Youngstown State head women's golf coach Nate Miklos has been named the Horizon League Coach of the Year, the league office announced on Friday.
This is the fourth time in his career, and the third time during his tenure at YSU that Miklos has earned recognition from the league. He was previously named the Horizon League Co-Coach of the Year while at Loyola in 2004 and in 2017 during his fourth season with the Penguins. He was also named Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2019 during his sixth season at YSU.
"I am extremely fortunate to have two incredible assistants in Ann and Heidi, who both had a huge impact on the team this season," said Miklos. We would not have had the season we did without the two of them."
In his eighth season in Youngstown, Miklos has led the Penguins to a school record-tying five tournament wins including a victory at the Horizon League Championships on Tuesday. YSU earned its fourth league crown in program history with a league-record three-round team total of 893. The Penguins shattered the previous league 54-hole scoring record by an impressive 27 strokes. Katlyn Shutt earned medalist honors with a school and league-record three-round score of 208 (67-73-68) to become just the third player in Horizon League history to win the event multiple times. She set the league single-round scoring record with a five-under-par 67 in the first round. Puthita Khuanrudee finished third with a three-round 221 (75-74-72) to join Shutt on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.
Miklos has now led Youngstown State to two Horizon League Championships; the Penguins also won the league title under his direction in 2015. By virtue of its league title, YSU earned a berth in the NCAA Regionals for the second time in program history. The Penguins will compete at the NCAA Columbus Regional at The Ohio University Golf Club's Scarlet Course on May 10-12.
Youngstown State began the 2020-21 season with a 309-311 dual victory over Charleston Southern on Feb. 20. The Penguins then earned a 12-stroke victory at the Nevel Meade Collegiate on March 22-23 with a three-round team total of 891. The performance ranks as the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history. YSU earned its third win of the season with a 308-362 dual victory over St. Francis (Pa.) on March 27. The Penguins' fourth win was a 302-305 dual victory over Cleveland State on April 17. YSU's five tournament wins match the single-season school record; the Penguins also won five events in 1997-98 and 1999-00.
Miklos helped Shutt and Khuanrudee earn First-Team All-Horizon League honors in 2020-21. In addition, Shutt was named Horizon League Golfer of the Year. She becomes the fifth golfer in school history, and the second coached by Miklos, to be named Horizon League Golfer of the Year. Miklos also coached Emily Dixon to Golfer-of-the-Year honors in 2016. This season marks the third time under Miklos that YSU has had multiple all-league honorees. Miklos has now had a player earn First-Team All-Horizon League honors in each of the seven seasons during his tenure that postseason league honors have been handed out.
