Texas A&M hires renowned USC women's golf coach Andrea Gaston

Longtime USC women's golf coach Andrea Gaston has been tabbed as the new coach of the Texas A&M women's golf team, A&M Athletic Director Scott Woodward announced on Wednesday. Gaston, a WGCA Hall of Famer, coached the Trojans for 22 years, winning three NCAA team championships and coaching five NCAA individual champions and four NCAA Players of the Year. Gaston's move was first reported by Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner on Tuesday.

“We strive for excellence in all that we do and Andrea is the personification of excellence as the nation’s premier women’s golf coach,” Woodward said in a statement. “Her commitment to the complete student-athlete and her track record of developing world-class golfers and leading them to championships is unparalleled and we are thrilled that she will be joining the Aggie Family.”

Last week Gaston was named Golfweek's 2018 Womens Coach of the Year, the third time for her to receive that honor. Gaston's young 2018 squad, made up of four freshmen and a sophomore, reached the national semifinals and finished in the NCAA's top 5 for the 13th consecutive season, which is an NCAA record. Freshman Jennifer Chang was a consensus Second-Team All American.

“Throughout my career, I have always focused on the student-athlete,” said Gaston, “and any success that we have had is because of their hard work and talent. Texas A&M is known throughout the country for providing a world-class student-athlete experience and education and I believe that the program has no limits to where it can go. I want to thank Scott Woodward and his team for giving me this opportunity and I cannot wait to get started.”

Gaston led USC to national titles in 2003, 2008 and 2013, and her teams were national runners up in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The 2010 and 2012 squads each lost by a single stroke, and the 2014 team lost by two strokes. Gaston's teams made the NCAA Championships each of the last 21 seasons, finishing in the top four an incredible 13 times. She has coached 22 golfers to a combined 49 All-American seasons. 

Gaston's golf story is a fascinating one. She played collegiately at San Jose State in the 1970s, then left the game for a 14-year business career. She then returned to the competitive amateur ranks in 1992 and became one of the top two amateurs in the country by 1994. She left the Futures Tour in 1996 to take the reins of the USC program.

Gaston replaces Trelle McCombs, who was let go in May after a third straight season in which her team failed to reach the NCAA Championships. The 2018 A&M squad finished 13th in the SEC.

McCombs was the third Texas A&M head coach Woodward has replaced since November, joining longtime Aggie volleyball coach Laurie Corbelli and former football head coach Kevin Sumlin. Woodward's hires in each case — Laura "Bird" Kuhn, a former American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Assistant Coach of the Year, national championship winner Jimbo Fisher and now Gaston — lend credibility to Woodward's stated intention to bring championships to all levels of Texas A&M athletics.