Arizona State University has named the University of Washington’s Matt Thurmond as the 14th Head Coach for the ASU’s men’s golf program, Vice President for University Athletics and Athletics Director Ray Anderson announced recently.

“Matt Thurmond’s background at Washington and his record of success is right in line with the direction we are headed with the men’s golf program,” Anderson said. “He embraces the concept of family and the success that community embeddedness can bring to a program. Beyond his ability to coach top-level talent, his skill at directing capital projects and fundraising within the golf community will prove invaluable in establishing the program’s future home at Papago Golf Course.”

Thurmond, who spent the past 15 seasons at Washington, created a perennial national championship contending program for the Huskies. With 12 total NCAA Championship appearances, Thurmond’s teams averaged a ninth-place national finish, including seven top-10 finishes. The 2009 Golfweek National Coach of the Year and two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year (’05, ’09), Thurmond coached Washington to three conference titles in 2005, 2009, and 2010.

An impressive recruiter, Thurmond coached three No. 1- ranked world amateurs over the last six years. In 2010, NCAA Championship runner-up Nick Taylor won the McCormack Award and the Ben Hogan Award, as did Chris Williams in 2012. CT Pan, the top-ranked amateur in 2013, also finished as the NCAA Championship runner-up in 2015 as a senior. Thurmond coached James Lepp to the 2005 Individual National Championship, the first Husky to win the NCAA title. Overall, Thurmond has coached 25 All-Americans including eight first-team honors.

Thurmond led the fundraising for, and helped direct, Washington’s multi-million dollar Husky Golf Center and “The Playground” practice facility. He coordinated the concept, funding, and construction of the cutting edge, eight-acre practice facility and team center.

Thurmond began his coaching career at Washington as an assistant coach to OD Vincent and Mary Lou Mulflur in 2000, before taking over the men’s golf program at the age of 26 in 2001. Prior to UW, Thurmond served one season as an assistant coach for BYU.

The Arizona State men’s golf program has won 12 Pac-12 titles since joining the Pac-10 Conference in 1978-79, the most of any program. ASU also won national titles in 1990 and 1996 under head coaches Steve Loy and Randy Lein, respectively. Individually, nine Sun Devil golfers have won 11 Pac-12 individual titles, and four players have won six NCAA individual titles. Recently, Jon Rahm, who graduated this past spring, became the first two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award.

Thurmond graduated from BYU where he was a four-year letter winner for the Cougar golf program (1993-99) and was named Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 1994. Thurmond is joined at Arizona State by wife Kathryn and their three daughters.