Coach Eddins will begin his tenth season in charge of the women’s golf program and he will continue in his role as Assistant AD for Club and Recreation Sport.
In 24-25, MWG had some outstanding season highlights. The team earned a bid to the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association National Tournament in Palm Coast, Florida, and placed third nationally. At Findlay Country Club in an NCAA Tournament-bound field, the ladies shot a 963 which ranks second all-time in school history for a 54-hole event. Individually, sophomore Maria Warner’s 232 at Findlay gave her a place in the record books as one of the top 54-hole scores ever. Warner went on to shoot a 54-hole total of 235 at the NCCAA Championship, also among the program’s best ever in a 54-hole tournament. The sophomore’s effort saw her place as national runner-up to earn NCCAA All-American status. Junior sensation Erin Strouse shot her career-low 73 at Champions Golf Course near Columbus, which is among the best ever 18-hole rounds in MWG history. Strouse added her name to the Top 10 list of Lowest 18-Hole Average in a Season with an 82.0 as well. Three freshmen were among regulars on Varsity and all had impressive low rounds: Addy Burris and Kaylyn Henson (77) and Claire Hostetler (78).
Spring Break was spent golfing in Oahu, Hawaii, in what was a trip-of-a-lifetime. A strong finish at the G-MAC Championship in Florence, Indiana, at the Belterra Golf Resort bode well for the young Pioneers. A big kudos to the team on their outstanding GPA in the classroom as well! The team’s collective GPA ranked second among all teams on campus. Highlighting the team’s significance off the course is paramount and community service remains an integral part of the program. Partnerships with Belle Stone Elementary and local non-profit Compassion Delivered continue to provide opportunities for the team to be servant leaders. New this upcoming year is a partnership with another local non-profit, Whispering Grace Horses. WGH supports veterans, first responders, women rescued from sex trafficking and children with various disabilities.
The 23-24 season showed signs of promise for the young Pioneers and with a strong recruiting class, the Lady Pios are poised to compete for program firsts. The team is excited to travel to Florida in the fall to compete for a National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship.
The Pioneers expect to compete for an NCAA Tourney bid in the spring which would be a program first as a team. Plans and fundraising for a Hawaiian spring break trip are underway. The 2nd Annual Sunflower Cup was held in June and the program’s 4th Benefit Auction will be held in early 2025.
In 2023, MWG held its Third Benefit Auction for the team and successfully raised over $20K for the third consecutive time. 23-24 will bring a partnership with the MNK Legacy Project where the team will host the Sunflower Cup at Sable Creek Golf Course. The event will aim to glorify God, honor the life of Makenna Nicole Karmie, and reach people with Christ’s love in tangible ways.
The team continues to give back and volunteer and support local nonprofits such as Compassion Delivered and Jayani’s Army.
In addition to the off-the-course actions of the program, Malone Women’s Golf continues to be among the strongest teams academically reflected in the Academic All-Conference performers and WGCA All-American Scholars.
In the 2021-22 season the Lady Pioneers continued their success as a program by competing in the most competitive schedule ever and once again, there was another program first. Graduate student Christina Williams culminated her stellar career by qualifying for the Division II National Championship in Gainesville, Georgia, at the Chattahoochee Country Club. Williams is the first player in program history to participate in the NCAA Women’s Golf National Championship. The competitiveness of the program continues to attract the best talent it ever has. The program is excited to welcome six more outstanding recruits this year.
In a Covid-shortened season, 2020-21, the Pioneers continued to prove that they could compete with a strong 3rd place conference finish shooting another program record, a 54-hole score of 954, at the University Club in Lexington, Kentucky.
Off the course, the team GPA is impressive and servant leadership is an integral part of the program. Fundraising continues to enable the team to play in the most competitive events in the region. MWG successfully held its second annual benefit auction and grossed over $28,000 in January of 2020, prior to the pandemic shutting down the spring season.
The program made great strides in 2019-20. The team shattered 18 and 36 hole school records, (304/615) and top golfer Christina Williams continued to build her Hall of Fame resume by breaking her own school record shooting the program's first-ever under-par round of 68.
2018-19 saw another season of record-breaking performances on the course. Off the course, Eddins coordinated the first annual benefit auction which raised over $27,000 and fully funded an entire state-of-the-art hitting room renovation which is now exclusive to the women’s program.
Additionally, Eddins' first recruit, Christina Williams, shot Malone’s All-Time low 18-hole score (71), and became the only Lady Pioneer to ever qualify for the NCAA Division II Super Regionals during the 18-19 campaign.
2017-18 saw the program build on the success of the 16-17 season with a highly anticipated recruiting class that did not disappoint. Eddins has proven to be a tireless recruiter as six more young ladies joined the program in the fall of '18. In just two years, Eddins successfully recruited 10 golfers to be a part of the Malone Women's Golf team.
The 17-18 team started fast and had its best finish ever at the Evann Parker Memorial before a Top-3 finish at the GMAC's Fall Preview. The Lady Pioneers claimed a team championship at the Rossin Memorial in Washington, Pennsylvania, before competing in perhaps the most competitive tournament the program has ever faced when they traveled to Nashville to participate in a "Who's Who of Division II Golf" at the Music City Invite.
In a weather shortened spring season, the ladies had a Top-3 performance at the Mister Bee Intercollegiate before competing in a snowy conference championship in Mason, Ohio where senior Melanie Smith shot a career best 75 for a Top-10 finish and junior Kelli Carroll shot her collegiate best score 83. The year culminated with the program being recognized as the nation's most improved Division II team by being named the Mark Laesch Award recipient, an award given to honor the teams that show the biggest scoring improvement from one year to the next.
In 2016-17, Eddins' first year as head coach, the Malone women's golf team experienced tremendous success as the Pioneers finished first, second or third as a team at nine of 10 events, including a runner-up finish at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships.
Eddins also helped guide the women's basketball team to a Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship in 2016-17 and the program's first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
Prior to Malone, Eddins taught and coached nearly 31 years in the Louisville, Lake and West Branch school districts. He brought an abundance of coaching experience to his position at Malone. He served as Louisville High School’s head boys basketball coach from 1993-2001, collecting Division II Ohio Boys Basketball Coach of the Year honors in 2001 after leading the Leopards to their first undefeated regular season in school history.
In addition to his teaching experience and time as Louisville’s head boys basketball coach, Eddins has also held numerous other assistant coaching positions at Louisville, Lake, West Branch and Marlington. His accomplished resume also includes positions at the University of Mount Union as a resident director (1990-1995) and at the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a supervisor (2001-2004).
"I feel so blessed and fortunate to be given the opportunity to work as the head women's golf coach at Malone University,” commented Eddins at the time of his hiring. “It became clear to me that Malone is a great fit and a place that is on the move.
Eddins graduated from Perry High School before going on to earn his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Mount Union in 1987 and his master’s degree in Sports Science from Ashland University in 1994. A lengthy list of career honors and achievements includes being named Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers (1996), Stark County Schools Person of Character (2007), and a National Honor Society Person of Influence (2016).
