Austin Swafford

Former All-Ohio Valley Conference honoree **Austin Swafford** is in his third season as head coach at his alma mater in 2022-23. He is currently the second youngest NCAA Division I head men's golf coach, trailing only Wagner's Jimmy Criscione.

In his first two seasons as a collegiate head coach, Swafford has presided over a pair of Ohio Valley Conference championship squads. He has played a major factor in all three OVC championships in UT Martin history (2021 and 2022 as head coach, 2016 as a student-athlete). Overall, the Skyhawks have won nearly half of their tournaments (10 of 21) since Swafford has taken over the reins of the program.

UT Martin earned its second of back-to-back OVC championships in 2021-22 after winning the new match play format of the OVC Championships, held at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The Skyhawks earned the No. 2 seed in the four-team match play field following 54 holes of stroke play before defeating Morehead State (semifinals) and Tennessee Tech (finals) by identical 3-2 margins in match play. As a result of their fiffh tournament victory of the season, UT Martin was assigned to the NCAA Regional held in Norman, Okla.

The Skyhawks boasted four OVC postseason honorees in 2021-22, landing a pair of honorees on the All-OVC squad (Tate Chumley, Bryson Morrell) and two more recipients on the All-OVC Newcomer squad (Garrett Chumley, Jonathan Xoinis). UT Martin also combined for four OVC Golfer of the Week awards - including a pair from Garrett Chumley (who became just the second freshman in Skyhawk history to win that accolade multiple times in a single season).

UT Martin also won the OVC Team Sportsmanship Award in 2021-22, marking the eighth consecutive year for the program to receive that award and the ninth time in the last decade (both OVC records).

The 2020-21 campaign proved to be a historical one for Swafford and the Skyhawks as the program claimed its second OVC championship. UT Martin shot its best 54-hole OVC Championship score in school history, carding an 861 (-3) for the tournament for a two-stroke victory in Muscle Shoals, Ala. The victory advanced the Skyhawks to the NCAA Regional, held in Noblesville, Ind.

In addition to its team championship, UT Martin also produced the OVC's individual medalist in Jack Story. The senior posted three consecutive 68's on his way to a 204 (-12), which is tied with two others for the best 54-hole score in OVC Championship history. Story became only the third Skyhawk to capture OVC medalist accolades, joining Brendon Caballero (2015) and Hunter Richardson (2016-17).

Swafford's debut season brought many accolades to the UT Martin program. Swafford was voted by his peers as OVC Coach of the Year, as he joined Eastern Kentucky's Pat Stephens as the only men to garner both an All-OVC mention as a student-athlete and an OVC Coach of the Year honor. He also became just the fourth person (first since 1984) to earn OVC Coach of the Year accolades in his first season at the helm. The Skyhawks' 288.3 stroke average in 2020-21 led the OVC as UT Martin won five tournaments and finished as runner-up in another.

The Skyhawks accounted for three of the league's 10 All-OVC honorees (Nick Wolf, Tate Chumley, Story). Wolf would also go on to claim Golf Coaches Association of America PING All-East Region accolades as he was one of just 26 golfers (and two in the OVC) to earn that prestigious honor.

Additionally, UT Martin was one of only 41 NCAA Division I squads to nab the prestigious GCAA Presidents Special Recognition Award (at least a 3.5 team GPA) for academic success in 2020-21. The Skyhawks also won their first ever OVC Team Academic Achievement Award, producing the highest percentage of student-athletes with at least a 3.25 GPA out of any other conference school in their sport.

Swafford transitioned into the role of head coach after serving as UT Martin's lead assistant during the 2019-20 campaign. Although the season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was one of the program's finest seasons. UT Martin won four consecutive tournaments for the first time in school history to close out the fall campaign. Overall, the Skyhawks won five of their nine tournaments and finished as runner-up in two more events - finishing tied for first in the OVC with a 286.2 scoring average.

A school record four UT Martin representatives racked up OVC golf accolades (three All-OVC, one All-OVC Newcomer) while Story was named UT Martin's Bob Carroll Male Athlete of the Year in 2019-20. The Skyhawks also accounted for four OVC Golfers of the Week, two OVC Golfers of the Month (the first two in school history) and set a new team record with a 3.75 Grade Point Average for the Spring 2020 semester.

Two years ago, Swafford closely worked with All-OVC golfer Ross Redmont, who became only the ninth golfer in program history to achieve that status. Redmont ranked third in the league in stroke average (72.0), just 0.3 shots behind the leader.

In 2017-18, Swafford assisted with a UT Martin program that ranked second in the OVC in stroke average (291.6) - just 0.1 strokes off the league lead. The Skyhawks captured four tournament titles in 2017-18, including three straight victories in the month of October.

A four-year starter for head coach Jerry Carpenter, Swafford became just the seventh golfer in UT Martin history to garner All-OVC honors when he accomplished that feat as a senior in 2016-17. He ranked eighth in the conference with a 73.2 scoring average while nabbing five top-six tournament finishes. That came after a 2016 campaign where he helped the Skyhawks tally their first-ever OVC championship, as UT Martin took part in the NCAA Franklin Regional hosted by Vanderbilt University.

In 2013-14, Swafford was named OVC Freshman of the Year - becoming just the second player in school history to earn that title.

In July of 2017, Swafford was named a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He was one of just 260 Division-I golfers and 10 OVC honorees to earn the prestigious award. He accumulated a combined 3.45 overall Grade Point Average over his four-year academic career and received OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll accolades in each of his first three seasons as a Skyhawk.

A Gallatin, Tenn. native, Swafford is married to the former Kristen Hutcherson from Jackson, Tenn. He graduated from UT Martin in 2017 with a degree in finance and later earned his Master's degree from UT Martin in 2019.