Indiana women’s golf head coach Brian May is no stranger to turning a program around. The newly appointed coach helped the University of Kentucky reach the NCAA Championships for the first time in 29 years as an assistant coach in 2021.
Now, he is looking to translate the success he had in the Southeastern Conference to the Big Ten.
“Being at the power five level is exactly where I want to be,” May said.
Along with the championship appearance, May helped the Wildcats reach four NCAA postseason appearances and two individual NCAA qualifiers. For May, the 2022 season will be his first head coaching job, but he said he is ready for the transition.
“It was a long time coming,” May said. “Kentucky did a great job of giving me the tools to be successful.”
[Related: Indiana women’s golf hires Brian May as new head coach]
The Hoosiers are led by three seniors: Hanna Tanaka, Valerie Clancey, and transfer Alexis Florio. Despite being an individual sport, May believes the seniors play an integral part in the team’s performance,
“I think golf is a sport where leadership sounds different,” May said. “They take care of their business. Some are vocal, some lead by experience.”
May said he wants everyone on the team to be prepared and to treat golf as a priority. This season, there will be no freshmen on the roster, which May said will be a benefit to the team.
One of the key additions to the Hoosiers is redshirt senior Alexis Florio. Florio, a transfer from Columbia University, set the school record for scoring average, scoring average vs. par, par or better rounds, rounds played, birdies, par-3 scoring and par-4 scoring. In August, Florio, Clancey and junior Dominika Burdová, a transfer from Gardner-Webb University, were named to the pre-season Big Ten watchlist.
Despite being ranked 151st in the country coming into the fall, May believes the Hoosiers will be well prepared when the season begins.
“I expect to be competitive,” May said. “I understand where the program has been. I expect to show up and be prepared.”
The Hoosiers will open their fall season Sept. 18 in Madison, Wisconsin at the Badger Invitational.
