Coaching Carousel: O.D. Vincent
Traveling Carousel 2001-2009
Any time there is a coaching change it inevitably leads to cascading changes throughout the college golf world. Sometimes the number of schools affected is fairly small, but there are some instances where a single coaching change shakes up the course of history.
Orrin Daniel (O.D.) Vincent began and ended his career in college golf at the University of Washington, serving as a highly successful player, hall of fame coach, and senior assistant athletic director. There were a number of moves between those final two positions, however, and each one resulted in various ripple effects that had a lasting impact on more than just the programs he coached at.
*NOTE: underlined text provides a link to references or sites with more information
BEFORE COACHING
In 1988, Washington sophomore O.D. Vincent became just the second Husky to take home the Pac-10 individual title - Clint Names 1961 - when he beat a field including reigning US Amateur champ Billy Mayfair [Arizona St]. Vincent’s final round 71/-1 also helped secure the Husky’s first team Pac-10 championship since 1963, a team that, coincidentally, had included his own coach Bill Tindall who had also been a sophomore at the time. Vincent went on to finish T19 in the NCAA championship after holding the lead through 36 holes, and earned All-American status. From his Washington profile:
During his senior campaign in 1991, Vincent finished in the top 10 in seven of 13 tournaments for the Huskies, sharing co-medalist honors with teammate Mike Swingle at the Oregon Invitational and finishing second at four other events, including the Pac-10 Championship, in which the Huskies placed fifth. He had the UW's low stroke average for 1991, a 73.7. He served as a Husky co-captain in 1991 and in 1989, earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors in 1988 as a sophomore and second-team honors in 1991 as a senior.
After graduating in 1991 and playing on the European Tour for a season - even playing in the British Open - O.D. Vincent returned back to the States to became a pro with the golf management company his father, Orrin, founded, called O.B. Sports.
COACHING CAROUSEL
Vincent re-joined the Washington program in 1994 as an assistant coach. Following the next season, Coach John Krebs decided to step away for a career with the PGA Tour, leaving the Husky head coaching position vacant.
WASHINGTON [1995-2001]
O.D. Vincent was announced as the seventh Washington men’s head golf coach in July 1995. Over the next six seasons, Coach Vincent led the Huskies to arguably it’s best stretch to date. The 1999 season in particular was incredibly successful as Troy Kelly’s runner-up finish in the NCAA Championship helped lead the Huskies to a 4th place finish, the best in program history. The team’s success earned Coach Vincent GCAA Regional Coach of the Year honors, along with becoming the first Pac-10 medalist to later be named conference Coach of the Year. He stayed on for two more seasons in which the Huskies made the NCAA championship before deciding to leave at the conclusion of the 2000-01 season to give pro golf one more shot. The program he left seemed on the verge for great things.
RIPPLE EFFECTS
Matt Thurmond, BYU letter-winner (1994, 96-98), got his first taste of D1 golf coaching as an assistant at his alma matter for the 1999-00 season. Thurmond spent the next season (2000-01) at Washington as Coach Vincent’s assistant. After Vincent decided to leave for pro golf, Washington (smartly) gave Thurmond the van keys. What followed was unprecedented program success as Coach Thurmond piloted from 2002-15, earning multiple Pac-10/12 championships, NCAA Regional titles, NCAA championship top 3 finishes, and even a NCAA individual championship with James Lepp in 2005. If that wasn’t enough, Coach Thurmond also had three #1 ranked amateurs while in Washington: Nick Taylor (2010), Chris Williams (2012), and CT Pan (2013).
Fun fact: of the 19 players (as of Fall 2024) who have shot 60 in men’s college golf tournament play, Washington is the only program with two players on that list - Brock Mackenzie in 2005 (-12) and Zach Bixler in 2007 (-11) - both of which occurred during Coach Thurmond’s tenure.
UCLA [2002-07]
Despite some success, it only took one year of Monday qualifying and mini tour life for Vincent to decide that pro golf wasn’t going to work for his newly expanded family. When UCLA called in July 2002 with an offer to be the next men’s head coach, Vincent accepted, telling the Desert Sun newspaper:
“After I finished coaching at Washington, I felt like I was done coaching. I had done everything I wanted to do. I was satisfied. So it never really crossed my mind. If it were any other school but UCLA that has this opportunity, I don’t think I’d do it. I think it’s the right place at the right time for me.”
Hard to argue with that, especially considering the results. The next five seasons were incredibly fruitful for UCLA. Under Coach Vincent’s guidance, the Bruins immediately went out and captured a Pac-10 team championship (by 27 strokes!) behind individual champ John Merrick. He added a second in 2006 - behind champion Daniel Im - over his old team and a runner-up finish in 2007. In total, Coach Vincent’s UCLA teams amassed 35 team victories, including NCAA Regional titles in 2003 and 2004, and four top 10 NCAA championship finishes. The 2003 West Regional win was especially sweet as it came at the Washington National course (and facility) Vincent was instrumental in bringing to fruition and had originally been his father’s vision.
At the conclusion of the 2006-07 season, Coach Vincent accepted Duke AD Joe Alleva’s offer to become the next men’s head golf coach in Durham, NC. Vincent had big shoes to fill, but he left behind some rather large ones in Los Angeles as well.
RIPPLE EFFECTS
Similar to his closing time at Washington, Coach Vincent left the Bruins seemingly on the cusp of national contention and it fell to his assistant coach from the previous season to run with it. The UCLA leadership (smartly) elevated assistant coach Derek Freeman - who came from Oklahoma - to the head coach position for the 2007-08 season, and he delivered immediately. Coach Freeman piloted UCLA to its second ever NCAA championship title - 1998 under legendary Coach Eddie Merrins - behind the incredible performance by senior Kevin Chappell who won the school’s first individual NCAA title by three strokes over Washington’s Nick Taylor. Chappell was recognized as the top collegiate golfer that year, earning both the Haskins and Nicklaus awards as well as 1st Team All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year honors.
Coach Freeman remained at the helm of UCLA men’s golf for 15 seasons before retiring in 2022. Along the way he cemented an incredible legacy with over two dozen team victories and multiple regional and national honors recognizing his teams’ successes.
DUKE [2007 - (DEC) 2008]
It’s hard to replace a legend, and there are few legends in men’s college golf bigger than Coach Rod Myers who had tragically passed midway through the 2006-07 season. Per the Duke release announcing the hiring of their first new head coach in over 30 years:
“Our men's golf program is moving forward with the hiring of a new head coach. We are excited to add O.D. Vincent to our staff. His enthusiasm, commitment to academics, playing experience, and coaching background make him an ideal fit for Duke. We identified several top candidates from all over the United States and during the interview process, it became increasingly clear who the top candidate was. O.D. is an excellent communicator and teacher. We believe that Coach Vincent can move the Duke golf program to greater success in the future.”
Unfortunately, that opportunity didn’t last nearly as long as either party would have liked. In his one full season in Durham, Coach Vincent led the Blue Devils to two tournament victories and a runner-up finish in the ACC Championship, however the season ended with a 19th place finish at their NCAA Regional. The next season (2008-09) showed promise, ending the Fall with a team win at the Bridgestone Collegiate at the end of October. Less than a month later, Vincent announced his retirement from coaching effective immediately to return to Washington in the role of senior associate director of athletics.
RIPPLE EFFECTS
This carousel is full and gets a little more complicated with a few extended timelines:
Ryan Ressa spent time as an assistant at Washington State and San Diego before joining Coach Myers at Duke in 2006. Ressa stepped in to briefly act as interim head coach while Duke searched for Coach Vincent’s replacement. Coach Ressa went on to join Coach Freeman at UCLA for the 2009-10 season, then eventually became the head coach at Long Beach State for a season and a half before leaving college golf for TaylorMade.
In January (2009), Duke hired Jamie Green to become their seventh men’s head golf coach. The 2024-25 season marks Coach Green’s 16th season at the helm of the Blue Devils and already the program has enjoyed incredible success under his leadership including 30+ team victories, an ACC title (2017), and multiple deep runs in the NCAA championship.
Coach Green’s sudden departure left Charlotte in a bit of a bind. The 49er’s assistant coach Adam Pry stepped up in a big way as the interim head coach, but he needed an assistant so he elicited the help of a recent graduate [2004-08] named Andrew DiBitetto to act as “interim assistant coach.” The pair did so well that the “interim” tag was removed from both of their positions for the 2009-10 season. In December 2010, Coach Pry left for unspecified “personal reasons” and this time DiBitetto’s “interim” tag was as head coach. Despite again performing well in a time of disarray, Charlotte decided to make an outside hire, bringing in long time Auburn assistant Ryan Cabbage to be the Charlotte head coach to begin the 2011-12 season. DiBitetto left Charlotte to join Coach Andrew Sapp at UNC. As of the 2024-25 season, Coach Cabbage remains at Charlotte, now as the Director of Golf, while Coach DiBitetto is now in his 8th year as the UNC head coach.
AFTERWARDS
O.D. Vincent served as the University of Washington Senior Associate Athletic Director from Dec 2008 until his retirement in Sep 2013, which means he was there for an exciting portion of Coach Thurmond’s tenure. In fact, you can still read some of his blogs on the Husky golf website from things like the 2009 Pac-10 championship.
After leaving Washington, Vincent served as the Executive Director for the PGA Tour Northern Trust Open (Sep 2013 - Apr 2017). In 2020, he and his wife, Jana, co-founded Coachella Coaching.
Coach Vincent was inducted into the Washington sports hall of fame in 2012 and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Hall of Fame in 2014. He has certainly left his mark, both directly and indirectly, on the history of college golf.
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