Photo by: Todd Drexler/Tim Cowie Photos
Wake Forest Signs Kim Lewellen to Long-Term Contract Extension
7/12/2023 1:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
Lewellen coached the Deacs to their first NCAA national title in program history in 2023.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest University Demon Deacons women's golf head coach Kim Lewellen, the 2023 WGCA National of the Year, has agreed to a long-term contract extension, director of athletics John Currie announced Wednesday.
"Winning the 2023 NCAA Championship is just the most visible highlight of the tremendous impact of head coach Kim Lewellen since her arrival in Winston-Salem five years ago," Currie said. "Coach Lewellen is a tremendous leader for our student-athletes and has done an outstanding job of recruiting, mentoring and developing our young women competitively, academically and in the community."
"Having the best coaching roster in the country is the most fundamental element of our commitment to a World Class Student-Athlete Experience," said Currie. "Coach Lewellen and Lyons Family Associate Head Coach Ryan Potter have brought tremendous Value to Wake Forest, Winston-Salem & Triad Communities. She and her family are firmly rooted in Winston-Salem and this extension reflects our commitment to Coach Lewellen continuing to lead our program far into the future."
Under Lewellen's leadership, the Deacs have won 17 tournament titles, 15 individual titles, two ACC titles, a national runner-up finish and a national title in just five years. All five of the Deacs' national championship starters were also academic All-ACC performers while four-time All-American Rachel Kuehn was recently named the ACC Women's Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year.
"I am so thankful every day to be head coach of our women's golf team at Wake Forest," Lewellen said. "Our University has a tremendous tradition of winning championships on the golf course and providing a world class education in the classroom. I am proud to continue the legacy that Coach Dianne Dailey built with this program. I look forward to many more years and championships to come in Winston-Salem!"
In her fifth season at the helm of the Demon Deacons, Lewellen led Wake Forest to the first national title in women's golf program history. En Route to becoming the 2023 champs, the Deacs also won a program-record five regular-season titles and had a program-record five All-ACC selections. Lewellen also coached four All-Americans and three Arnold Palmer Cup selections on the 2022-23 squad, along with the program's first-ever back-to-back ACC Player of the Year in Kuehn.
"Coach Kim is the best coach in the game," said Kuehn. "The success we have had as a team is a testament to the type of coach she is. She brings out the best in all her players and pushes them to be better golfers, students and people. The relationships she has formed with players, both past and present, are deep and valued by each of us. We all look up to her and admire her for her many incredible qualities and are so excited for her to stay in Winston-Salem."
During the 2021-22 season, the ACC Coach of the Year led the Deacs' to their second ACC title in four years and made an appearance at the NCAA Championships for the fourth year in a row. Including the ACC title, Wake Forest won five team titles and remained in the top-five of the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll for the entirety of the spring season. At the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, Coach Lewellen was named the Southeast Regional Coach of the Year by the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).
Lewellen coached ACC Player of the Year Rachel Kuehn and ACC Freshman of the Year Carolina Chacarra, both of which earned WGCA All-America accolades. Wake Forest also had a program-record four players earn All-ACC recognition.
In 2020, Lewellen was named National Coach of the Year by the Women's Golf Coaches Association after her 2020 team finished the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season ranked No. 1 in Golfstat's rankings. In just her third season in Black and Gold, Lewellen took the storied Wake Forest women's golf program to new heights, leading the Deacs to the 2019 ACC title, a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament and nine tournament titles.
Lewellen came to Wake Forest in 2018 after 11 successful seasons at the University of Virginia, becoming just the fifth head women's golf coach in Wake Forest history following the 30-year tenure of Dianne Dailey upon her retirement. Lewellen's Cavaliers made nine NCAA champion appearances, earning bids to NCAA regionals in ten seasons while winning the ACC title twice (2014, 2015) and having her golfers earn All-American honors 12 times.
Including her stops as head coach at The Citadel and East Carolina, Lewellen's teams have won 19 tournament titles, four conference championships and have had 25 all-conference golfers and 19 All-Americans.
A 1993 graduate of the University of North Carolina, Lewellen was a two-time All-ACC performer for the Tar Heels under her maiden name of Byham. She earned First Team All-America honors in 1993 as she won the NCAA East Regional during her senior season. In 2003, she was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's 50th Anniversary Team.
Following her graduation, Lewellen played on the Women's European Professional Golf Tour in 1994 and 1995 and on the Future's Professional Golf Tour from 1997 to 1999. She also competed in events on the LPGA Tour from 1993 to 1997.
"Winning the 2023 NCAA Championship is just the most visible highlight of the tremendous impact of head coach Kim Lewellen since her arrival in Winston-Salem five years ago," Currie said. "Coach Lewellen is a tremendous leader for our student-athletes and has done an outstanding job of recruiting, mentoring and developing our young women competitively, academically and in the community."
"Having the best coaching roster in the country is the most fundamental element of our commitment to a World Class Student-Athlete Experience," said Currie. "Coach Lewellen and Lyons Family Associate Head Coach Ryan Potter have brought tremendous Value to Wake Forest, Winston-Salem & Triad Communities. She and her family are firmly rooted in Winston-Salem and this extension reflects our commitment to Coach Lewellen continuing to lead our program far into the future."
Under Lewellen's leadership, the Deacs have won 17 tournament titles, 15 individual titles, two ACC titles, a national runner-up finish and a national title in just five years. All five of the Deacs' national championship starters were also academic All-ACC performers while four-time All-American Rachel Kuehn was recently named the ACC Women's Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year.
"I am so thankful every day to be head coach of our women's golf team at Wake Forest," Lewellen said. "Our University has a tremendous tradition of winning championships on the golf course and providing a world class education in the classroom. I am proud to continue the legacy that Coach Dianne Dailey built with this program. I look forward to many more years and championships to come in Winston-Salem!"
In her fifth season at the helm of the Demon Deacons, Lewellen led Wake Forest to the first national title in women's golf program history. En Route to becoming the 2023 champs, the Deacs also won a program-record five regular-season titles and had a program-record five All-ACC selections. Lewellen also coached four All-Americans and three Arnold Palmer Cup selections on the 2022-23 squad, along with the program's first-ever back-to-back ACC Player of the Year in Kuehn.
"Coach Kim is the best coach in the game," said Kuehn. "The success we have had as a team is a testament to the type of coach she is. She brings out the best in all her players and pushes them to be better golfers, students and people. The relationships she has formed with players, both past and present, are deep and valued by each of us. We all look up to her and admire her for her many incredible qualities and are so excited for her to stay in Winston-Salem."
During the 2021-22 season, the ACC Coach of the Year led the Deacs' to their second ACC title in four years and made an appearance at the NCAA Championships for the fourth year in a row. Including the ACC title, Wake Forest won five team titles and remained in the top-five of the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll for the entirety of the spring season. At the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, Coach Lewellen was named the Southeast Regional Coach of the Year by the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).
Lewellen coached ACC Player of the Year Rachel Kuehn and ACC Freshman of the Year Carolina Chacarra, both of which earned WGCA All-America accolades. Wake Forest also had a program-record four players earn All-ACC recognition.
In 2020, Lewellen was named National Coach of the Year by the Women's Golf Coaches Association after her 2020 team finished the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season ranked No. 1 in Golfstat's rankings. In just her third season in Black and Gold, Lewellen took the storied Wake Forest women's golf program to new heights, leading the Deacs to the 2019 ACC title, a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament and nine tournament titles.
Lewellen came to Wake Forest in 2018 after 11 successful seasons at the University of Virginia, becoming just the fifth head women's golf coach in Wake Forest history following the 30-year tenure of Dianne Dailey upon her retirement. Lewellen's Cavaliers made nine NCAA champion appearances, earning bids to NCAA regionals in ten seasons while winning the ACC title twice (2014, 2015) and having her golfers earn All-American honors 12 times.
Including her stops as head coach at The Citadel and East Carolina, Lewellen's teams have won 19 tournament titles, four conference championships and have had 25 all-conference golfers and 19 All-Americans.
A 1993 graduate of the University of North Carolina, Lewellen was a two-time All-ACC performer for the Tar Heels under her maiden name of Byham. She earned First Team All-America honors in 1993 as she won the NCAA East Regional during her senior season. In 2003, she was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's 50th Anniversary Team.
Following her graduation, Lewellen played on the Women's European Professional Golf Tour in 1994 and 1995 and on the Future's Professional Golf Tour from 1997 to 1999. She also competed in events on the LPGA Tour from 1993 to 1997.
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