University of South Florida Women's Golf

  AJ NEWELL HIGHLIGHTS • Helped lead Michigan to first-ever Big Ten Championship title (2022) • Helped lead Michigan to the NCAA Finals (2022) • Helped lead Michigan to three straight NCAA Regional appearances as assistant (22, 23, 24) • Helped mentor 2022 All-American and future professional Ashley Lau, All-American and Big Ten Golfer of the Year Monet Chun, and All-Big Ten selection Hailey Borja. • 5-year professional playing career – making 13 cuts on the Symetra Tour, highlighted by a tie for fourth at the 2017 Fuccillo Kia Classic. • 2015 NCAA All-American • Helped lead Tennessee to four straight NCAA regional bids and two NCAA Finals appearances (2012 and 2015) • Helped Northside Christian High School (St. Petersburg) to two straight Class A runner-up team finish at the Florida Class A Championships. • Posted runner-up and third place individual finishes in the Florida Class A Championships. CAREER COACHING TIMELINE 2024-present    USF, Head Coach 2021-24            Michigan, Assistant Coach 2020-21            Pelican Golf Club, Golf Professional 2011-21            Volunteer Coaching (Cheval, Fox Hollow, First Tee) PLAYING CAREER 2015-20          Professional Golfer                             2018 – LPGA                             2016-20 – Symetra Tour 2011-15           University of Tennessee QUOTABLE  “I feel truly honored to return home to lead the South Florida women's golf team. I would like to thank Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly for this tremendous opportunity. His vision and support are evident in USF’s premier golf facilities and the commitment at every level to the success of the program, and will allow us to compete for championships.   “I would like to thank my husband, Dan, for his relentless support through the years. As a Tampa native, I am well versed in all that South Florida has to offer and look forward to returning to the community of Tampa Bay and getting to work! Go Bulls!”  AJ Newell, USF Women’s Golf Head Coach Tampa native AJ Newell, a former LPGA Tour Player and NCAA All-American, was named head coach of USF women’s on June 3, 2024. Newell will took over leadership of the Bulls’ program following a successful three-year stint as assistant coach at the University of Michigan, where she helped lead the Wolverines to three-straight NCAA Regional appearances, a 2022 Big Ten title, and the 2022 NCAA Championship Finals. As a player, Newell earned NCAA All-America honors at the University of Tennessee, where she helped lead the Volunteers to the 2015 NCAA Finals match play round and finished seventh individually. She went on to a five-year professional career (2015-2020), making eight starts on the LPGA Tour in 2018 and playing in 35 events on the Symetra Tour (2016-20) before a back injury and subsequent surgery forced her retirement in 2020. Before entering collegiate coaching at Michigan, Newell served as a golf professional at Pelican Golf Club (2020-21) in Belleair Beach, Fla. While leading more than 20 dedicated students, she also ran a summer golf camp for ages 6-15 and was instrumental in founding the Pelican Fitness Center.   She also volunteered and taught golf for many years (2011-21) with the First Tee program at Cheval Golf Club and Fox Hollow Golf Club in Tampa. Newell entered collegiate coaching as an assistant at Michigan (2021-24) in July 2021, joining head coach Jan Dowling, who coached her as an assistant at Tennessee. For the beginning of the spring 2022 season, Newell served as the interim head coach as Dowling took maternity leave, the same season that Michigan captured the program’s first Big Ten Title and an NCAA Finals Appearance. During her tenure, Michigan made three straight NCAA regional appearances (2022, 2023 & 2024). She mentored 2022 All-American and future professional Ashley Lau, All-American and Big Ten Golfer of the Year Monet Chun, and All-Big Ten selection Hailey Borja.   During Newell’s four-year career at Tennessee (2012-15), she played in 38 career tournaments, posted seven top-10 finishes, and was named to the 2011 SEC All-Freshman Team while helping lead the Volunteers to four straight NCAA regional bids and two NCAA Finals appearances (2012 and 2015). As a senior in 2015, she earned Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-America honorable mention honors and tied for seventh at the NCAA Finals. That same season she earned her first collegiate victory at the Westbrook Spring Invitational and was the runner-up at the Golfweek Conference Challenge.   Newell was a member of UT’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and also assisted in teaching a Master of Business Administration program class designed to introduce female students to the fundamentals of golf to help them succeed in the business world. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Tennessee in communication studies, with a minor in journalism and electronic media, in 2015.   Following her collegiate career, Newell began teaching at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn., and pursued playing professionally. She went on to make 13 cuts on the Symetra Tour, highlighted by a tie for fourth at the 2017 Fuccillo Kia Classic of New York and a seventh-place finish at the 2017 IOA Golf Classic. She also tied for 10th at the 2018 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout.   Home-schooled and self-taught golf, Newell earned five varsity letters and was a captain for two years at Northside Christian High School in St. Petersburg, Fla. She closed her prep career leading Northside Christian to its second straight Class A runner-up team finish at the Florida Class A Championships, where she tied for third (73-68/141, -3) after finishing as the runner-up the year prior (70-72/142, -2) following a playoff for the state crown.   Newell is married to Dan Lavin. In her spare time, she is an avid student of history and World War II and visits historical sites while traveling. Gallery: (6-14-2024) HC AJ Newell Introductory Press Conf.

Kornegay Quick Hits Career Recap Ninth season at USF Asst. coach at South Carolina, Winthrop and LSU Four-year letterman at Ole Miss Coaching Accomplishments at USF 2012 BIG EAST Coach of the Year  2010 BIG EAST Coach of the Year 24 Academic All-America Winners Seven tournament titles at USF Eight individual tournament winners at USF Personal LPGA T+CP Class-A member Graduated from Ole Miss in 2001 Originally from Savannah, Ga. WGCA Member VP of American Coaches Committee The 2015-16 season is Marci Kornegays ninth as head coach of the University of South Florida womens golf program. In her tenure, the Bulls have earned top-five finishes at four BIG EAST Championships, including the program's first BIG EAST championship in 2012, and consecutive top-five finishes at the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Bulls have won seven tournament titles, had a student-athlete win an individual tournament title eight times and earn an individual NCAA Regional bid three times. The Bulls also advanced to the NCAA Regionals as a team under Kornegay for the first time in 2012. Kornegay helped guide Ashley Burke to an all-conference award and NCAA Regional berth in 2014-15, setting the stage for big things to come in the next few years. As a team, USFs 298.4 scoring average was the lowest in program history and it was a nine-stroke improvement from the 2013-14 season. The Bulls posted nine top-10 finishes in 10 events last season. Kornegay has helped develop eight USF players that have pursued professional golf careers. Two of Kornegays former players, Christina Jones and Kylene Pulley, obtained status to play on the LPGA Duramed FUTURES Tour as professionals and are currently playing their way onto the LPGA Tour. Shena Yang and Kelli Pry played in their first LPGA event last summer. Off the course, Kornegay has made sure her student-athletes excel in the classroom, earning a combined total of 24 WGCA Academic All-America awards. The Bulls also maintain the second-highest GPA among all USF athletic programs. The 2011-12 team was one for the ages. The team advanced to the NCAA Regionals after holding off Notre Dame by one stroke to capture the program's first BIG EAST Championship. Kornegay also captured her second BIG EAST Coach of the Year Award and mentored the BIG EAST Player of the Year in Christina Miller. Kornegay helped lead the team to multiple team and individual tournament titles. The 2010-11 team finished in the top-five in three tournaments, including a third-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships. Sophomore Shena Yang continued to play exceptionally well, earning an individual title at the Sir Pizza Cards Challenge, placing in the top 10 in seven of 11 starts and earning her second bid to the NCAA East Regional in as many seasons.  She also posted a scoring average of 73.6, which broke her own school record set as a freshman in 2009-10. Kornegay, who had five years of collegiate coaching experience prior to USF, joined the Bulls from South Carolina, where she had been an assistant coach since 2004.  Her time at South Carolina was marked by success both on and off the course. In 2007 USC earned a fourth-place finish in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and earned a top 25 Golfstat ranking.  In both 2005 and 2006, the team was recognized as the NGCA All-Scholar Team of the Year. The team also set a new school record for highest combined grade point average in 2005 by posting a 3.832 GPA.  With Kornegay on the coaching staff, a Gamecock was honored with the 2006 Dinah Shore Trophy and another player was recognized as the 2006 SEC Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Prior to her time at South Carolina, Kornegay was the associate head golf coach at Winthrop University in 2003-2004, where she was the co-tournament director of three tournaments. She coached three Presidential Scholars and a handful of Big South Conference selections while working with both the mens and womens squads.  As a one-year assistant at Louisiana State University during the 2002-03 season, Kornegay served as the tournament director of the NCAA East Regional in 2002 and coached players with accolades such as the Dinah Shore Trophy, the Nancy Lopez Award, USGA Amateur Champion, the Womens Western Amateur Champion and the North-South Amateur Champion. Kornegays coaching philosophy is to develop and foster an environment for athletic, academic and social success. She wants to ensure that the student-athlete has competitive success as well as a positive overall collegiate experience upon graduating. Kornegay has placed a great emphasis on team values that include accountability, care, integrity, respect, leadership and engagement in the program. Prior to coaching, Kornegay was a four-year letter winner at the University of Mississippi. She appeared on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in all four years, highlighted by a spot on the Deans List in 2001. She was the team captain and won team leadership awards in 2000 and 2001. Prior to Ole Miss, Kornegay attended Savannah Christian High School (Savannah, Ga.),  The Bulls head coach is a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Certified Golf Fitness Instructor and an LPGA Class A teaching professional and a member of the Womens Golf Coaches Association.  Before obtaining her LPGA T&CP Membership, Kornegay earned medalist honors at the 2004 USGA Mid-Am Qualifying and participated in the 2005 Southern Womens Amateur. I will prepare each student-athlete with the necessary tools to compete at the highest level and to graduate with confidence to lead. I will maintain a positive team culture for student-athlete success by focusing on positive reinforcement, innovation, honesty, and growth through the game of golf. I will promote to the public the values of our team, the university, and the NCAA with loyalty and integrity. The best interest of our team is my priority; as a member of this team, it requires a commitment to trust in my leadership. USF womens golf will represent the ideal student-athlete by developing outstanding young women who excel in all aspects of college life. As a student, we will abide by academic integrity and pursue degrees with high honor. As an athlete, we will compete with intensity and play by the rules. As student-athletes, we will promote the game of golf and serve our community as loyal ambassadors to our USF family. Upon graduation, we will have prepared ourselves to live as winners and lead as champions.

South Florida women's golf assistant coach Noah Barth joined the program in May 2025. Barth joins the Bull after a one-year stint at Bowling Green, where Barth helped lead the team to two wins at the Battle of I-75 and the Bobby Nicholas Invitational.   As a student-athlete, Coach Barth was on the Tiffin University's men's golf team from 2017-2022. Barth's collegiate playing career consisted of a Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship, being named male student-athlete and freshman of the year.   Coach Newell couldn't be more excited to add Coach Barth to the staff, stating, "I'm very excited to welcome Noah Barth to our coaching staff.  Over the past year, I've come to know Noah as a true professional- someone who brings focus, integrity, and a deep understanding of the game. His attention to detail and commitment to excellence are exactly what we need as we continue to raise the standard for our program. I'm confident Noah will play a key role in helping our student-athletes grow both on and off the course."

Babcock earned All-America honors in 2012 and was a four-time Academic All-American at Barry University. Babcock is also a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association for Teaching and Club Professionals (LPGA T&CP), as well as a certified TPI Level I.