Gannon University Men's Golf

Coleman enters his fifth season as the Gannon head mens golf coach in 2016-17. A member of the Erie District Golf Association (EDGA) and United States Golf Association (USGA), he has been a regular on the local competitive golf scene. The Erie, Pa., native has led Gannon to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, giving the program 14 national championship team appearances overall. It marks the first time the program has played in four consecutive national tournaments since making five straight appearances from 1983 to 1987. Individually, Coleman has coached a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Freshmen of the Year. Cameron Zbrzeznj earned the award in 2012-13, before Matt Barto took home the honor in 2014-15. They became the third and fourth Gannon student-athletes in program history to be named a conference freshman of the year. Three Golden Knights have been selected to the All-PSAC teams under Coleman Zbrzeznj (2013), Daegan Wall (2014) and Barto (2015 and 2016). Academically, Gannon received the PSAC Top Team GPA Award during Colemans first season in 2012-13 for having the top team grade point average among all conference mens golf teams with a 3.396 mark. The program received the honor again last year with a 3.369 mark. Over the last four years, Golden Knights have been named PSAC Scholar-Athletes 28 times and received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award 14 times. In 2015, Coleman guided Gannon to its best regional finish since 1989 after placing eighth at the NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional. Barto, the PSAC Champion and all-conference first-team selection in 2014-15, became the fourth Gannon golfer in program history to advance to the national championships as an individual and first since Drew Deimel in 2011. The Golden Knights recorded nine top-six finishes during 11 regular-season events, including a team championship at the Hal Hansen Invitational. Gannon recorded three top-three finishes last season, including a team championship at the Mercyhurst Spring Invitational. Barto was named to the All-PSAC second team, giving the Golden Knights a student-athlete on the all-conference teams for the fourth consecutive season. The McDowell (Pa.) High School graduate hit the ground running during his first season as head coach in 2012-13. Assuming the reigns prior to the 2013 spring schedule, Coleman guided the Gannon mens golf team to its first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance as a team since 1989. It marked the first time Gannon had been represented in the postseason since Drew Deimel qualified as an individual in 2010 and 2011. The Golden Knights finished among the top five in four of five regular-season events during the spring schedule. Among the highlights of Colemans first season was Zbrzeznj being named PSAC Freshman of the Year and selected to the all-conference second team. He became the third mens golf student-athlete in school history at the time to be named a conference freshman of the year and first since Mitch Molen was selected Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Freshman of the Year in 2007. Gannon finished his second season in 2013-14 with an 11th-place showing at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional. The Golden Knights made consecutive appearances at the national tournament for the first time since 1987 when the team made five straight beginning in 1983. Wall was selected to the All-PSAC second team, marking the second straight season that the Golden Knights landed a golfer on an all-conference team. Collecting 17 top-20 individual finishes during the 2013-14 season, the Golden Knights recorded team-best finishes of fourth place at the Edwin B. Cottrell Invitational and California (Pa.) Vulcan Invitational. Gannon placed fifth among 17 teams at the Atlantic Regional Preview hosted by the Resort of Glade Springs in Charleston, W.Va. Coleman received a bachelor of arts degree in crime, law and justice from Penn State University in 2008. He also currently works as a Probation Officer for the Erie County Juvenile Probation Department. He is married to the former Taylor Brandon of Erie.