The Golf Coaches Association of America announced Tuesday its 2024 Hall of Fame Class.
Arizona State coach Matt Thurmond and Oklahoma coach Ryan Hybl will officially be inducted during the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Thurmond’s coaching career started as an assistant at his alma mater, BYU, in 1999. He then joined 2014 GCAA Hall of Famer O.D. Vincent’s staff at Washington the next season before being named head coach in June 2001. The Huskies made the NCAA Championship in each of Thurmond’s first five years, including a program-best third-place finish in 2005. That same year James Lepp won the individual NCAA title. Washington went on to make NCAAs seven times in his final 10 season in Seattle, making match play three times.
Thurmond was hired at Arizona State’s head coach on July 25, 2016. He has led the Sun Devils to 24 tournament wins, including the 2024 Pac-12 Championship and consecutive NCAA Regional titles in 2022 and 2023. Arizona State made match play at the NCAA Championship three times in six appearances since Thurmond arrived, including a runner-up finish in 2022. Thurmond has led 11 different Sun Devils to 18 All-America honors.
Arizona State men’s golf coach Matt Thurmond (left) with Chun An Yu. (Photo: Arizona State University)
After finishing his playing career at Georgia, Hybl joined 2012 GCAA Hall of Famer Chris Haack as an assistant coach in 2005. In his four seasons on staff (2005-09), the Bulldogs captured 18 team wins, featuring the 2006 and 2009 SEC Championship and 2008 NCAA East Regional, and made the NCAA Championship each year.
Hybl was hired as head coach at Oklahoma on June 22, 2009, turning the program back into a national powerhouse. The Sooners have recorded the top 14 single-season scoring averages in program history and made 13 straight NCAA Championship appearances, culminating in a national championship in 2017. Hybl has coached a program-record 46 tournament wins, including three Big 12 Championships (2018, 2022, 2023) and four NCAA Regional titles (2015, 2018, 2022, 2024).
In 1980, the GCAA began inducting men’s college golf coaches into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. Since then, the hall has grown to include more than 160 members. To be selected to the Hall of Fame, a coach must be nominated by their peers and selected by the GCAA Hall of Fame Committee.