NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt’s own Gator Todd has been named a finalist for the 2022 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award presented by TaylorMade as selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America, the organization announced Monday.
During the 2021-22 season, Todd helped lead the Commodores to a No. 2 end-of-season national ranking as Vandy won the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championships and earned the No. 1 seed where they would advance to the semifinals in match play. Gordon Sargent won the NCAA individual title and was named national freshman of the year.
The Dores went 133-2 during the spring portion of the schedule which marked one of the best runs in college golf history.
Todd also helped Vanderbilt win a second straight SEC Championship. The Dores won the stroke play portion of the event to earn the No. 1 seed, then defeated Mississippi State, LSU and Florida, respectively, all by a 3-2 score. Sargent was named SEC Freshman of the Year and Todd assisted head coach Scott Limbaugh to his fourth SEC Coach of the Year honor.
Todd would coach four All-Americans, including first-team selections Sargent and Cole Sherwood. Sargent and Sherwood were also Haskins Award finalists and selected to represent the United States on the 2022 Palmer Cup team.
In his five seasons at Vanderbilt the Commodores have won 19 team titles and finished with a top-10 national ranking every season. Todd has coached three SEC Players of the Year, 14 All-Americans – with five of those being named to the first team – and has coached seven Palmer Cup selections.
In 2021 Todd helped sign the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class as Vandy added Gordon Sargent and Jackson Van Paris. Sargent would enter college as the No. 1 junior in the World Amateur Golf Rankings as well as being tabbed National Player of the Year by USA Today.
The Strickland Award is presented 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.
California (Pennsylvania)’s Kyle Bennett, North Carolina’s Matt Clark, Wake Forest’s Aaron O’Callaghan, Kansas’ Chris Wilson and Pepperdine’s Blaine Woodruff joined Todd on this year’s list.
