MEN’S GOLF MEDIA GUIDE 2017-18 TABLE OF CONTENTS QUICK FACTS Table of Contents/Quick Facts .......................................................................................1 GENERAL 2017-18 UAB Men’s Golf Roster ....................................................................................2 Location ............................................................................................. Birmingham, Ala. Head Coach Mike Wilson/Asst. Coach Austin Cody ........................................................3 Founded .................................................................................................................1969 Taylor Eyster .................................................................................................................4 Enrollment ..........................................................................................................20,902 R.J. Keur .......................................................................................................................5 Nickname ............................................................................................................Blazers John Hayden ................................................................................................................6 School Colors ............................................................................... Forest Green and Gold William Walker .............................................................................................................7 Affiliation ...............................................................................................NCAA Division I Murray Naysmith .........................................................................................................8 Conference ............................................................................................ Conference USA Sam Jeffcoat, John Racciatti, Nick Robillard, John Snoddy ............................................9 President ................................................................................................... Dr. Ray Watts Year-By-Year Results ..................................................................................................10 Athletic Director .........................................................................................Mark Ingram Record Book .........................................................................................................11-20 Blazers on Tour ...........................................................................................................21 HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS First Year ...........................................................................................................1978-79 NCAA Regional Tournament Appearances ......................................12 TED FEELEY NCAA Championships Appearances ....................................................7 (Football, Men’s Golf, Beach Volleyball) Associate Athletics Director for Communications COACHING STAFF Office Phone: 205.934.0722 Head Coach ............................................................................ Mike Wilson, Second Year Email: [email protected] Alma Mater ............................................................................. Charleston Southern, ‘99 Assistant Coach ............................................................................Austin Cody, First Year JAY D’ABRAMO Alma Mater ......................................................................................................Duke, ‘14 (Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Tennis) Associate Athletics Communications Director TEAM FACTS Office Phone: 205.934.7920 Email: [email protected] 2016 NCAA Championships Finish ............................................................................XXX 2016 NCAA Regional Tournament Finish ..................................................................XXX 2016 Conference USA Championship Finish ........................................................8th/13 JOSH BRUNNER Letterwinners Returning/Lost ...................................................................................5/3 (WBB, Secondary Football, Men’s Tennis) Assistant Athletics Communications Director Top Returners ..................................................... Taylor Eyster, R.J. Keur, William Walker Office Phone: 205.796.8967 Newcomers ..................................................................................................................4 Email: [email protected] Top Newcomers .................................................................John Racciatti, Nick Robillard SHANE SWITZER MEDIA (Volleyball, Softball, Rifle, Track & Field) UAB Athletics Website ............................................................................UABsports.com Athletics Communications Associate UAB Athletics Twitter............................................................................@UAB_Athletics Office Phone: 205.934.0724 UAB Men’s Golf Twitter and Instagram ....................................................@UAB_MGOLF Email: [email protected] ABBY VINSON CREDITS (Baseball, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Golf, Bowling ) Athletics Communications Associate The 2017-18 UAB men’s golf postseason guide was compiled, designed, written and Office Phone: 205.934.0722 edited by Ted Feeley and is the property of the UAB Athletic Media Relations Office. Email: [email protected] Editorial assistance provided by John Phillips. Photography: Jimmy Mitchell, Steve Wood, Nik Layman, and Ashley Fleming. @UAB_MGOLF #GreaterBHAM MEN’S GOLF MEDIA GUIDE 2017-18 2017-18 UAB MEN’S GOLF ROSTER From Left to Right: R.J. Keur, Nick Robillard, Murray Naysmith, William Walker, Taylor Eyster, John Hayden, John Snoddy, John Racciatti, Sam Jeffcoat Name Year Hometown/Previous School Taylor Eyster SR Birmingham, Ala./Mountain Brook HS John Hayden JR Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian School Sam Jeffcoat FR Birmingham, Ala./Mountain Brook HS R.J. Keur SR North Charleston, S.C./Charleston Southern Murray Naysmith RS SO Edinburgh, Scotland/Balerno High School John Racciatti FR Mobile, Ala./McGill-Toolen High School Nick Robillard FR Birmingham, Ala./Spain Park High School John Snoddy FR Birmingham, Ala./John Carroll High School William Walker RS SO Tuscaloosa, Ala./Northridge HS Head Coach: Mike Wilson (Second Season, Charleston Southern ‘99) Assistant Coach: Austin Cody (First Season, Duke ‘14) @UAB_MGOLF #GreaterBHAM MEN’S GOLF MEDIA GUIDE 2017-18 HEAD COACH MIKE WILSON SECOND SEASON - CHARLESTON SOUTHERN ‘99 University of Alabama at Birmingham Director of Athletics Mark Ingram named Mike Wilson the men’s golf coach at UAB in 2016. Wilson enters his second season leading the Blazers after unprecedented success at Charleston Southern University. “UAB is a wonderful university with an outstanding golf program that is capable of winning national championships,” Wilson said. “The city of Birmingham and its great golf courses was a very strong attrac- tion. I want to thank Mark Ingram and the entire UAB administration for the opportunity to lead an amazing program with rich history.” Wilson quickly made his mark with the Green and Gold during his initial fall campaign (2016), leading the Blazers to a fourth-place finish at the prestigious Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate while taking down No.21 Alabama, Arkansas and Michigan in the process. The South Carolina native proved to be a force early on the recruiting trail, as he plucked All-Conference performer R.J. Keur from Charleston Southern. Keur entrenched himself among the conference’s best during his first season as a Blazer while leading UAB in season scoring average (72.8) and top-five finishes (two). Following his stellar season, Keur qualified for the NCAA Regionals at LSU, where the junior finished tied for 17th. His appearance in the NCAA tournament continued a streak of consecutive seasons (seven) that UAB has qualified for the event. As a result of his play, Keur was tabbed as a first team All-Conference USA member. Junior Taylor Eyster also thrived under Wilson’s tutelage, turning in a second-place finish at the Conference USA tournament behind an even-par result (71-72-73). For his efforts, Eyster took home second team All-Conference honors. Wilson spent the previous nine years at Charleston Southern. He was the head women’s golf coach from 2007-09 before being named the men’s coach in 2009. In 2011, Wilson was appointed the Director of Golf which gave him oversight of both programs while remaining as the head men’s golf coach. The CSU men’s team is coming off back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances and captured the 2015 Big South title. The Buccaneers’ selection to the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2016 marked the first time in CSU history that a program earned an at-large berth into an NCAA championship event. The Buccaneers also won the Kiawah Classic at Turtle Point in late November of 2015 to ascend into the Top 25 in the Golfstat rankings. “Mike Wilson is a tremendous leader and golf coach,” Ingram said. “Not only does Mike bring an impressive knowledge of the game, but he has extensive experience as an administrator. Coming off our third straight NCAA tournament at UAB, we are confident that Mike will continue our success on the national stage and elevate our program to new heights.” Under Wilson’s watch, Austin James completed the best single season in CSU history, sweeping Big South Player of the Year and Big South Medalist honors as a junior in 2015-16. He won the Big South Championship