NORMAN, OKLA. --- Washington and Lee University Thomas R. Wall, IV '80 Head Men's Golf Coach,
Pete Gyscek, has been named the 2025 Dave Williams Division III National Coach of the Year, as announced Tuesday by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and presented by Golf Pride Grips.
The Dave Williams Award honors the top coach in each division of collegiate men's golf, recognizing excellence in team performance, national ranking and sportsmanship over the course of the entire season.
Gyscek, in his 11th season leading the Generals, was one of five finalists named prior to the DIII national championship. The other 2024-25 finalists included Methodist's Steve Conley, Illinois Wesleyan's Jim Ott, Rochester's Dan Wesley and Aurora's Justin Wyeth.
Under Gyscek's leadership, the Generals delivered the most successful season in program history. W&L posted a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship — its fourth straight top-10 finish — and achieved the program's first-ever No. 1 national ranking in October and November. The Generals captured three tournament titles, including the Golfweek October Classic and the Savannah Invitational, both featuring nationally ranked opponents.
Washington and Lee finished in the top four in eight of nine stroke play tournaments and ended the season ranked No. 2 nationally via Scoreboard powered by Clippd.
Gyscek, the Thomas R. Wall IV '80 Head Men's Golf Coach, guided the team to several program records, including:
- Most team wins in a season (tied): 3
- Lowest team round to par: -16 at the Golfweek Invitational
- Lowest 54-hole team score to par: -30 at Golfweek (broken twice this season)
- Lowest 36-hole team score to par: -15 at Capital City
- Rounds under par: 18 of 26 (69.2%)
- Team record: 171-19-0 (.900 win percentage)
- Adjusted scoring average: 283.2
Four W&L golfers earned PING All-Region IV honors this spring, including First Team All-American and Division III Golfer of the Year
Jonathan McEwen and ODAC Rookie of the Year
Timothy Kaufman. Gyscek also received the ODAC Jack Jensen Coach of the Year honor after leading the Generals to a runner-up finish at the conference championship, highlighted by a tournament-low 277 in the final round.
Gyscek's leadership proved pivotal as the Blue and White carded 17 top-10 individual finishes across nine stroke-play tournaments, drawing consistent performance and leadership from senior co-captains
Elias Malakoff and
Will Braxton, along with strong contributions from sophomore
Jonathan McEwen and first-years
Timothy Kaufman and
Charlie Krasnewich.
This marks the first time a W&L men's golf coach has been named a finalist or recipient of the national honor, and it is the first Dave Williams Award of Gyscek's multi-divisional coaching career.
Read the full GCAA release, here.
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