During his second season at the helm, Ward continued to lead a successful year for Reddie golf. Women's golf secured their 13th straight regional appearance after finishing second at the GAC Championships. Senior Lily Nelson went on to qualify for the National tournament as an individual, where she finished third overall, the best finish by an individual in program history.
In his first season at Henderson State, Ward continued Henderson State's excellence on the green. Under Ward's leadership, both the Men's and Women's teams secured the GAC Championship, and punched their tickets to the Central Region tournament for the 12th straight season. Reddie Women's golf took second in their regional tournament, ensuring they made their fourth straight NCAA National tournament. For his continuance of Reddie excellence, Ward was named GAC Coach of the Year, while Felisa Sajulga earned Player of the Year, and Cloe Poizac earned GAC Freshman of the Year honors.
A golfing veteran with more than two decades of experience in the industry, Ward comes to Henderson State after 10 seasons as a head coach at the college level. He started his coaching career as an assistant for the men’s and women’s program at Jamestown College in Jamestown, North Dakota. From there, he joined the women’s golf staff at Minnesota State, where he helped the Mavericks punch their ticket to the DII NCAA Central Regional Championship in 2010.
In 2014, Ward received his first head coaching nod when he took over as the men’s head golf coach at Colorado Mesa University. After four seasons at CMU, he claimed the reins of the men’s and women’s golf programs at Texas A&M-Commerce in 2018. In his lone year at Commerce, Ward led the women’s team to an NCAA Regional appearance. He also recruited and coached Lone Star Conference Player of the Year Sarah Wongsinth.
Following the 2018-19 season, Ward established a new golf program at San Diego Christian College and served as its first head coach. After two years with the Hawks, Ward helped restart the men’s and women’s golf teams at New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut. The Chargers thrived under his leadership, with the women’s squad claiming a Northeast-10 Conference title in just their second season upon returning to competition.
After serving as a member of the United States Air Force, Ward earned his Bachelor of Science in Recreation, Park and Leisure Studies from the University of Minnesota in 1998. Additionally, he holds a Master of Liberal Studies from the University of Minnesota (2005) as well as a Master of Science in Sport Management from Minnesota State University-Mankato (2016).
