewer's arrival with his teams posting 13 in the past two seasons, including all 10 events this year.
Brewer is not the only Eastern coach to earn a place on a national watch list this year as his assistant, Caterina Don, was named to the WGCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Award list April 30. A former player under Brewer at the University of Georgia before joining his staff last year in Ypsilanti, Don joined Brewer on the watch list to make Eastern on only 11 programs nationally with both its head coach and assistant coach placed on the WGCA watch lists for 2025-26.
Eastern will return to action, May 11-13, as the Eagles make their national debut at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional at Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla. Eastern, seeded fifth in the region, will look to finish in the top five in the three-day competition to advance to the NCAA Championships later in May.
About the Women's Golf Coaches Association
The Women's Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women's collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 750 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.
2026 Division I Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year presented by Golf Pride Watch List
• Kim Lewellen, Wake Forest
• Dan Brooks, Duke
• Josh Brewer, Eastern Michigan
• Aimee Neff, North Carolina
• Casey Vandamme, Kent State
• Gerrod Chadwell, Texas A&M
• Laura Ianello, Texas
• Shauna Estes-Taylor, Arkansas
• Christie Martens, Iowa State
• Caroline Westrup, Missouri
• Emily Glaser, Florida
• Melissa Luellen, Auburn
• Greg Allen, Vanderbilt
• Emily Marron, UCF
• Diana Cantu, Tennessee
• Anne Walker, Stanford
• Justin Silverstein, USC
• Derek Radley, Oregon
• Laurie Gibbs, Pepperdine
• Alicia Um Holmes, UCLA
Schools with Head Coach & Assistant Coach on the WGCA Watch Lists
Auburn: Melissa Luellen & Kim Hall
Florida: Emily Glaser & Ashley Sease
Eastern Michigan: Josh Brewer & Caterina Don
Iowa State: Christie Martens & Taylor Riggs
Kent State: Casey Vandamme & Manuela Carbajo Re
Missouri: Caroline Westrup & Francesco Guarneri
Stanford: Anne Walker & Brooke Riley
Tennessee: Diana Cantu & Anna Newell
UCF: Emily Marron & Ellen Secor
UCLA: Alicia Um Holmes & Erynne Yoo
Wake Forest: Kim Lewellen & Ryan Potter
Brewer is one of 20 head coaches from across the country selected for the watch list with the winner set to be announced following the conclusion of the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships, May 22-27, in Carlsbad, Calif. Recognized as the highest annual coaching honor in women's collegiate golf, the Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year Presented by Golf Pride is awarded annually to the top coach in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA women's golf.
The 2025-26 season has been historic for the Eagles as the team won three tournaments and placed second in six more to help them climb to No. 19 in the Scoreboard/Clippd and No. 23 in the WGCA Coaches Poll rankings, both the highest in program history and the first time Eastern has been included in the top 25 in either. Based upon their high ranking and success on the course, Eastern was selected as an at-large team into the 2026 NCAA Tallahassee Regional (May 11-13), marking the first time in program history the Eagles will compete in the national tournament.
Brewer, who recently guided the team to second place in the MAC Championships for its best finish since taking second in 2015, has helped two players earn medalist honors this year with Janae Leovao (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino/Long Beach State) winning The Southern (Sept. 8-9) and the Leadership & Golf Invitational (Sept. 15-16) in the first two weeks of the season before Baiyok Sukterm (Bang Yi, Thailand/Panitchayakan Rajdamnern Tech/Lindsey Wilson) won the Silicon Valley Showcase (March 30-31). At the conference event, three of his players earned top 10 finishes, including Savannah de Bock (Ecaussinnes-d'enghien, Belgium/Institut de l'Enfant-Jésus-Lycée/Georgia), who finished third to mark the best showing at the MAC Championships by an EMU player since 2011.
Overall, the team has continued to shoot low scores. Since taking over ahead of the 2024-25 season, Brewer's Eagles have broken the school record for low team round six times while breaking the 54-hole team score mark four times. Overall, Eastern had shot 890 or lower in a 54-hole event just seven times ahead of Brewer's arrival with his teams posting 13 in the past two seasons, including all 10 events this year.
Brewer is not the only Eastern coach to earn a place on a national watch list this year as his assistant, Caterina Don, was named to the WGCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Award list April 30. A former player under Brewer at the University of Georgia before joining his staff last year in Ypsilanti, Don joined Brewer on the watch list to make Eastern on only 11 programs nationally with both its head coach and assistant coach placed on the WGCA watch lists for 2025-26.
Eastern will return to action, May 11-13, as the Eagles make their national debut at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional at Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla. Eastern, seeded fifth in the region, will look to finish in the top five in the three-day competition to advance to the NCAA Championships later in May.
About the Women's Golf Coaches Association
The Women's Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women's collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 750 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.
2026 Division I Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year presented by Golf Pride Watch List
• Kim Lewellen, Wake Forest
• Dan Brooks, Duke
• Josh Brewer, Eastern Michigan
• Aimee Neff, North Carolina
• Casey Vandamme, Kent State
• Gerrod Chadwell, Texas A&M
• Laura Ianello, Texas
• Shauna Estes-Taylor, Arkansas
• Christie Martens, Iowa State
• Caroline Westrup, Missouri
• Emily Glaser, Florida
• Melissa Luellen, Auburn
• Greg Allen, Vanderbilt
• Emily Marron, UCF
• Diana Cantu, Tennessee
• Anne Walker, Stanford
• Justin Silverstein, USC
• Derek Radley, Oregon
• Laurie Gibbs, Pepperdine
• Alicia Um Holmes, UCLA
Schools with Head Coach & Assistant Coach on the WGCA Watch Lists
Auburn: Melissa Luellen & Kim Hall
Florida: Emily Glaser & Ashley Sease
Eastern Michigan: Josh Brewer & Caterina Don
Iowa State: Christie Martens & Taylor Riggs
Kent State: Casey Vandamme & Manuela Carbajo Re
Missouri: Caroline Westrup & Francesco Guarneri
Stanford: Anne Walker & Brooke Riley
Tennessee: Diana Cantu & Anna Newell
UCF: Emily Marron & Ellen Secor
UCLA: Alicia Um Holmes & Erynne Yoo
Wake Forest: Kim Lewellen & Ryan Potter
Players Mentioned
EMU Women's Golf Reacts to First NCAA Regional Selection in Program History
Wednesday, April 29
EMU Women’s Golf Regional Bound for First Time in Program History
Wednesday, April 29
Josh Brewer - NCAA Regional Selection Interview
Wednesday, April 29
Savannah de Bock - NCAA Regional Selection Interview
Wednesday, April 29