Indiana University of Pennsylvania Men's Golf

Dan Braun enters his fifth full year as the IUP men's golf head coach in the fall of 2023. Braun was named the sixth head coach in program history December 7, 2018 and took over the Crimson Hawks for the spring portion of their 2018-19 season. He also serves as the athletic department's first academic coordinator, bridging the gap between academic support services on campus and the IUP student-athlete population. Braun has successfully continued IUP's tradition of excellence on the golf course during his short time in charge of the program, winning four straight PSAC Championships (fall 2019, spring 2021, fall 2021, fall 2022). In 39 tournaments as the head coach, Braun has led the Crimson Hawks to 12 victories and eight second place finishes. In total, IUP has finished 27 of his 39 tournaments inside the top-5 of the final team standings.  His players have also excelled individually, combining for 14 All-Atlantic Region and 19 All-PSAC honors since the spring of 2019. That includes two PSAC Golfers of the Year (Shaun Fedor in 2020, Matt Cocorikis in 2019) and three PSAC Freshman of the Year winners (Salazar in 2022, Fedor in 2020, Nick Ward in 2019).  Braun has been lauded for his success, earning Atlantic Region and PSAC Coach of the Year honors after the 2019-20 season. He was named the league's Coach of the Year again following the 2022-23 season.  Braun has also tutored Jack Buccigross (2018-22), the only golfer IUP history to earn five career all-region honors. Braun's teams also excel in the classroom, winning three straight IUP Men's Academic Team of the Year awards (2020, 2021, 2022), as well as the PSAC Top Team GPA for men's golf in 2021.  Individually, IUP has eight GCAA Scholar All-Americans since the spring of 2019, including a program record five in 2021.    Braun helped the IUP men's golf program continue its unprecedented run of success with a fourth straight conference championship, won in October 2022 at Iron Valley Golf Club in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. It marked the program's 32nd conference crown and the Crimson Hawks' sixth in the last seven seasons.  IUP led wire-to-wire in the tournament, in first place all three rounds, eventually winning by 15 strokes over second-place Gannon. Individually, Guillermo Salazar captured medalist honors for the tournament by one shot, the 18th golfer to win the PSAC individual championship.  Braun and the Hawks secured three tournament wins during the 2022-23 campaign, making the program's record 26th straight NCAA regional appearance. IUP battled back to overtake Gannon during the final round of the regional championship at Iron Valley in May 2023, finishing third in the team standings and securing the program's first automatic bid to nationals since 2014-15.  The Hawks finished 17th in a loaded national field during the 2023 NCAA DII Men's Golf Championships, held at the Avalon lakes Country Club in Warren, Ohio. IUP featured a balanced lineup in 2022-23, placing four golfers on the All-PSAC teams. Alex Swinnerton was named the PSAC Freshman of the Year, while Jackson Buccigross was named a GCAA DII PING All-American selection.    Braun's third season was highlighted by the program's 31st PSAC Championship in the fall at the Hershey Country Club. It was Braun's third straight title and the Crimson Hawks' fifth in the last six seasons.  IUP won by six strokes over second place Gannon, with three Hawks finishing in the top-8 on the individual leaderboard. Freshman Isaiah Swan was the PSAC's individual champion, the 17th IUP golfer to win medalist honors at the conference championship.  Braun and the Hawks then won two of their five tournaments in the spring, including West Chester's Dr. Edwin B. Cottrell Invitational and Bloomsburg's Husky Invitational. Two more medalists followed for Braun and the Hawks, with Jack Buccigross winning at the Cottrell Invitational and Shaun Fedor winning the Husky Invitational.  IUP made its record 25th straight NCAA regional championship appearance at Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, N.Y., finishing in a tie for eighth out of 20 teams.    Braun got off to a great start at IUP, winning two tournaments in the spring of 2019 followed by back-to-back PSAC championships in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021.  After taking over for Fred Joseph during the second half of the 2018-19 season, Braun helped Matt Cocorikis win three straight tournaments, earn all-region and PSAC Men's Golfer of the Year honors, and finish as the No. 1-ranked player in Golfstat's regional rankings. Nick Ward was the PSAC Freshman of the Year that spring while he and Cocorikis were joined by freshman Jack Buccigross on the All-PSAC squad. Those three, plus Jeremy Eckenrode, were all-region selections. Braun also finished his first spring leading the Crimson Hawks to the No. 1 spot in the final Golfstat Atlantic Region team rankings.  The Crimson Hawks totaled four tournament wins during 2018-19, the most in a year since the 2012-13 team won six times. The average team score of 301.9 was also the best since the 2013-14 squad shot a 299.2.  In the fall of 2020 Braun led IUP to three victories in five events, culminating in the program's 29th all-time PSAC Championship. It was a runaway win for Braun and the Hawks, as they posted the top score in each of the tournament's three rounds to finish 13 strokes better than second place West Chester. Freshman Shaun Fedor became the program's 16th all-time PSAC medalist.  That year, which was set to be Braun's first full season, was interupted in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It did, however, come with a fair share of accolades that spring. For the second straight year IUP finished as the No. 1 team in Golfstat's Atlantic Region rankings. Braun was named the Atlantic Region and PSAC Coach of the Year, while Fedor swept PSAC Golfer and Freshman of the Year honors. In total, three golfers earned All-PSAC and all-region honors.  Braun and the Crimson Hawks returned to the course in the spring of 2021, a second straight PSAC Championship at Hershey Country Club in April while finishing second in two more events.  IUP made its 24th straight appearance in the NCAA Atlantic/East Region Championships at Lake View Country Club in North East, Pennsylvania. Playing with just four players, a short-handed IUP squad put together a late surge but fell just five strokes off the cut to finish in a tie for sixth place out of 16 teams.  Three players earned all-region and All-PSAC honors while Braun saw a program-record five Hawks earn GCAA Scholar All-America honors.    Braun stepped into his new position after serving as the team's volunteer assistant coach since 2012 (seven years). He was also the head golf professional at the Indiana Country Club for 27 years.   Braun was part of the top men's golf program in the Atlantic Region since joining the staff as he helped the Crimson Hawks to three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships (2012, 2016, 2017), two regional titles (2013, 2014), and the program's first ever match play berth at the NCAA Division II Championships (2014).     As the assistant, Braun organized team and individual practice sessions, developed the offseason fitness program, created team development programs, and introduced a game planning program for improved preparation for tournament play.   Braun served as a key recruiter for the 2018 freshman signing class that helped the Crimson Hawks finish second at the 2018 PSAC Championships, as two of those newcomers finished in the top five individually at Hershey. He's also served as the lead recruiter for the 2019 class.   Braun served as the head professional at the Indiana Country Club since 1992, successfully managing golf operation at the private club during that time. He has more than 30 years of instruction experience, including a swing/game coach for many NCAA Division I, II, and III golfers.   He has been elected to four different terms on the Tri-State Section PGA Board of Directors since 2004, including his current term as Tournament Committee Chair and Secretary. Braun has been a Titleist Leadership Advisory staff member since 2011, is a BioMech Golf Certified Instructor, and served on the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Championship committee from 2006-15.   Braun played collegiately at Penn State University, where he served as the team captain in 1988-89. He was an All-Atlantic 10 honoree in 1987-88 and one of two Nittany Lions to qualify for the 1989 NCAA East Region Championships.   He graduated from Penn State in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Health and Human Development.   Dan is married to Vicky (Dalessio) Braun and has two stepdaughters, Emily and Olivia. Updated August 1, 2023

Joseph has been involved with IUP golf for the past 26 years. Joseph is one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in IUP history, regardless of sport. He boasts 79 tournament victories in 23 seasons with 11 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships and 19 appearances in the NCAA regional tournament. He's coached 13 All-Americans, including Division II national champion Gavin Smith (2009), has been the PSAC Coach of the Year 11 times and Regional Coach of the Year nine times, and has led teams to 14 NCAA championship appearances.  Joseph led the Crimson Hawks to the program's 32nd all-time appearance in the NCAA Championships this spring. It was IUP's eighth straight appearance dating back to 2008, and Joseph's 13th in 23 seasons as the program's head coach. The Crimson Hawks finished the championships in 13th place with a 31-over 883, the top score of any Atlantic/East Region school by nearly 20 strokes.   IUP earned the automatic berth at the national championships with a second place finish at the NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional Championships. It was the eighth straight year that the Crimson Hawks have finished in either first or second place at regionals, and the 14th time in the last 19 years the program has landed in the top two. Kenneth Sames won the individual title at regionals with a two-under 214, Joseph's third regional champion in the last six seasons.  Sames was also named the PSAC Men's Golfer of the Year, with Max Kirsch and Jack Owen joining him as second team All-PSAC selections.  For his efforts, Joseph was named the GCAA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.   The 2013-14 season will go down as one of the most memorable in program history. The Crimson Hawks finished in a tie for seventh overall after three round of the NCAA championships - the best ever finish under Joseph - and advanced to match play for the first time in program history. They would end up falling to sixth-ranked Nova Southeastern by a score of 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the match play round, although they held a lead over the Sharks late into the round. Kenneth Sames had IUP's best individual performance as he was tied for 11th overall with a seven-over 220. IUP went into the national championships with three straight tournament victories, including their fourth win in seven seasons at the Atlantic/East Regional championships. Joseph guided the Crimson Hawks to five wins in 11 events during the full year, with five other top 10 finishes. Zack Kempa won his second straight PSAC Athlete of the Year award while Max Kirsch was named Freshman of the Year. Jack Owen and Kenneth Sames joined Kempa and Kirsch on the all-region team while Kempa (first), Kirsch (first) and Sames (second) were named to All-PSAC teams.   In 2012-13, Joseph guided IUP to one of best finishes in the history of program. The Crimson Hawks collected their sixth consecutive PSAC title in the fall and another appearance in the Division II National Championship in the spring. Sitting in 18th place at the NCAAs after two rounds, IUP shot a five-over 289 in the third round to come within nine strokes of moving on to the finals. The 289 was one of only four scores at 290 or under for the entire tournament, with Barry University hitting it twice (284 and 288) and Florida Southern once (280). Individually, Kempa finished in a tie for 11th place with a five-over 218, earning second team All-American honors in the process. Kempa was also the individual PSAC champion in the fall and was named the conference's player of the year, the 12th such award for an IUP golfer under the direction of Joseph.  In 2011-12, Joseph led the Crimson Hawks to one of their finest years in history, including a fifth-consecutive PSAC title in the fall and an appearance in the Division II National Championships in the spring. For his efforts, Joseph was named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. Under Joseph, Kempa earned a fifth-place finish at the national tournament, his first career All-American honor, and was one of four IUP golfers to receive All-PSAC honors. In addition to Kempa, teammate Brad Boyle was named the 2012 PSAC Golfer of the Year. Including the PSAC championship, the Crimson Hawks set a school record with eight tournament wins during the 2009-10 season. IUP won five times during the fall season and added three more victories in the spring while finishing second in two other events. IUP golfers won six tournaments, including four by two-time All-American Gavin Smith and two more by Boyle. Boyle edged Smith for the PSAC individual title while Smith was the medalist at the East/Atlantic Super Regional. Smith, Boyle and Leo Acklin each earned spots on the all-region team, and Acklin and Ryan Kennedy were named Academic Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America. For his team's accomplishments, Joseph was named the PSAC Coach of the Year for the 10th time, including six of the past seven years, and was selected the Eaton Golf Pride Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, marking the sixth time he received top regional honors. Joseph also won the PSAC Coach of the Year award in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. One of the highlights of Joseph's career came in May 2009, when Smith won the Division II national championship, becoming only the fifth golfer from a northern school to claim the title since the inception of the tournament in 1963. Smith was also a three-time PSAC Player of the Year. Joseph is well known to past IUP students beyond his capacity as golf coach, serving as the director of financial aid for 29 years until retiring from that position in 2001. Joseph earned his bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Mount Union and holds a master's degree in higher education from Kent State. His wife, Candace, taught interior design at IUP, and his daughter, Jennifer, is an IUP graduate.

Tom Sgriccia assists head men's golf coach Dan Bruan as a volunteer assistant for the Crimson Hawks.  An Indiana County native, Dr. Sgriccia played for the IUP men's basketball program for head coach Carl Davis from 1970-73. He earned two degrees from IUP in 1973 and 1977 before receiving his doctorate in educational administration. He assisted in multiple facets of the men's golf program in 2022-23, including work with the team at the 2023 NCAA DII National Championships at Avalon Lakes in Warren, Ohio.  Sgriccia has previous experience as an assistant men's basketball coach at IUP with Carl Davis and Kurt Kanaskie, part of a coaching career within the collegiate and scholastic ranks. Sgriccia worked as a high school basketball and junior high football coach at Penns Manor Area School District, along with several administrative roles.  Sgriccia served as the principal and superintendent at Penns Manor, all part of of a 35-year career in education. His wide-ranging educational background includes positions as a teacher, counselor, principal and school superintendent, earning recognition as a 2006 Distinguished Educator in Pennsylvania.   An independent leadership consultant, Sgriccia has worked with clients from Ameritus (Indiana), Advanced Powder Products (Phillipsburg), Home Nursing Agency (Altoona), UPMC (Pittsburgh) and most recently Marion Center Bank and Alexander Construction in areas related to leadership, culture, teamwork and employee engagement.  Dr. Sgriccia has taught in the Principal’s program at Saint Francis University (Pa.) and has published articles on school regulations, conflict and job satisfaction.