2026 Jan Strickland Award presented by TaylorMade Golf Company Finalists Announced
NORMAN, Okla. -- 2026 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award presented by TaylorMade Golf Company finalists have been named. The Strickland Award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, or NJCAA assistant coach that, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom.
Two assistant coaches, one Division I and one non-Division I, will be named 2026 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award presented by TaylorMade Golf Company recipients. Dustin Groves of Virginia, Noah Goldman of North Carolina, Jace Long of LSU, Gustavo Morantes of Arkansas, and James Vargas of Texas Tech are the Division I finalists. Arrianna Custodio of Cal State East Bay (NCAA Division II), Troy Nielsen of Cal State San Bernardino (NCAA Division II), and David Rosenbaum of Meridian (NJCAA Division II) are the non-Division I finalists.
Ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in every Scoreboard Powered by Clippd ranking so far this season, Virginia has compiled eight top-two finishes with five victories by an average of over 11 strokes under guidance from Groves. The Cavaliers have four players ranked inside the top 50 via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, led by second-ranked and the first three-time PING First Team All-American in program history Ben James. Groves was hired by 2004 Jan Strickland Award recipient Bowen Sargent as assistant coach at Virginia in August 2022 and promoted to Associate Head Coach at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. The Cavaliers are the only men’s Division I program to reach NCAA Championship Match Play each of the last three seasons, and the program won their first ACC Championship in 2025.
Goldman is a finalist for the fourth time in the last six years (third straight with North Carolina). He has helped lead North Carolina to three wins, including their last two tournaments before the ACC Championship April 23-27, and three other top-three finishes during his third season in Chapel Hill. Ranked No. 11 via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, three different Tar Heels have secured individual championships this season. North Carolina has had 12 tournament victories, seven PING All-East Region, four Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars, and four PING All-America honorees with Goldman on staff. David Ford broke six program records en route to becoming the Tar Heels’ first Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday recipient and a four-time PING All-American in 2025.
LSU is ranked seventh via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd and hasn’t finished outside the top four in Long’s second season with the Tigers. They’ve carded three team victories with five other top-three finishes and are led by three Tigers ranked inside the top 70 via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd. Árni Sveinsson won the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational on October 20 and leads the team with a current 69.52 scoring average. LSU has earned five Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar, three PING All-Southeast Region, two PING All-America, and two All-SEC honors with Long on staff. Algot Kleen was named SEC Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-SEC, and PING Second Team All-America in 2025 while Sveinsson was a PING Third Team All-American, Arnold Palmer Cup participant, and GCAA All-Freshman Team representative.
Morantes and the fifth-ranked Razorbacks have finished inside the top four in eight of their nine tournaments this season and have collected three team victories, including the All American Intercollegiate and Watersound Invitational this spring. Led by sophomore Erich Fortlage and his team-leading 70.85 scoring average, four Razorbacks are ranked inside the top 80 via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd. Morantes was named associate head coach by Head Coach Brad McMakin on July 26, 2023, and in his first season, Arkansas broke their program record for season scoring average by almost two strokes while being led by PING All-Central Region honorees Jacob Skov Olesen and John Driscoll III. Olesen was also named PING Second Team All-American. Morantes leads the Razorbacks’ recruiting efforts and he has help land two top-10 recruiting classes in his three years at Arkansas.
Guided by three top-20-ranked golfers via Scoreboard Powered by Clipped, Texas Tech is currently ranked eighth that’s highlighted by a victory at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and seven additional top-five finishes this season. The Red Raiders broke the Valspar Collegiate Invitational record with a 45-under 807, defeating top-ranked Auburn by six strokes and a field that included three other top-10 teams. Vargas was hired at Texas Tech by Head Coach and GCAA Hall of Famer Greg Sands in June 2023. The duo has guided the Red Raiders to consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, including a 10th place finish in 2025. Individual honors have composed of nine Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar, four PING All-Central Region, and two PING All-America honors.
Custodio is in her third season as an assistant coach for both Cal State East Bay golf programs, being hired by Head Coach Alan Sue in August 2023 after playing three years on the Pioneers’ women’s golf team and graduating from the university that May. The men have recorded six top-four finishes this season, winning the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout on March 10 by three strokes, and have had at least one player finish inside the top 10 in seven of their nine tournaments thus far. Peyton Hendricks, Oscar Blomqvist, and Easton Hether have all received California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Golfer of the Week honors in 2025-26. Cal State East Bay has had three Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars, two PING All-West Region honorees, and 2025 NCAA Division II PING Honorable Mention All-American Hether with Custodio on staff.
In Nielsen’s fifth year assisting Head Coach Kyle Emerson at Cal State San Bernardino, the Coyotes have recorded nine top-10 finishes and victories at the Hanny/Stanislaus Invitational Tuesday and Coyote Classic March 24. Ranked 68th via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd on October 22 and 63rd on January 28, the Coyotes are now ranked 34th with top-three finishes in five of their six spring tournaments thus far. Junior and top-100-ranked Kamron Hopson has carded top-20 results in nine of his last 10 tournaments with a seven-stroke victory at the Coyote Classic March 24. John Kim and Chris Wardrup were PING All-West Region honorees in 2025 and Kim was named a NCAA Division II PING Third Team All-American.
Rosenbaum is in his 11th season as assistant coach at Meridian, fourth with Head Coach Lance Strickland. Currently at No. 10 via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, the Eagles have recorded three tournament victories, four runner-up finishes, and top-five placements in 10 of their 11 tournaments this season. They are led by top-30-ranked golfers Dax Reaux, Daniel Young, and Jace Duckworth. Rosenbaum coached two PING NJCAA Division II All Americans in 2025, including Duckworth. Since the 2020 season, the Eagles have had 11 PING All-Region honors and six PING All-American honors with Rosenbaum on staff. Beginning a career in law enforcement in 1993, Rosenbaum was an unpaid volunteer assistant coach during his first five years at Meridian. He retired from the Oxford Police Department in Oxford, Miss. in 2023 but has continued investigative, consulting, and reconstructing work with East Mississippi Forensics.
TaylorMade Golf Company has sponsored the Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award since its inception in 2003.
Previous Recipients
2025 - Thomas Sutton, Arizona State
2025 - Scott Worley, UMSL
2024 - Chris Williams, Auburn
2024 - Isaiah Logue, Keiser
2023 - Dudley Hart, Florida
2022 - Matt Clark, North Carolina
2021 - Bill Allcorn, Oklahoma
2020 - Jean-Paul Hebert, Texas
2019 - Armen Kirakossian, Arizona State
2018 - Corey Maggard, Auburn
2017 - Ryan Blagg, Baylor
2016 - Andrew DiBitetto, North Carolina
2015 - John Handrigan, Florida
2014 - Chris Hill, Houston
2013 - Ryan Murphy, Texas
2012 - Jim Anderson, Texas A&M
2011 - Christian Newton, Georgia Tech
2010 - Michael Burcin, South Carolina
2009 - Brian Sharp, Virginia Tech
2008 - Walter Chun, California
2007 - Andy Bischel, UNLV
2006 - John Knauer, Arizona
2005 - Greg Robertson, Purdue
2004 - Bowen Sargent, Tennessee
2003 - Mike McGraw, Oklahoma State