Kolton Lapa Named USC Men's Golf Assistant Coach

LOS ANGELES--Kolton Lapa, who most recently served as associate head coach at Mississippi State, has been named USC's new assistant men's golf coach, head coach Mark Hankins announced today (July 3).

"We are truly excited to add Kolton to our program," said Hankins. "He brings successful experience in collegiate coaching as well as playing at the highest level. Kolton's tireless work ethic and recruiting skills are assets that make him a tremendous addition at USC, and we can't wait to get him started."

"I'm thrilled to have this opportunity," said Lapa. "Coach Hankins has done a fantastic job with every program he has worked with, and I'm excited to learn from him and work with him. I can't wait to meet the team and coach for such a historic program. I'm looking forward to helping bring USC back to competing for championships once again."

Lapa coached at Mississippi State for the 2022-23 season. He coached the Bulldogs to set school records for rounds in the 60s (43) and par or better rounds (119), surpassing the previous totals by wide margins. He helped lead Mississippi State to three tournament titles in 2022-23 and took MSU back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2008, winning the first NCAA Regional Championship in program history along the way. The Bulldogs finished in second place at the 2023 Blessings Intercollegiate, and they qualified and competed in match play at the 2023 SEC Championship. He coached the team to two regular season tournament victories in 2023: the Daniel Island Intercollegiate and the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. Lapa also helped to lead the program to a season-high Golfweek ranking of No. 10 in 2023. He coached Garrett Endicott to earn placement as a 2023 All-American Honorable Mention.

Prior to coaching in Starkville, Lapa was a member of the PGA Tour Canada for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He also served as a caddy on the PGA Tour Canada and Web.com Tour. He won the Westminster Open on the SwingThought Tour in 2021 and played in two Korn Ferry Tour events.

Lapa was the associate head coach for the women's golf team at Nebraska from 2018 through 2019. He helped the Huskers to a school-record team stroke average (298.96) in 2018-19 and three top-five finishes including Nebraska's first team tournament title since the 2013-14 campaign at the 2019 Westbrook Spring Invitational.

Lapa helped Cornhusker Kate Smith post the best individual stroke average in school history (73.52), while Vanessa Bouvet (3rd), Kirsten Baete (T-6th) and Megan Whittaker (11th) all posted some of the best season stroke averages by freshmen in school history that year. Lapa walked alongside Baete for all 18 holes of her then-career-low round (66). He was also the team's lead recruiter and secured commitments from a pair of international Top 1000 WAGR players.

Prior to his time in Nebraska, Lapa spent two seasons as the assistant coach for the women's team at Denver from 2016 to 2018. In 2017, the Pioneers won the Summit League title, and the team finished in second place in 2018. In both seasons, Denver qualified for NCAA Regional play. In just two seasons at Denver, Lapa helped coach Pioneer golfers to seven All-Summit League honors, including four First Team honorees, and saw Denver set a school record for team stroke average at 296.06 in 2017-18.

From September to November 2017, Lapa stepped in as Denver's interim head coach. Under his guidance, the Pioneers won the GolfWeek Invitational and the Ron Moore Invitational. Denver also opened the season by defeating four top-25 teams at the Dick McGuire Invitational before finishing fourth at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational in San Antonio. Lapa led the Pioneers from being ranked No. 53 to climbing as high as No. 18 in 2017.

On the recruiting front, Lapa assisted in the signing of a Minnesota High School state champion and a transfer who earned All-Summit League honors in her first season at DU. Denver's 2018-19 freshman class included a pair of California golfers ranked among the top 50 nationally in the GolfWeek recruiting rankings.

Lapa played his collegiate golf at Nebraska for one season (2012-13) before transferring to Arizona. He closed his career in 2015-16 with four top-20 finishes including a pair of top-10 performances on his way to a 74.81 stroke average for the Wildcats. Lapa was a team captain at Arizona as a junior and senior and was also a member of Arizona's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2015-16.

He was chosen to play in the PGA Tour Northern Trust Collegiate Challenge, representing Arizona while partnering with PGA Tour player Ricky Barnes. He earned his bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Economy and Industry from Arizona in 2016.

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Kolton Lapa Named USC Men's Golf Assistant Coach

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