Vision, desire, and dedication are necessary qualities to make big dreams become reality, and under the leadership of head coach Ray Kralis, Illinois State's men's golf program continues to raise the bar. The foundation has been set for continued success, and the expectations are high for the upcoming season.
Entering his 20th season at the helm of the men's squad, Kralis has put ISU in contention every year for a chance to hoist the Missouri Valley Conference Championship trophy. He is a three-time (2007, 2019, and 2023) MVC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year and was named the Central Illinois Professional Golfers’ Association Teacher of the Year in 1994, 1997, 1998, and 2005.
He has produced 39 First Team All-MVC golfers on the men’s side, including four MVC Golfers of the Year, two MVC Newcomers of the Year, and four MVC Championship Medalists.
During the 2019-20 season Kralis’ squad produced its first All-American, David Perkins, and recent teams have been in the mix for an at-large berth into the NCAA Regional Championship with a national ranking among the top 75 DI programs. He has coached two of only three golfers in MVC history to advance to the NCAA Championship and put two golfers on the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) PING All-Midwest Region Team.
In 2005, Kralis took over the men's program from mentor and former head coach, Harland Kilborn. Kralis led the men's golf team to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in 2005 and 2007. In 2005, Kralis became the first head coach in MVC history to capture both the men's and women's conference championships in the same year. In 2007, he was named MVC Coach of the Year and guided Matt Miller to the MVC Player of the Year award.
His squads have consistently performed during the seasons, including recent tournament wins at the Wisconsin Badger Invitational, the Firestone Invitational, the Little Rock Intercollegiate, and the Purdue Boilermaker Invitational – the latter of which included a win over a team ranked in the top-five nationally.
Throughout his tenure, success for his players has come both on-and-off the course. With GPA’s steadily over 3.0, the program has seen 14 student-athletes earn GCAA All-America Scholar honors, and 11 have earned spots on the MVC Scholar-Athlete team, highlighted by Perkins winning the 2019-20 MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
From 2000-2007 Kralis was the women’s golf head coach and earned Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2005. His teams won two MVC Championships (2004 and 2005) with a co-championship in 2003. He recruited and coached 11 all-conference golfers, among them was standout golfer Samantha Richdale, who was a 17-time MVC Golfer of the Week and earned a spot on the Missouri Valley All-Centennial team. His 2005 squad shot a 909 at the Rivercut Golf Course, which at the time was the fourth lowest three-round tournament score in Valley Championship history. In the spring of 2007, Kralis stepped down as women's head coach to focus completely on the men’s program.
Kralis came to Illinois State as a student-athlete in 1986 and graduated cum laude in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in finance. As a player, he was an All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 1988, led the ISU men's golf team as a co-captain in 1989 and 1990 and was a member of the 1989 team that won the Valley championship.
After graduation, Kralis worked as the assistant golf professional at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State, while assisting the ISU men's golf program for two years. He then left to complete his PGA apprenticeship under PGA Master Professional Bill Baldwin as the first assistant at the Franklin Hills Country Club in Franklin Hills, Mich.
Kralis returned to Bloomington-Normal in 1994 as the Redbirds' assistant men's golf coach, while also working as a PGA teaching professional, until he was hired as the women's head golf coach in 2000. During his run as the women's coach he quickly helped the program climb to the top. He led the Redbird women's team to back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Championships in 2004 and 2005, along with second-place finishes in 2003 and 2006.
Kralis is happily married to Raquel Kralis, an Illinois State graduate, and they celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2020. Together they have three sons, Tyson (20), Braden (17) and Keaton (14). The Kralis family resides in Bloomington.
