Sargent Named East Region Coach of the Year

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Tony Markel Family Head Golf Coach, Bowen Sargent, was named the 2025 Golf Pride Grips East Region Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. He was one of six coaches nationally to be recognized by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Tuesday (June 3).

In his 21st year at the helm, Sargent led Virginia to its most successful season in program history. Virginia captured the program’s first ever ACC Championship and were the National Runner-Up at NCAA Championships last month.

The Cavaliers topped all 15 teams in ACC stroke play competition, the largest field in league history and went on to defeated Georgia Tech, Clemson and North Carolina in match play to claim their first title.

As automatic qualifiers, Virginia made its 17th consecutive appearance in NCAA Regionals and were the No. 2 seed in Reno. Battling tough weather conditions, senior Paul Chang won medalist honors and UVA finished second among 14 teams. The performance sent Virginia to NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, Calif. for the third-straight season.

The Cavaliers found themselves in a 25th place after the first round at NCAA Championships and charged back to finish seventh after round four to become one of eight teams to qualify for NCAA match play. UVA is the only program in the country to reach match play competition in each of the last three seasons.

The Cavaliers ousted the last two national champions in NCAA match play – Florida (2023) and Auburn before falling in the championship to Oklahoma State. Five Cavaliers earned Ping East All-Region honors and Ben Hogan Award finalist, Ben James was named a First Team All-American for the third-consecutive season.

Division I
Northeast – Will Green, Princeton
East – Bowen Sargent, Virginia
Southeast – JC Deacon, Florida
Midwest – Steve Bailey, Marquette
Central – Alan Bratton, Oklahoma State
West – Armen Kirakossian, UCLA