NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Director of Athletics Larry Lyons announced Wednesday the hiring of former UNC Asheville head women's golf coach Breanne Hall as the new Redbird head women's golf coach.
"As always, our goal was to find the best person to lead our women's golf program back to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference and compete for post season opportunities," Lyons said. "We wanted to find the best person to maintain our very strong academic success and the personal development of the young women in our program. Bre's experiences as a player, teaching professional and collegiate head coach will be very valuable as she takes over the Redbird women's golf program. We are excited about her competitive nature and passion to recruit and develop young women to be the best they can be, on and off the course."
Hall, who replaces Darby Sligh, comes to Illinois State after serving as the first head coach of the women's golf program at Division I UNC Asheville the past three years. Her teams won a pair of tournaments in the first two seasons of the program's existence and her squad posted a nine-stroke improvement in scoring average from year one to year two. In 2018, the Bulldogs improved two spots at the Big South Championship to finish fifth overall and for the second consecutive year, five members of the UNC Asheville women's golf team were named Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-America Scholars.
"I would like to thank Larry Lyons and Leanna Bordner for this opportunity to be the next head women's golf coach at Illinois State," Hall stated. "I was greatly impressed with what the University has to offer the student-athletes, both academically and athletically. There is a real Redbird family atmosphere within the community and I can't wait to be a part of that. I am excited to lead this program and look forward to a bright future ahead. I would also like to thank Janet Cone and everyone at UNC Asheville for entrusting me to lead their first ever women's golf program. I will always be grateful for my time there and proud of what we were able to accomplish."
Prior to beginning her coaching career, Hall served as the Director of Golf Instruction at Mountain Air Country Club in Burnsville, North Carolina, from 2013-16. She also served as the assistant professional at Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, North Carolina, from 2007-08, before taking over as head professional from 2008-12 and eventually club manager for 2012-13. She began her instructional career as an assistant professional from 2005-06 at Manasquan River Golf Club in Brielle, New Jersey.
Hall competed collegiately at Northern Kentucky, before eventually transferring to Toledo where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in organizational management in 2004. While at Toledo, she was a three-time Mid-American Conference (MAC) all-conference performer and was the Michigan Women's Open champion in 2003. Following her collegiate career, she competed in the Futures Tour Q-School in 2004 and later became a PGA Class A member in 2012.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
