Illinois State University Women's Golf

Jackie Szymoniak is entering her first season as head coach of the Illinois State women's golf program. Szymoniak spent 13 seasons working with University of Illinois student-athletes in varying roles, including most recently as the Chief Operating Officer for ICON (Illini for Charitable Opportunities and Networking) Collective, Inc. Prior to that she worked as the Associate Athletic Director for Facilities at the University of Illinois, as well as the Assistant Athletic Director for Golf Operations where she managed Atkins Golf Club, leading $5+ million renovation of the club. Immediately prior to her time as an administrator, she was an Assistant Coach with the Illinois Women’s Golf team from 2011-2013, and Director of Men’s Golf Operations from 2013-2022. Immediately following a two-year professional golf career playing in the Duramed Futures Tour, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She played four seasons of golf for the University of Georgia women’s golf program; she helped the Bulldogs to eight team tournament titles in her four seasons with an individual medalist honor at the Mason Rudolph Invitational during the 2004-05 season.

Vision, desire, and dedication are necessary qualities to make big dreams become reality, and under the leadership of head coach Ray Kralis, Illinois State's men's golf program continues to raise the bar. The foundation has been set for continued success, and the expectations are high for the upcoming season. Entering his 20th season at the helm of the men's squad, Kralis has put ISU in contention every year for a chance to hoist the Missouri Valley Conference Championship trophy. He is a three-time (2007, 2019, and 2023) MVC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year and was named the Central Illinois Professional Golfers’ Association Teacher of the Year in 1994, 1997, 1998, and 2005. He has produced 39 First Team All-MVC golfers on the men’s side, including four MVC Golfers of the Year, two MVC Newcomers of the Year, and four MVC Championship Medalists. During the 2019-20 season Kralis’ squad produced its first All-American, David Perkins, and recent teams have been in the mix for an at-large berth into the NCAA Regional Championship with a national ranking among the top 75 DI programs. He has coached two of only three golfers in MVC history to advance to the NCAA Championship and put two golfers on the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) PING All-Midwest Region Team. In 2005, Kralis took over the men's program from mentor and former head coach, Harland Kilborn. Kralis led the men's golf team to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in 2005 and 2007. In 2005, Kralis became the first head coach in MVC history to capture both the men's and women's conference championships in the same year. In 2007, he was named MVC Coach of the Year and guided Matt Miller to the MVC Player of the Year award. His squads have consistently performed during the seasons, including recent tournament wins at the Wisconsin Badger Invitational, the Firestone Invitational, the Little Rock Intercollegiate, and the Purdue Boilermaker Invitational – the latter of which included a win over a team ranked in the top-five nationally. Throughout his tenure, success for his players has come both on-and-off the course. With GPA’s steadily over 3.0, the program has seen 14 student-athletes earn GCAA All-America Scholar honors, and 11 have earned spots on the MVC Scholar-Athlete team, highlighted by Perkins winning the 2019-20 MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. From 2000-2007 Kralis was the women’s golf head coach and earned Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2005. His teams won two MVC Championships (2004 and 2005) with a co-championship in 2003. He recruited and coached 11 all-conference golfers, among them was standout golfer Samantha Richdale, who was a 17-time MVC Golfer of the Week and earned a spot on the Missouri Valley All-Centennial team. His 2005 squad shot a 909 at the Rivercut Golf Course, which at the time was the fourth lowest three-round tournament score in Valley Championship history. In the spring of 2007, Kralis stepped down as women's head coach to focus completely on the men’s program. Kralis came to Illinois State as a student-athlete in 1986 and graduated cum laude in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in finance. As a player, he was an All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 1988, led the ISU men's golf team as a co-captain in 1989 and 1990 and was a member of the 1989 team that won the Valley championship. After graduation, Kralis worked as the assistant golf professional at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State, while assisting the ISU men's golf program for two years. He then left to complete his PGA apprenticeship under PGA Master Professional Bill Baldwin as the first assistant at the Franklin Hills Country Club in Franklin Hills, Mich. Kralis returned to Bloomington-Normal in 1994 as the Redbirds' assistant men's golf coach, while also working as a PGA teaching professional, until he was hired as the women's head golf coach in 2000. During his run as the women's coach he quickly helped the program climb to the top. He led the Redbird women's team to back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Championships in 2004 and 2005, along with second-place finishes in 2003 and 2006. Kralis is happily married to Raquel Kralis, an Illinois State graduate, and they celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2020. Together they have three sons, Tyson (20), Braden (17) and Keaton (14). The Kralis family resides in Bloomington.

Sligh Darby Sligh Women's Golf Head Coach Twitter: DSligh In every stage of her head coaching career, Illinois State womens golf head coach Darby Sligh has demonstrated the ability to produce championship-caliber success in a short period of time. Sligh is entering her 10th year leading the Redbirds, having won five Missouri Valley Conference championships, along with five automatic berths into NCAA Regionals in her tenure and four-consecutive MVC Coach of the Year awards (2008-11). The 2015-2016 season was one for the record books in the classroom. The squad shattered departmental grade-point average records in the fall with a 3.91 and followed it up in the spring with a 3.82. This combined cumulative GPA of 3.86 earned the Redbird womens golf team the top Division I GPA and second in the nation across all three NCAA divisions as recognized by the Womens Golf Coaches Association. On the golf course, Kiley Walsh earned All-MVC honors along with First Team MVC All-Scholar accolades. Five were named WGCA All-Scholars: Maggie Ambrose, Luchtenburg, Caitlin Sims, Renee Solberg and Walsh.  The 2014-2015 season started off with a bang, as Brianna Cooper and the Redbirds captured both the individual and team titles at the Redbird Invitational. Hayley Guyton and Lauren English were both named MVC All-Scholars. The team finished fourth at the MVC Championship, just two shots out of third place. Two Redbirds were in the top 10, as Brianna Cooper finished third and Walsh in a seventh-place tie. Cooper took home All-MVC honors, and Guyton and Walsh were named WGCA All-Scholars. The 2013-14 season concluded with a third-place finish in the MVC Tournament at Panther Creek by a narrow margin of six shots separating the winner. Senior Rachel Powers earned her first All-MVC honor of her career, and senior Hayley Guyton earned WGCA Academic All-Scholar honors for the second year in a row. During the 2012-13 season, Sligh coached a seasoned Redbird team to a Missouri Valley Conference championship and an appearance in the 2013 NCAA Central Regional. The squad, led by then-senior Katie Jean, who earned individual medalist honors for the second-straight season, captured the MVC title after an exceptional season. Jean was also named MVC Golfer of the Year and had an unprecedented five MVC Golfer of the Week honors and earned her third-straight MVC Elite18 award. Jean and Guyton were named WGCA All-American Scholars. As the 2011-12 season progressed, Sligh received great play from her squad, as Jean and Cooper, who were both named to the All-MVC team, led the Redbirds to a second-place finish at the MVC Championship. Jean played her best golf of the season and was able to secure individual medalist honors, becoming the third Redbird medalist in four years. After an impressive start to the 2010-11 season, capturing a win at the season home opener Redbird Invitational, the Redbirds began to falter in the rankings and had their share of mid-season struggles. Sligh was able to coach the young team to their fourth-consecutive MVC Championship title and was named MVC Coach of the Year for the fourth-straight year, adding two more all-conference student-athletes to her sterling record as well, with Cooper and Terra Miller receiving the honors. Cooper also earned MVC medalist honors in her rookie season with the Redbirds. This fourth-consecutive team conference championship broke the previous MVC record held by Tulsa (1994-96). The Redbirds also had the honor of representing the MVC in the 2011 NCAA Central Regional.  The 2009-10 season was another great success for Sligh, as well as the women's golf team. Sligh was awarded her third MVC Coach of the Year honor, as the Redbirds placed in the top 10 in nine of the 10 events they participated in, along with four top-five finishes. Sligh led ISU to the title at the MVC Championship, where Laura Harris, Stacey Miller and Marisa Milligan came in second, third and fourth place, respectively. Four of the five players that competed in the conference tournament were named to the All-MVC team. Miller was also awarded the prestigious Charlotte West award through the MVC as a testament to her academic and athletic excellence as well as her service and leadership. Throughout the 2008-09 season, Sligh's dedication, passion and love for the game led her to be named the MVC Coach of the Year and produce three All-MVC selections. The Redbirds won the 2009 MVC Championship, where Miller captured the individual title. Sligh led the team to its second-consecutive postseason appearance in the NCAA Central Regional. Sligh's commitment to success for her players was evident when the team achieved a then record team GPA of 3.58, had two players named First Team All-MVC Scholar-Athlete, nine student-athletes on the AFNI Athletics Honor Roll and three National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Academic All-Scholars. The 2007-08 season made for an impressive first year at Illinois State for Sligh. She led the youthful Redbirds to a MVC championship and an appearance in the NCAA Central Regional at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas. Sligh was named MVC Coach of the Year and had two players named to the All-MVC team. Milligan was named All-MVC and MVC Newcomer of the Year, while Miller was named First Team All-MVC Scholar-Athlete and All-MVC. Sligh also had five players named to the MVC Honor Roll and four NGCA Academic All-Scholars. Sligh is no stranger to successful seasons as a head coach. After graduating from Alabama, Sligh was named womens golf head coach at Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina. In just two years at the helm, Sligh was able to produce a 2007 South Atlantic Conference championship, win league coach of the year honors (2007) and have six players named to the All-SAC team. Sligh had an impressive list of collegiate honors and athletic achievements as a student-athlete at Alabama. She was named Second Team All-Southeastern Conference following the 2003-04 season, and from 2002-04, Sligh was Academic All-SEC. In 2004, she was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Sligh was the Crimson Tide's co-captain from 2002-05. During her collegiate career, Sligh had nine top-10 finishes, including two wins.

Harris is the Illinois State womens golf assistant. Harris comes to Illinois State by way of Iowa, where she was a decorated player and instructor for their summer golf program.  A Bloomington, Ill., native, Harris was a member of the three-time state championship University High School golf team. In addition to being a letterwinner all four years, she was a two-time most valuable player and conference champion. Simultaneously, she worked as a pro-shop supervisor at Illinois States own Weibring Golf Club, where she holds a course record (70). Harris began her colligate career in Iowa in 2008, where she was a four-year letterwinner (2008-2012) and captain of their 2011-2012 squad. She boasted Tournament and was subsequently awarded the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. During her time there, she was also a member of the Iowa Student Athlete Advisory Committee, helping the Iowa administration meet the needs of their student athletes. In 2013, Harris set her sights on professional golf qualifying and playing in both the US Womens Open and the Cactus Tour. She also placed third in the 2013 Illinois Womens open and was one shot.  Chelsea Harris Assistant Women's Golf Coach Chelsea Harris is the Illinois State womens golf assistant. Harris comes to Illinois State by way of Iowa, where she was a decorated player and instructor for their summer golf program.  A Bloomington, Ill., native, Harris was a member of the three-time state championship University High School golf team. In addition to being a letterwinner all four years, she was a two-time most valuable player and conference champion. Simultaneously, she worked as a pro-shop supervisor at Illinois States own Weibring Golf Club, where she holds a course record (70). Harris began her colligate career in Iowa in 2008, where she was a four-year letterwinner (2008-2012) and captain of their 2011-2012 squad. She boasted Tournament and was subsequently awarded the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. During her time there, she was also a member of the Iowa Student Athlete Advisory Committee, helping the Iowa administration meet the needs of their student athletes. In 2013, Harris set her sights on professional golf qualifying and playing in both the US Womens Open and the Cactus Tour. She also placed third in the 2013 Illinois Womens open and was one shot.