Ole Miss head coach Michele Drinkard announced that Australia native and former Long Beach State golfer Hayley Wilkinson has joined the Ole Miss women’s golf squad as an assistant coach. Wilkinson replaces former associate head coach Janell Howland who was named head coach of the UNC-Greensboro women’s golf team in July.
“Not very often do you find someone of Hayley’s skill sets other than a fellow head coach, and I am thrilled to have Hayley in our women’s golf family,” said Drinkard. “Hayley and I met by chance this year in San Diego while recruiting, and I could feel the energy and passion she has for the game and knew that she would be a perfect addition to our program.”
Wilkinson has an extensive background in developing young talent as she has served as the director of golf at the Queensland School of Golf in Queensland, Australia, for the past two years. In her position, Wilkinson was responsible for all decisions regarding the senior development and junior squads.
“After talking for a bit, I realized she had an extensive background in finding and analyzing talent and knew that would be a great resource for our program,” said Drinkard. “She also played for Sue Ewart at Long Beach State, who I believe was one of the best college/life coaches in the country, which spoke volumes to me about her character.”
In addition to her duties as director of golf, Wilkinson was a member of the Golf Queensland High Performance Committee. The committee is charged with advising the Golf Queensland Board on the strategic development and evaluation of the Golf Queensland’s High Performance programs. The committee works to identify and develop talented juniors and elite amateur golfers, while operating and preparing the state teams. Wilkinson also served as the president of the Queensland Intercollegiate Golf Association.
“I’m really excited,” said Wilkinson. “I came out here in late summer and had an amazing time. I got a great feel for the community; there is a lot of tradition and really good culture here. Outside of the movie ‘The Blind Side,’ I didn’t know much about Ole Miss prior to coming for my visit. I just really loved the people here. Coach Drinkard is someone that I really connected with and someone who I know I can learn so much from. I’m excited to be here and get started.”
Wilkinson has served as a manager/non-playing captain of the Queensland Open Women’s Team for the past three years.
As a player at Long Beach State, Wilkinson was a three-time All-Big West selection and led her team to a top 20 ranking. She also captained the first 49er team to advance to an NCAA regional.
