Todd Kolean has been an assistant coach of New York University’s men’s and women’s golf teams since 2016-17 following seven seasons as Head Coach. He has also served as NYU’s men’s and women’s Head Diving Coach since the 2016-17 season.
Both the men’s and women’s teams experienced a great deal of success in 2021-22. NYU earned Liberty League Men’s and Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year honors as both squads won their respective titles and received automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Championships.
Competing at the NCAA’s for the first time since winning the National Championship in 2019, the women finished eighth. Aliea Clark, who took fifth place individually and was selected Honorable Mention All-America, won both the Liberty League and Vassar College Invitational titles en route to being named First Team All-Liberty League and Second Team All-UAA (University Athletic Association). As a team, the Violets captured the St. Lawrence Invitational, the Vassar College Invitational, the Jack Leaman Invitational, and the Liberty League Preview.
Individually, Nalinda Wanikpun was selected Liberty League Player and Rookie of the Year, won the Jack Leaman Invitational title, was Second Team All-UAA and earned Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-East Region honors. Madison Phung was the St. Lawrence Invitational Champion, earned WGCA All-East Region accolades and was selected Second Team All-Liberty League.
The men’s team finished 10th at the NCAA’s, as both Joey Burlison (tie 16th) and Robbie Keyes (tie 19th) produced top-20 finishes. The Violets finished first at the St. Lawrence Invitational, the Liberty League Preview and the Farmingdale Spring Invitational while placing second at the UAA Championship and the Duke Nelson Invitational.
Both Burlison and Keyes earned Division III PING Honorable Mention All-America and were chosen to the Division III PING All-Region 2 Team along with Kevin Kim, Chris Lee and Jorge Montero, who was the St. Lawrence Invitational Champion. Burlison was a First Team All-Liberty League and All-UAA honoree while Keyes earned Second Team status with both entities. Lee (First Team) and Kim (Second Team) were also cited by the Liberty League.
NYU did not compete in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, a total of 14 men’s and women’s golfers received All-Academic honors from both the UAA and the Liberty League.
The Violets only played during the fall in 2019-20 due to Covid-19, but still produced a great deal of success. The women’s team won the season-opening St. Lawrence Invitational, setting NYU single-round (289) and 36-hole (581) records. The squad also finished second at the Mount Holyoke, Tartan and NYU Fall invitationals and was ranked #7 in the nation when the campaign came to an abrupt halt.
Individually, Navika Kuchakulla and Ashley Lung were named Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Division III All-East Region and All-UAA. Kuchakulla was the individual winner at St. Lawrence, while Lung was victorious at the Tartan Invite.
The men’s team also produced an outstanding fall season, winning four of its five competitions and rising as high as #10 in the national polls (they finished at #13). The Violets, who were also victorious at St. Lawrence, went on to capture the Duke Nelson Invitational, the Liberty League Fall Preview and the Skidmore College Invitational. The squad set single-round (282) and 36-hole (577) records at Skidmore, while Burlison captured the individual title with a program-record 135.
Burlison’s campaign concluded with a plethora of honors. He was selected as a PING Division III Honorable Mention All-American and All-Northeast Region, as well as an All-UAA honoree. Alan Chen also received PING All-Northeast accolades, All-UAA honors, and was chosen NYU’s Male Freshman Athlete of the Year. Robbie Keyes won the Liberty League Fall Preview title and was also selected All-Northeast Region and All-UAA.
The 2018-19 season was an historic one for the women’s golf team, as the Violets captured the NCAA Division III National Championship for the first time in program history. NYU won six tournament championships during the regular season, including both the UAA and Liberty League titles, as NYU earned UAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The squad then headed to the NCAA Championship, which was held at the Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, TX, from May 14-17. Despite entering the final round in second place eight strokes off the lead, the Violets shot a tournament-record-tying 294 and edged out Williams College.
Individually, there were numerous accomplishments and accolades produced by the players in ‘18-19. Arshia Mahant, who was the National Championship Runner-up, was a WGCA Honorable Mention All-American and the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Jessica Wu finished ninth at the NCAA Championship and was also named WGCA Honorable Mention All-American. Kuchakulla won the Jekyll Island Invitational and the Liberty League Championship and was named UAA Co-Player of the Year (along with Patty Treevichaphan). Jenni Bluetling won the St. Lawrence Invitational, while Arisa Kimura captured the General’s Invitational.
The men’s team also had an outstanding season in ‘18-19, winning its second consecutive Liberty League Championship, earning another NCAA Championship bid and finishing 27th nationally. During the season, the Violets captured the St. Lawrence Invitational, placed second at the NYU Spring Invite and posted three third-place tournament finishes.
Kolean, fellow assistant Eric Tarakjian and Head Coach Brad Johnson received both UAA and Liberty League Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Burlison was a breakout performer, earning Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Year and First Team honors while also being named to the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-Freshman Team and Division III Ping All-Northeast Region. Keyes was also named Division III Ping All-Northeast Region and Chris Lee received First Team All-Liberty League honors.
In 2017-18, Kolean helped lead both the men’s and women’s teams to qualification for their respective NCAA Championships. The women, making their fourth-straight appearance, finished fourth at the national event while the men finished 31st in their first appearance since 2008.
The teams also enjoyed successful regular-seasons as the women finished either first or second in all 10 of their events while the men finished first in four of their competitions. Both squads won the Liberty League Championship, while the women also captured the UAA title.
For their efforts, Kolean along with Johnson and Assistant Coach Meaghan Kenny were recognized as UAA Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year
The women’s golf team ended the 2016-17 by qualifying for the NCAA Championship and finishing a then-best-ever fifth. It was also a strong regular-season, as NYU finished among the top-five in each of its 12 tournaments, winning six of them including the Liberty League Championship and the UAA Championship. Alyssa Poentis was recognized as a WGCA Honorable Mention All-American and winning Liberty League Player of the Year. Poentis, Treevichaphan and Blueting each earned First Team All-UAA honors.
For the team’s outstanding performance, Kolean along with Johnson and Kenny were recognized as Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year by both the UAA and Liberty League.
Kolean also helped lead the NYU men’s team to six top-three finishes in ’16-17, including a first-place performance at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship. Individually, Luke Oberholtzer earned Second Team All-UAA honors.
During his tenure as head coach of NYU’s golf programs, Kolean lifted both teams to new heights. The women finished a then-best-ever 10th at the NCAA Championship in 2015, while the men captured their first-ever UAA Championship in his first season in 2009-10.
In his final season as head coach in 2015-16, Kolean led the women’s team to its first-ever UAA Championship (and Coaching Staff of the Year honors), its third Liberty League Championship and second consecutive NCAA Championship (the Violets finished 13th). On the men’s side, Kolean led his team to seven top-five finishes including a season-best third-place performance at the St. Lawrence Invitational.
Under Kolean’s tutelage, Bluetling earned UAA Player of the Year, Liberty League Co-Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. She was named ECAC Division III Rookie of the Month (March), WGCA All-East Region and NYU Female Freshman of the Year. For the men Derrek Drozdyk was a two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection and was named Honorable Mention All-UAA.
A 1988 graduate of the University of North Dakota with Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Political Science, Kolean is a native of Holland, MI, and resides in Jersey City, NJ.
