OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – After assisting Auburn in one of the most historic runs in collegiate golf, Chris Williams has been named one of three finalists for the 2024 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award, the GCAA announced Monday.
The Strickland Award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, or NJCAA assistant coach that, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom.
Other Division I finalists for the Strickland Award include Bo Andrews (Tennessee) and Noah Goldman (North Carolina).
In his third season with the Tigers, Williams helped guide Auburn to the program’s first National Championship and fifth SEC Championship. Along the way, the Tigers also doubled the previous school record for wins in a season with 10, picking up seven in a row to close out the year.
Williams joined forced with head coach Nick Clinard to lead Brendan Valdes and Jackson Koivun to a pair of First-Team All-American seasons, Auburn’s first time with a pair of first teamers since 1995. As a rookie, Koivun became the first ever player in the history of the sport to win all three national player of the year awards as well as the national freshman of the year award.
“Chris has been crucial to the success of our program,” Clinard said. “He’s an elite recruiter and talent developer. He has all of the skills to become a championship-caliber head coach one day. There is no doubt in my mind that his place as a finalist is well deserved and that he should go on to be named this season’s assistant of the year.”
Back for season four on The Plains, Williams looks to coach the Tigers to an eighth consecutive win in the 2024-25 season opener, the Inverness Intercollegiate, set for Sept. 9-10 at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The Strickland Award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, or NJCAA assistant coach that, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom.
Other Division I finalists for the Strickland Award include Bo Andrews (Tennessee) and Noah Goldman (North Carolina).
In his third season with the Tigers, Williams helped guide Auburn to the program’s first National Championship and fifth SEC Championship. Along the way, the Tigers also doubled the previous school record for wins in a season with 10, picking up seven in a row to close out the year.
Williams joined forced with head coach Nick Clinard to lead Brendan Valdes and Jackson Koivun to a pair of First-Team All-American seasons, Auburn’s first time with a pair of first teamers since 1995. As a rookie, Koivun became the first ever player in the history of the sport to win all three national player of the year awards as well as the national freshman of the year award.
“Chris has been crucial to the success of our program,” Clinard said. “He’s an elite recruiter and talent developer. He has all of the skills to become a championship-caliber head coach one day. There is no doubt in my mind that his place as a finalist is well deserved and that he should go on to be named this season’s assistant of the year.”
Back for season four on The Plains, Williams looks to coach the Tigers to an eighth consecutive win in the 2024-25 season opener, the Inverness Intercollegiate, set for Sept. 9-10 at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio.
