ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced Friday that
Kylee Sullivan will be the next head women's golf coach at the Naval Academy. Sullivan has held the role on an interim basis for the last four months after serving as Navy's assistant coach the previous two seasons.
"I am very pleased for Kylee that she has earned this important opportunity to lead our varsity women's golf program," said Gladchuk. "The promotion from interim to head coach was earned as she assumed all responsibilities for the program this past fall and delivered on every front. Her personality, energy, diligence with details, proactive leadership style and successful coaching techniques have made her the perfect fit to be our next head coach. Everyone is excited for Kylee and the Midshipmen within our women's golf program."
"I'm beyond excited to accept the position and have the privilege to lead the Navy women's golf program," said Sullivan. "I want to thank Mr. Gladchuk and everyone else who has been a part of the process for providing me this opportunity going forward. The Naval Academy is a very special place and it's an honor to be a part of it. I'm looking forward to building upon our success from the fall, as we continue to create a positive and winning culture for the young women in our program while also upholding the values and mission of the Academy. Go Navy!"
Since arriving in Annapolis in the summer of 2021 as an assistant coach to the now-retired Nadia Ste-Marie, Sullivan has helped the Mids earn five team tournament titles and four All-Patriot League selections while also setting multiple program records, including a program-low 303.9 season scoring average in 2022-23 and a team-low 896 score at the 2023 Patriot League Championship.
In her brief tenure as the interim head coach during the fall of 2023, Sullivan led the Midshipmen to the individual and team titles at the Navy Fall Invitational, with senior captain
Mara Hirtle earning medalist honors to help propel the Mids to victory for the second-straight year at the event. Additionally, two of Sullivan's athletes picked up Patriot League Golfer-of-the-Week honors over the course of the fall schedule, as Hirtle's finish at the Navy Fall Invitational earned her league accolades at the start of October, while
Emma Tang's third-place finish at the Lady Blue Hen Invitational earned the freshman the league's weekly award to close out October.
Sullivan's final season as an assistant coach saw her help steer the Mids to the program-record 303.9 season scoring average in 2022-23, as Navy collected a program-best four team titles and two individual medalist honors. Under Sullivan and Ste-Marie, the 2022-23 edition of the Mids set program records for individual 54-hole score, individual 36-hole score, individual low round, team low round, team 54-hole score and team 36-hole score. The season also saw Hirtle become the first Midshipman with multiple tournament wins in her collegiate career and lower her career scoring average to the second lowest in program history. Additionally, Hirtle racked up All-Patriot League Second-Team honors with a ninth-place finish at the Patriot League Championship, while Navy collectively shot the lowest league championship score in program history at 32-over par 896.
During her first season in 2021-22, Sullivan helped lead the Midshipmen to a third-place finish at the 2022 Patriot League Championship with a three-round score of 76-over par 940, and was a crucial piece in guiding the Mids to a team scoring average of 309.4, the third-best average for a season in team history. Opening the 2021-22 regular season by winning the Bucknell Invitational, Navy's 45-over par 885 was the then-best score for a 54-hole tournament in program history. For the efforts accrued under the direction of Sullivan, three Mids earned All-Patriot League recognition, including Angelina Chan being named a first-team honoree for the second-straight season, while the pairing of Hirtle and
Stephanie Lee earned second-team honors.
Sullivan joined the Mids' coaching staff after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach for the Ferris State men's and women's golf programs. Additionally, Sullivan served as the interim head coach of the Bulldogs' men's and women's golf programs beginning in November 2020.
During her tenure at Ferris State, Sullivan helped guide the Bulldog golf programs to a combined 21 top-five finishes in addition to capturing the 2021 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men's Golf Championship. Additionally, under the tutelage of Sullivan, eight Bulldog student-athletes garnered All-GLIAC recognition.
As a student-athlete, Sullivan was a member of the Oakland University women's golf program, where she garnered All-Horizon League honors as a senior and tied the school record for the lowest individual round with a 68 when she shot a 54-hole, career-best score of 221 at the Spring Break Shootout during the 2018-19 season.
As a junior in 2017-18, she tied for third at the Horizon League Championship after shooting a 229 while becoming the first Oakland player since 2003 to win multiple tournament titles in the same season. Sullivan finished her collegiate career ranking fifth in program history in all-time scoring average (78.67)
In addition to her accomplishments on the course, Sullivan was named to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll four times and garnered Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team honors twice.
