MM 7.6: Maryland men’s golf hires John Phillips as new head coach

Maryland men’s golf announced former Virginia assistant coach John Phillips as the head coach and new leader of its program Tuesday.

Former head coach Jason Rodenhaver retired on May 23 following 23 years with both the men’s and women’s golf programs. Forty-three days later, athletic director Damon Evans tabbed Phillips as his man.

“John is a rising star in the golf world,” Evans said in Tuesday’s release. “He knows the region as well as anyone having heavily recruited the DMV for more than a decade. John has a winning pedigree, having been to the NCAA Championships in each of his last eight seasons at Virginia and VCU. John is incredibly organized and has a plan to return Maryland men’s golf to the national stage. We are excited to welcome him to our One Maryland family.”

Phillips spent the last six seasons with the Cavaliers and the previous four on the VCU staff. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Phillips has partaken in each of the past eight NCAA tournaments. Phillips also played at Bridgewater College (Division III) in Bridgewater, Virginia, where he was a four-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference honoree. His familiarity with the DMV area pops off his résumé, and it should surely help him succeed with the Maryland program.

“I am honored to be named the next head men’s golf coach at the University of Maryland,” Phillips said in the release. “I want to thank Damon Evans, Cody Gambler and the search committee for their belief in me and their commitment to the program. It became clear throughout the process that the University of Maryland is a special place full of passionate individuals. I’m excited to begin working with our student-athletes to achieve success on the golf course and in the classroom.”

The Terps have yet to qualify as a team in the NCAA tournament since joining the Big Ten, and their last appearance as a group was in 2007. In 2018, David Kocher and Peter Knade were the last Terps to compete in the NCAA tournament.

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