Portland State University Women's Golf

A familiar face returned to the Park Blocks to lead the Portland State women’s golf program as Kaylee Shimizu – former volunteer assistant coach and sister to recent PSU grad Payten Shimizu – took over as the Vikings’ head coach ahead of the 2026-27 season.   Shimizu spent the 2024-25 season as a volunteer assistant with the Vikings. She spent the past year as a membership and handicapping coordinator with the Oregon Golf Association. Concurrent to her golf-related work, Shimizu has held a number of positions in Information Technology, including jobs at PC Laptops Corporate, AnchorSix and The McGillis School.   Shimizu majored in Information Systems while an NCAA Division I golfer at Utah Valley from 2015-20. She received second-team All-WAC honors as a junior in 2018-19. Shimizu earned the honors after recording the fourth-best single-season average in school history at 75.03. She won her first collegiate tournament that season with an even-par 216 (72-70-74) at the Anuenue Spring Break Classic in her home state of Hawai’i.   She led Utah Valley with a 74.75 scoring average before her senior season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   “We’re excited to welcome Kaylee as our new head women’s golf coach. She’s smart, hard-working, and most importantly, has a strong connection and desire to see this program have success both on and off the golf course,” Portland State athletics director Matt Billings said of the hire.   Shimizu takes over a program that is coming off its best showing at the Big Sky tournament in five seasons. The Vikings placed fourth as a team while Cynthia Valerie Ong posted a top 10 finish behind a program record-tying 67 in the final round.   Additionally, the Vikings finished last season with a 301.8 scoring average – their best since they set a school record of 296.5 in 2017-18.   “I would like to thank Portland State University Athletics for the opportunity to lead this program and for the confidence they have placed in me,” Shimizu said.   “My coaching philosophy is centered on developing meaningful relationships, creating lasting experiences, and supporting student-athletes in their growth both on and off the course. I am committed to fostering an environment where our players can excel academically and athletically while developing the confidence, character, and skills that will serve them well beyond their time at Portland State.   “I am excited to build upon the strong foundation of Portland State women’s golf and contribute to the continued growth and success of the program. It is an honor to begin this next chapter as a Viking.”   The Vikings return five players from last year’s team including Ong, her sister Caithlyn Ong, Maddie Dustin, Francesca Tomp and Momo Udom. Cynthia Valerie and Caithlyn Ong represent the team’s top two scorers last season with averages of 74.81 and 76.00, respectively. Dustin ranked third on the team at 76.18.

Downs is molding the Viking program in her image. She has proven to bring on talented recruits including returners Krissy Peterson (1st team All-Big Sky Conference in 2015-16) and Tara Finigan (second-best scoring average on the team). Downs will have a young team in 2016-17, but looks forward to the addition of three freshmen with great potential. In her three previous seasons, Downs has seen a number of successes as she has continued the tradition of womens golf excellence at PSU. Downs first season was a whirlwind as she was hired after fall competition had already begun. Her first day on campus was Sept. 27, 2013 and by Sept. 29 she was running PSUs Rose City Collegiate golf tournament. Inclement conditions immediately threatened the tournament. It was trimmed from 54 holes to 36, and the teams played on through unseasonable wind and rain. Although Downs had yet to hold a full practice with her new team, the Vikings finished fifth in a strong 15-team event. One week later, Downs took the Vikings to the New Mexico State Prices Give Em Five Tournament in Las Cruces. Portland State won the event, shooting a school-record three-over par 867. The three rounds of 291-288-288 all qualified among the top-10 single-round scores in Portland State history. In addition, A Ram Choi won the individual title with an eight-under par 68-73-67=208 - also a school record. Four of the five Vikings shot personal-best scores in the tournament. The Vikings went on to be picked as the Big Sky Conference favorite in the spring and did not disappoint, winning the Big Sky title by 15 shots over their nearest competitor. The win featured an individual title for A Ram Choi as well.  Downs, who inherited a strong team upon her hire, strengthened it by adding a mid-season recruit, sophomore Alyssa Waite, who ended up being the teams number-three player by the end of the season. With two titles, a 28-3 head-to-head record against other Big Sky schools, eight of the top 15 single-round scores and four of the top-10 tournament scores in school history, Downs was also honored as the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Not a bad beginning to the Head Coaching career of Kailin Downs. In season two the Vikings started well, posting three sub-900 scores and three top-four finishes in the fall. Although the Vikings did not have as notable of a spring season - they finished eighth in the 12-team Big Sky Championship - PSU had a number of individual accomplishments. Choi won her second straight Big Sky individual title and third straight Player of the Year honor. Hansol Koo was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year.  Peterson led the Vikings in Downs third season, earning All-Big Sky honors and going on to win the Oregon Womens Amateur Championship over the summer. Also impressive for the Viking squad was having all six players earn Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors. Carson Pickett and Keilyn Ing were named to the WGCA All-America Scholar team.  In Downs three seasons, PSU players have won six All-Big Sky Conference honors, two Big Sky Player of the Year Awards and two Freshman of the Year awards, as well as nine Player of the Week honors and 11 Academic All-Conference awards. BACKGROUND Downs came to Portland State with quality coaching experience and a background as a top collegiate, amateur and professional player. Downs spent five years (2008-13) as an assistant coach with the Oregon State womens golf team. She had been part of some of the best individual performances in Oregon State history, including the single-season scoring average record by Seshia Telles in 2012-13 and two of the lowest three-round scores during that same season. Student-athletes garnered Pac-12 All-Academic honors 13 times in her five years. Downs helped lead the Oregon State womens golf team to one of their best seasons in school history in 2011-12. That included four top-five and six top-10 finishes in their 12 tournaments, earning OSUs first trip to the NCAA Regionals in six years. The Beavers shot a school-record 2-under 282 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate in Stanford Calif., and equaled their second-best round in school history with an even-par 288 in the final round of the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Downs played two years on the LPGAs developmental tour and the Cactus Tour after a very successful college career at the University of New Mexico where she was a two-time All-American, two-time Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and a four-time All-Mountain West Conference selection. She also excelled in the classroom and received the Edith Cumming Munson Award given annually to the All-American with the highest GPA. She earned NGCA All-American Scholar honors three times, was named to the All-Mountain West Conference All-Academic team four times and was twice named the Female Athlete of the Year. She graduated from New Mexico in 2005 with a degree in Business-General Management. Downs won the Womens Western Junior Amateur in 2001, the Oregon Womens Amateur, Oregon Womens Stroke Play and Pacific Northwest Womens Amateur in 2002 and the Womens Trans Amateur in 2003. She also advanced to the round of 16 at the 2004 U.S. Womens Amateur and 2005 U.S. Womens Public Links. She won 24 tournaments at Mountain View High School in Bend, Ore., and was named to the All-State First Team two times. Kailin Downs feature, Nov. 13, 2013 KAILIN DOWNS COACHING EXPERIENCE 2013-16    Portland State, Head Coach 2008-13    Oregon State, Assistant Coach COACHING HIGHLIGHTS AT PORTLAND STATE 2013-14 Big Sky Conference Champions Prices Give Em Five Intercollegiate Champions 2013-14 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year Four new school scoring records Six All-Conference honorees, three conference Player of the Year awards, two Freshman of the Year awards, 11 Academic All-Conference honorees Return to Staff Kailin Downs Head Golf Coach Twitter: VikingsWGolf Now in her fourth season, Head Coach Kailin Downs is molding the Viking program in her image. She has proven to bring on talented recruits including returners Krissy Peterson (1st team All-Big Sky Conference in 2015-16) and Tara Finigan (second-best scoring average on the team). Downs will have a young team in 2016-17, but looks forward to the addition of three freshmen with great potential. In her three previous seasons, Downs has seen a number of successes as she has continued the tradition of womens golf excellence at PSU. Downs first season was a whirlwind as she was hired after fall competition had already begun. Her first day on campus was Sept. 27, 2013 and by Sept. 29 she was running PSUs Rose City Collegiate golf tournament. Inclement conditions immediately threatened the tournament. It was trimmed from 54 holes to 36, and the teams played on through unseasonable wind and rain. Although Downs had yet to hold a full practice with her new team, the Vikings finished fifth in a strong 15-team event. One week later, Downs took the Vikings to the New Mexico State Prices Give Em Five Tournament in Las Cruces. Portland State won the event, shooting a school-record three-over par 867. The three rounds of 291-288-288 all qualified among the top-10 single-round scores in Portland State history. In addition, A Ram Choi won the individual title with an eight-under par 68-73-67=208 - also a school record. Four of the five Vikings shot personal-best scores in the tournament. The Vikings went on to be picked as the Big Sky Conference favorite in the spring and did not disappoint, winning the Big Sky title by 15 shots over their nearest competitor. The win featured an individual title for A Ram Choi as well.  Downs, who inherited a strong team upon her hire, strengthened it by adding a mid-season recruit, sophomore Alyssa Waite, who ended up being the teams number-three player by the end of the season. With two titles, a 28-3 head-to-head record against other Big Sky schools, eight of the top 15 single-round scores and four of the top-10 tournament scores in school history, Downs was also honored as the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Not a bad beginning to the Head Coaching career of Kailin Downs. In season two the Vikings started well, posting three sub-900 scores and three top-four finishes in the fall. Although the Vikings did not have as notable of a spring season - they finished eighth in the 12-team Big Sky Championship - PSU had a number of individual accomplishments. Choi won her second straight Big Sky individual title and third straight Player of the Year honor. Hansol Koo was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year.  Peterson led the Vikings in Downs third season, earning All-Big Sky honors and going on to win the Oregon Womens Amateur Championship over the summer. Also impressive for the Viking squad was having all six players earn Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors. Carson Pickett and Keilyn Ing were named to the WGCA All-America Scholar team.  In Downs three seasons, PSU players have won six All-Big Sky Conference honors, two Big Sky Player of the Year Awards and two Freshman of the Year awards, as well as nine Player of the Week honors and 11 Academic All-Conference awards. BACKGROUND Downs came to Portland State with quality coaching experience and a background as a top collegiate, amateur and professional player. Downs spent five years (2008-13) as an assistant coach with the Oregon State womens golf team. She had been part of some of the best individual performances in Oregon State history, including the single-season scoring average record by Seshia Telles in 2012-13 and two of the lowest three-round scores during that same season. Student-athletes garnered Pac-12 All-Academic honors 13 times in her five years. Downs helped lead the Oregon State womens golf team to one of their best seasons in school history in 2011-12. That included four top-five and six top-10 finishes in their 12 tournaments, earning OSUs first trip to the NCAA Regionals in six years. The Beavers shot a school-record 2-under 282 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate in Stanford Calif., and equaled their second-best round in school history with an even-par 288 in the final round of the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Downs played two years on the LPGAs developmental tour and the Cactus Tour after a very successful college career at the University of New Mexico where she was a two-time All-American, two-time Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and a four-time All-Mountain West Conference selection. She also excelled in the classroom and received the Edith Cumming Munson Award given annually to the All-American with the highest GPA. She earned NGCA All-American Scholar honors three times, was named to the All-Mountain West Conference All-Academic team four times and was twice named the Female Athlete of the Year. She graduated from New Mexico in 2005 with a degree in Business-General Management. Downs won the Womens Western Junior Amateur in 2001, the Oregon Womens Amateur, Oregon Womens Stroke Play and Pacific Northwest Womens Amateur in 2002 and the Womens Trans Amateur in 2003. She also advanced to the round of 16 at the 2004 U.S. Womens Amateur and 2005 U.S. Womens Public Links. She won 24 tournaments at Mountain View High School in Bend, Ore., and was named to the All-State First Team two times. Kailin Downs feature, Nov. 13, 2013 KAILIN DOWNS COACHING EXPERIENCE 2013-16    Portland State, Head Coach 2008-13    Oregon State, Assistant Coach COACHING HIGHLIGHTS AT PORTLAND STATE 2013-14 Big Sky Conference Champions Prices Give Em Five Intercollegiate Champions 2013-14 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year Four new school scoring records Six All-Conference honorees, three conference Player of the Year awards, two Freshman of the Year awards, 11 Academic All-Conference honorees Return to Staff Kailin Downs Head Golf Coach Twitter: VikingsWGolf Now in her fourth season, Head Coach Kailin Downs is molding the Viking program in her image. She has proven to bring on talented recruits including returners Krissy Peterson (1st team All-Big Sky Conference in 2015-16) and Tara Finigan (second-best scoring average on the team). Downs will have a young team in 2016-17, but looks forward to the addition of three freshmen with great potential. In her three previous seasons, Downs has seen a number of successes as she has continued the tradition of womens golf excellence at PSU. Downs first season was a whirlwind as she was hired after fall competition had already begun. Her first day on campus was Sept. 27, 2013 and by Sept. 29 she was running PSUs Rose City Collegiate golf tournament. Inclement conditions immediately threatened the tournament. It was trimmed from 54 holes to 36, and the teams played on through unseasonable wind and rain. Although Downs had yet to hold a full practice with her new team, the Vikings finished fifth in a strong 15-team event. One week later, Downs took the Vikings to the New Mexico State Prices Give Em Five Tournament in Las Cruces. Portland State won the event, shooting a school-record three-over par 867. The three rounds of 291-288-288 all qualified among the top-10 single-round scores in Portland State history. In addition, A Ram Choi won the individual title with an eight-under par 68-73-67=208 - also a school record. Four of the five Vikings shot personal-best scores in the tournament. The Vikings went on to be picked as the Big Sky Conference favorite in the spring and did not disappoint, winning the Big Sky title by 15 shots over their nearest competitor. The win featured an individual title for A Ram Choi as well.  Downs, who inherited a strong team upon her hire, strengthened it by adding a mid-season recruit, sophomore Alyssa Waite, who ended up being the teams number-three player by the end of the season. With two titles, a 28-3 head-to-head record against other Big Sky schools, eight of the top 15 single-round scores and four of the top-10 tournament scores in school history, Downs was also honored as the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Not a bad beginning to the Head Coaching career of Kailin Downs. In season two the Vikings started well, posting three sub-900 scores and three top-four finishes in the fall. Although the Vikings did not have as notable of a spring season - they finished eighth in the 12-team Big Sky Championship - PSU had a number of individual accomplishments. Choi won her second straight Big Sky individual title and third straight Player of the Year honor. Hansol Koo was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year.  Peterson led the Vikings in Downs third season, earning All-Big Sky honors and going on to win the Oregon Womens Amateur Championship over the summer. Also impressive for the Viking squad was having all six players earn Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors. Carson Pickett and Keilyn Ing were named to the WGCA All-America Scholar team.  In Downs three seasons, PSU players have won six All-Big Sky Conference honors, two Big Sky Player of the Year Awards and two Freshman of the Year awards, as well as nine Player of the Week honors and 11 Academic All-Conference awards. BACKGROUND Downs came to Portland State with quality coaching experience and a background as a top collegiate, amateur and professional player. Downs spent five years (2008-13) as an assistant coach with the Oregon State womens golf team. She had been part of some of the best individual performances in Oregon State history, including the single-season scoring average record by Seshia Telles in 2012-13 and two of the lowest three-round scores during that same season. Student-athletes garnered Pac-12 All-Academic honors 13 times in her five years. Downs helped lead the Oregon State womens golf team to one of their best seasons in school history in 2011-12. That included four top-five and six top-10 finishes in their 12 tournaments, earning OSUs first trip to the NCAA Regionals in six years. The Beavers shot a school-record 2-under 282 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate in Stanford Calif., and equaled their second-best round in school history with an even-par 288 in the final round of the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Downs played two years on the LPGAs developmental tour and the Cactus Tour after a very successful college career at the University of New Mexico where she was a two-time All-American, two-time Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and a four-time All-Mountain West Conference selection. She also excelled in the classroom and received the Edith Cumming Munson Award given annually to the All-American with the highest GPA. She earned NGCA All-American Scholar honors three times, was named to the All-Mountain West Conference All-Academic team four times and was twice named the Female Athlete of the Year. She graduated from New Mexico in 2005 with a degree in Business-General Management. Downs won the Womens Western Junior Amateur in 2001, the Oregon Womens Amateur, Oregon Womens Stroke Play and Pacific Northwest Womens Amateur in 2002 and the Womens Trans Amateur in 2003. She also advanced to the round of 16 at the 2004 U.S. Womens Amateur and 2005 U.S. Womens Public Links. She won 24 tournaments at Mountain View High School in Bend, Ore., and was named to the All-State First Team two times. Kailin Downs feature, Nov. 13, 2013 KAILIN DOWNS COACHING EXPERIENCE 2013-16    Portland State, Head Coach 2008-13    Oregon State, Assistant Coach COACHING HIGHLIGHTS AT PORTLAND STATE 2013-14 Big Sky Conference Champions Prices Give Em Five Intercollegiate Champions 2013-14 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year Four new school scoring records Six All-Conference honorees, three conference Player of the Year awards, two Freshman of the Year awards, 11 Academic All-Conference honorees Return to Staff Kailin Downs feature, Nov. 13, 2013 2013-16    Portland State, Head Coach 2008-13     Oregon State, Assistant  Coach