Steve Bailey is the GCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year

NORMAN, Oklahoma – Marquette University head men’s golf coach Steve Bailey is the 2025 Golf Pride Grips Midwest Region Coach of the Year, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Bailey, who just completed his 15th season leading Marquette, is the first MU men’s golf coach to earn GCAA region coach of the year honors. He’s a six-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year, including this season alongside assistant coaches Jordan Niebrugge and Josh Robinson.

The Golden Eagles won five team titles in 2024-25, including three this spring, and recorded the best scoring average (283.67) in program history, a mark under par (-1.27) for the first time ever. Bailey led MU to the 2025 BIG EAST Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Callawassie Island in Okatie, South Carolina by 11 strokes over runner-up Xavier.

The Golden Eagles placed eighth at the NCAA Urbana Regional on May 12-14 at Atkins Golf Club at a program-best 11-over 836 and concluded the year 47th in the Scoreboard NCAA Division I Men’s College Golf Rankings. BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Vincent Cervantes placed 15th individually at Atkins with a 3-under 210, the best finish, score and score-to-par ever for a MU athlete in regional action.

In addition to second team all-league honors for Cervantes, the Golden Eagles were led by BIG EAST Player of the Year Patrick Adler and fellow first team selections Max Lyons and Johan Widal. Adler’s rise to the BIG EAST’s top golfer from a player outside the lineup during his first three seasons was one of the biggest success stories this season in college golf.

MU finished first or second in nine of its last 11 team events, dating back to Sept. 29-30 in the Windon Memorial Classic at Conway Farms where Adler earned medalist honors. The Golden Eagles recorded huge team finishes during the regular season by placing second at the Windon and winning the Boilermaker Invitational on April 19-20 ahead of most of the region’s top-ranked teams.

Bailey and the coaching staff’s work with the entire roster developed one of the deepest lineups Marquette has ever put forward. All four all-conference players posted at least 17 par-or-better rounds in 2024-25, placing each in the top-nine seasons ever for MU golfers. The scoring average for the trio of first team selections also ranks in the top-nine marks ever at MU.

Lyons concluded one of the best careers in Marquette history with a 72.07 scoring average in 134 career rounds. His scoring average, career score-to-par (+0.63) and par-or-better rounds (66) all rank third in MU history. Widal made the jump from an NCAA Division II transfer from Tiffin University to a Division I first team all-conference selection during his first season with the Golden Eagles.

Keep up with the Marquette men’s golf program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteMGolf) and Instagram (@MarquetteMGolf) and ‘liking’ on Facebook (/MarquetteMGolf).

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.