Ottawa University (KS) Women's Golf

Smith has led the mens team to three top three finishes in the KCAC. He has earned KCAC Women's Golf Coach of the Year honors in 2016 and was named KCAC Men's Golf Coach of the Year in 2008.  The women's team was the conference runner-up in 2014 and 2015, and earned the 2015 and 2016 KCAC Team of Character award. Smith has coached 13 all-KCAC golfers, and numerous NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Recently, Smith earned certification through the Titleist Performance Institute, which will enable him to take the student-athlete experience for golfers at OU to a new level. Smiths background includes sixteen years as a high school and collegiate golf coach, as well as eighteen years as a football coach and nine years of experience as an instructor in social sciences.  Beginning in the fall of 2014, Coach Smith turned his full-time coaching attention to the Braves and Lady Braves Golf Program.  In addition to his coaching duties, Smith serves as the Assistant Director of the Coaches Institute, and as a Student Athlete Success Coordinator.  Prior to the fall of 2014, in eight seasons (2006-2013) as the Special Teams Coordinator for the Braves football team, Smith coached sixteen all-KCAC performers, highlighted by Clarence Anderson who finished the 2010 season as one of the most prolific kick and punt returners in the NAIA, ranking first in punt return yards per attempt (21.8), first in total punt return yards (501), and third in the nation in kickoff return yards per attempt (30.3).  Smiths special teams units scored sixteen touchdowns in his last four seasons as the coordinator while the Braves team qualified for the national playoffs for five years in a row and won three conference championships in that time.  As the offensive line coach from 2006-2009, Smith coached nine all-KCAC performers, and as the defensive line coach from 2010-2013, Smith coached eleven all-KCAC performers and three all-Americans, including the 2013 KCAC Defensive Player of the Year Deron Bruce. Before coming to OU, Smith was the head golf coach at Paola High School (PHS) in Paola, Kan. Under his leadership, the PHS golf program participated in the 5A state tournament five out of seven seasons. In 2006, the Panthers won seven of eight regular season tournaments, including the Frontier League Championship.  As a football coach at Paola, Coach Smith was part of a successful team that won 37 games in five years and participated in the state playoffs four times. A 1995 graduate of OU, Smith spent three years as an admissions counselor for The College and five years as an assistant football coach for the Braves (1996-2000), including the 1997 and 2000 Conference Championship teams.  Wendell and his wife Rachel are the parents of two children, Westen and Erin. Rachel is a 1997 graduate of Ottawa University.  Coach Cronin is in her first season as a graduate assistant coach with the OU golf program. Before coming to Ottawa University, Cronin spent four years attending Ursuline College (UC) in Pepper Pike, Ohio. There she graduated with a bachelor of arts in business management and sports management. While at UC she was a lettered in golf, cross country, and track. Cronin was a four time All-Conference performer on the golf course. She was named G-MAC Golfer of the Month twice for UC. Cronin was also named Womens Golfer of the Year. In track and field, she earned All-Conference honors. Cronin was also named Women's Cross Country Runner of the year in 2014-2015. She was on the Deans List five times and made the Presidents List twice. At Ursuline College, Cronin was the President of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, Captain of the Ursuline Golf Team, Founder of the International Student Committee, and Captain of the Ursuline Cross Country and Track Teams.She was inducted into the Ursuline College Wall of Fame in 2016. Cronin spent summers working at Bantry Bay Golf Club in Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland. There she assisted the PGA Professional with coaching. Cronin also holds the course record at Bantry Bay Golf Club. Cronin is getting her masters in Business administration with a concentration in leadership and management at Ottawa.