Jason DeJiacomo named head golf coach

Brenau head golf coach Jason DeJiacomo

Brenau University recently named Jason DeJiacomo head coach of its Golden Tigers golf team.

DeJiacomo is entering his fourth season with Brenau, having previously served as a volunteer assistant coach. He replaces Damon Stancil, who started the program in 2013. DeJiacomo said he is looking forward to his first season as Brenau head coach.

“I want to start by getting our bearings, figuring out who we are as a team,” he said. “We have four freshman coming in and three returners, including one senior. Our senior, Niquole Mangal, is one of the best players in NAIA golf. I’d like to push her to strive for better, because she could be a potential individual national champion. But as a team, I want us to figure out who we are as a family more than anything else.”

The Golden Tigers are currently ranked No. 44 by GolfStat. DeJiacomo’s hope is to finish in the top 35, which could give the team a chance at going to nationals.

“It’s always a little different when a new coach comes in,” he said. “I’ll bring in my own intricacies that I focus on. There will be a little bit of a changing of the tide, and I think it’ll be good.”

Prior to Brenau, DeJiacomo spent three years as the head men’s and women’s golf coach at Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama. In those three seasons, the unranked women’s team and No. 102 men’s team both catapulted to inside the GolfStat Top 25. During his career at Birmingham-Southern, he coached seven All-Americans, nine All-Conference, one Freshman of the Year and 23 Conference Academic Honor Roll student-athletes.

“I am excited to have Jason join our team as the head coach of our golf program,” said Brenau Athletic Director Mike Lochstampfor. “He has already demonstrated through his years of volunteering as an assistant that he is a great fit. Coach Stancil did a phenomenal job of starting the program over seven years ago and has left it in great shape and in great hands. Coach DeJiacomo will continue to strengthen the program with his years of college coaching experience, his knowledge of the sport and of Brenau University.”

The DeJiacomo family are thoroughly involved with Brenau, as his wife, Emily, is entering her third season as the inaugural head coach of the Golden Tigers lacrosse team.

DeJiacomo is a graduate of Berry College, where he received a Bachelor of Science in management and a Master of Business Administration. He also spent two and a half years as the assistant coach for Berry’s men’s and women’s golf programs. During his tenure, Berry College’s men’s golf team jumped more than 80 spots in the GolfStat rankings and would go on to finish No. 4 in the 2013 National Championship. DeJiacomo also helped the women’s team improve to a top-25 ranking.

DeJiacomo started playing golf around age 10, kicking off a lifelong interest and an outstanding junior golf career. As a student, he helped lead Pickens High School in Jasper, Georgia, to a region championship and a fifth-place finish in the state tournament. He also earned a place on the state championship All-Tournament team.

During his collegiate playing career at Berry, he earned All-Conference honors in the Southern States Athletic Conference and also earned All-Region accolades, finishing second individually in the region championships, both as a junior and senior. He helped lead Berry to four appearances in the NAIA National Championship and capped off his senior season by leading his team to both conference and region victories and a fifth-place finish in the 2007 NAIA National Championship.

For more information about the Golden Tigers golf team and Brenau University athletics, go to brenautigers.com.