Women's Golf
Radley, Derek
Derek Radley
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- coachd@uoregon.edu
Derek Radley was named the sixth head coach in Oregon women's golf history on June 13, 2018. He is in his eighth season at the helm of the program in 2025-26 and has established the program as one of the nation's elites.
Radley accepted his first head coaching job at Oregon after spending the previous six seasons at the University of Arizona, starting as an assistant coach in 2012 before being promoted to associate head coach in 2016. Radley helped lead the Wildcats to the 2018 national championship in his final season before coming to Oregon.
On June 7, 2024, the Oregon athletic department announced it had reached an agreement with Radley on a contract extension that runs through the 2028-29 season.
"Derek Radley's leadership and commitment to the University of Oregon have elevated our women's golf team into one of the truly elite programs in the country," athletic director Rob Mullens said. "He has created a championship culture and is extremely dedicated to providing an exceptional student-athlete experience both on and off the course, and he and his wife, Sara, and their children are terrific members of our Oregon community. We are excited to continue to have Derek lead our program for years to come as we compete for both Big Ten and national championships."
Radley has built the Oregon program up into a national power through his first seven seasons in Eugene. Oregon has reached at least the national semifinals at the NCAA Championships in three of the last four seasons going into 2025-26, including a trip to the championship match in 2022 and back-to-back appearances in the semifinals in 2024 and 2025. Radley has also led Oregon to a pair of conference championships, capturing the Pac-12 title in 2022 before winning the Big Ten Championship in 2025 in the program's inaugural year in the league.
Through the 2024-25 season, Radley has coached the Ducks to 53 top-five finishes in 69 stroke-play tournaments with 11 team victories and 18 runner-up finishes while compiling a stellar 735-240-11 competitive record. He has also recruited and developed players at a rate never before seen at Oregon. Prior to Radley's arrival, UO had just two all-Americans in its history; in his seven seasons, Radley has coached seven players to 10 all-American selections including four all-Americans in 2021-22 and the first two-time, first-team all-American in program history in Kiara Romero (2024-25).
2024-25 | 7th Season
Radley coached the Ducks to yet another historic season in 2024-25, leading Oregon to the Big Ten Championship in its first year while returning to the national semifinals at the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row and third time in a four-year span. Oregon placed in the top five in all 12 of its tournaments while capturing three victories, winning at the Alice & John Wallace Classic early in the spring before opening postseason play with back-to-back wins at the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional. It marked the second conference title and second NCAA Regional victory in program history, all coming under Radley.
Oregon's fall season featured four top-five finishes, including a first-place stroke-play finish at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup before falling in the championship match against Arkansas. The Ducks opened the spring with four consecutive top-two finishes, including a dominant win at the Alice & John Wallace Classic on the strength of the lowest 54-hole team total in program history with a 34-under 818. The Ducks ran away with the Big Ten Championship with a 12-under 276 in the final round and then dominated at the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional, matching its Big Ten 54-hole score with a 12-under 852. At the NCAA Championships, Oregon advanced to match play for the third time under Radley and fourth time in program history with a second-place finish in stroke play, shattering the program 72-hole scoring record with a 6-under 1,146. Oregon took down No. 2 seed Texas, 3-2, in the quarterfinals before narrowly falling to eventual national champion Northwestern in the semifinals, 3-2.
Individually, Oregon was led for the second year in a row by Kiara Romero, who followed up a sensational freshman season with an even better sophomore campaign. Romero broke her own single-season program records for scoring average (69.91) and birdies (138) while earning Big Ten Golfer of the Year honors and becoming the first two-time, first-team all-American in Oregon history. After posting four runner-up finishes throughout the regular season, Romero broke through with her first win of the year at the Big Ten Championships, shooting 7-under par to become the third Duck ever to win an individual conference title. She followed that up with a dominant win at the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional, shooting the lowest individual round in program history with a 10-under 62 in round two before winning with a 16-under 200, the second-lowest 54-hole total ever by a Duck. At the NCAA Championships, Romero broke her own 72-hole scoring record with a 5-under 283 to tie for eighth overall, her second straight top-10 finish in as many NCAA Championships.
Romero was complimented by two more all-Americans in freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham and sophomore Karen Tsuru. Both Ducks joined Romero on the all-Big Ten first team, while sophomore Tong An was named to the second team. Vinijchaitham was a second-team all-American and WGCA all-Freshman selection after posting a 71.46 scoring average with 123 birdies, second-most ever by a Duck behind only Romero, and Tsuru was a honorable mention all-America selection. Vinijchaitam (Alice & John Wallace Classic) and Tsuru (Juli Inkster Invitational) both earned individual wins throughout the season, giving Oregon three individual medalists. An provided arguably the highlight of the season in the NCAA quarterfinals, defeating Texas' Lauren Kim in a second playoff hole to send Oregon back to the national semifinals.
2023-24 | 6th Season
The Ducks got the 2023-24 season off to a strong start, placing second at the Annika Intercollegiate before winning the Molly Collegiate Invitational for the program's eighth victory under Radley. Oregon shattered the program 54-hole scoring record to win the Molly Collegiate Invitational, finishing with a 28-under 842. UO also placed third at the Windy City Classic at 22-under par, putting the Ducks at a whopping 73-under par through the season's first three tournaments.
After a string of uncharacteristic performances during the spring, the Ducks found their groove during the postseason to book their ticket to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time under Radley and 13th time in program history. Oregon used two strong rounds to surge to a third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, before putting together a 5-under 283 in the final round of the NCAA Auburn Regional to book its ticket to the national tournament. At the NCAA Championships, the Ducks tied for sixth overall in stroke play to reach match play for the second time under Radley and third time in program history. Oregon defeated No. 2 seed LSU in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals for the second time in three seasons, before narrowly falling to UCLA.
Radley coached freshman Kiara Romero to arguably the greatest season in program history, as she became just the second Duck ever to earn first-team all-America honors while also being named the WGCA Co-Freshman of the Year. Romero set program single-season records for scoring average (70.84) and birdies (118) while winning two individual titles and shooting par-or-better in 24 of 31 rounds.
2022-23 | 5th Season
Coming off the greatest season in program history, the Ducks got 2022-23 off to a strong start with a solid fall season. Oregon’s NCAA runner-up finish in 2022 earned it berths to two prestigious fall tournaments – the Annika Intercollegiate and the East Lake Cup – and the Ducks had a pair of top-five finishes at the Windy City Classic and the Pac-12 Preview. Junior transfer Ashleigh Park was the standout of the fall after joining Oregon from Texas, ending the fall with a runner-up showing at the Pac-12 Preview.
The Ducks opened the 2022-23 spring season in exciting fashion, using a 4-under 280 in the final round of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge to storm back and win the event - previously called the Northrop Grumman Challenge - for the second year in a row. It was the Ducks' seventh tournament win under Radley, all coming since the spring of 2021. Oregon followed up its 2022 Pac-12 title with a runner-up finish in 2023, shooting 6 under in the final round to move up from fourth. The Ducks fell short of returning to the NCAA Championships, placing 10th at the NCAA Westfield Regional.
2021-22 | 4th Season
Oregon enjoyed a terrific fall season to kick off 2021-22, headlined by a historic and dominant performance at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Radley's squad shattered the program's 54-hole records for both total score and score vs. par with an astounding 26-under 838, running away with the team's second tournament victory since Radley and assistant coach Monica Vaughn took over. Sophomore Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu became the first Duck to earn outright individual medalist honors since 2016 with a phenomenal showing, breaking the program individual 54-hole records with a 17-under 199. Lu capped the tournament with a 7-under 65 and finished the week with a stretch of 42 straight holes without a bogey. UO closed the fall season with four top-five finishes in four tournaments.
Oregon carried its terrific fall season into a stellar spring campaign, earning back-to-back wins at the Florida State Match Up and the Northrop Grumman Challenge before running away with its first-ever team title at the Pac-12 Championships on its home course at Eugene Country Club. The Ducks were led by sophomore Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, who shot 6-under par to join Caroline Inglis (2015) as the only UO players ever to win the individual conference title. Oregon made more program history with all five players in its starting lineup earning all-Pac-12 recognition, including a program-record three players on the first team in Lu, Nielsen and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin.
The Ducks followed up their Pac-12 Championship win with a convincing victory at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, winning an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the 12th time. Chacon led the charge in Albuquerque, shooting 9-under par to become the first Duck ever to win an NCAA Regional individual title. Oregon’s fifth team victory of the season set a new program record.
The Ducks made more history at the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, finishing second overall in stroke play to advance to match play, where they knocked off San Jose State and Texas A&M to reach the national title match. Oregon got off to a slow start before making a late push, but ultimately fell to No. 1 Stanford and came up just short of the program's first-ever NCAA championship. A whopping four Ducks earned WGCA all-America honors, with Lu and Lin each landing on the second team and both Chacon and Nielsen receiving honorable mention.
2020-21 | 3rd Season
After the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated the 2020-21 fall season, Radley guided the Ducks to a terrific 2021 spring campaign. The Ducks racked up six top-five finishes before reaching the NCAA Championships, where they placed 11th overall and came up just two strokes shy of advancing to match play. The Ducks posted a 23-over 1,175 in the NCAA Championships, the second-best 72-hole team performance in program history. UO auto-advanced to the NCAA Championships as the No. 4 seed at the Baton Rouge Regional after it was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Oregon's impressive spring season was highlighted by the program's first tournament win under Radley and first since 2016, as the Ducks used a stellar final round to finish as co-champions at the PING/ASU Invitational. After a slow start that saw UO in 10th place through 18 holes, the Ducks rattled off a phenomenal 9-under 279 to fly up the leaderboard and claim the victory. Chacon closed with a 4-under 68 to lead the comeback and tie as the individual runner up.
Chacon was fantastic for the Ducks throughout the 2021 spring season, becoming the fourth all-American in program history and second under Radley with WGCA second-team honors. Chacon was also an all-Pac-12 selection along with Lu, giving Oregon multiple first-team all-conference honorees in a season for the first time in program history.
2019-20 | 2nd Season
Radley had the Ducks on pace for a historic season in 2019-20 before the sports world was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Radley’s young squad recorded six top-five finishes in seven events before the abrupt end to the season, with the Ducks setting new single-season records for scoring average (290.48), scoring average vs. par (3.05), par-4 scoring (4.18) and par-5 scoring (4.84) while tying the program record with nine rounds of par or better.
Nielsen led the Ducks as a true freshman with a 72.52 scoring average, the second-best in program history, while finishing in the top 20 in all seven events to open her collegiate career. Nielsen became only the third Duck ever to receive WGCA all-America honors, and first under Radley, earning honorable mention status.
2018-19 | 1st Season
Radley led the Ducks to the program’s 12th straight NCAA Regionals appearance in his inaugural season at Oregon, earning the No. 7 seed in the Cle Elum Regional. The Ducks just missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a team, but Radley helped senior Kathleen Scavo earn an individual bid to the national tournament. Scavo went on to tie for 23rd overall, the fifth-best individual showing in program history.
Relentless Recruiter
Radley has already proven himself to be an ace recruiter in his time with the Ducks. He signed Nielsen, Chacon, and Ching-Tzu Chen in his first official recruiting class with the Ducks, three players who played huge roles in helping the Ducks return to national prominence.
In November 2019, Radley bolstered the 2020-21 roster in a huge way with the signing of Lu, the top-ranked player out of Asia for the 2020 collegiate signing class. Lu was ranked as high as No. 77 on the World Golf Amateur Rankings entering her freshman season.
Radley added to an already talented and experienced roster going into 2021-22, signing 2021 Big West Player of the Year Brittany Shin as a transfer from Cal State Fullerton. UO also signed local star Baylee Hammericksen, the top-ranked high school player out of the state of Oregon.
Though the majority of Oregon’s 2021-22 roster returned in 2022-23, Radley continued to be aggressive and brought in reinforcements through both recruiting and the transfer portal. Radley signed junior transfer Ashleigh Park out of Texas to add more NCAA Championships experience to Oregon’s roster, and he also added a two-time JUCO national champion in Minori Nagano out of Seminole State College. Anika Varma joined the 2022-23 team as the lone freshman after enjoying a decorated career at Granite Bay High School in Roseville, Calif.
Radley’s squad will see more impact additions in 2023-24, when talented recruits Kiara Romero and Karen Tsuru join the roster. Romero is the top-ranked recruit in the class of 2023 according to Golfweek, with Tsuru coming in at No. 11 in the class.
Before Oregon
Arizona earned five top-10 NCAA Championship finishes during Radley’s time with the Wildcats, culminating with the national title in 2018. With Radley by her side during the championship round, junior Haley Moore birdied her first playoff hole to give Arizona a 3-2 win over Alabama. The Wildcats also earned a trio of top-three finishes at the Pac-12 Championships with Radley on staff, securing a conference title in 2015.
Radley coached seven All-Americans at Arizona, including two-time selection Lindsey Weaver in 2014 and 2015. The Wildcats were ranked in the top-12 nationally in each of Radley’s six seasons. On the recruiting trail, Radley helped the Wildcats sign multiple top-20 ranked prospects, including Tigard, Ore., native Gigi Stoll, a two-time Pacific Northwest Women’s Player of the Year.
Personal
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Radley is a 2006 graduate of Ferris State, where he was a two-time all-conference selection on the Bulldogs’ golf team. He earned a degree in marketing and professional golf management.
Radley served as LPGA tour pro Sara Brown’s coach and caddie in 2010 and 2011. Radley is certified as a PGA Class A Professional. He began his teaching career at two top-25 golf schools, Crystal Mountain in Michigan and Dana Rader in North Carolina.
Radley and Brown were married in 2013. The couple has two sons, Palmer and Ryder, and one daughter, Azalea.
Radley accepted his first head coaching job at Oregon after spending the previous six seasons at the University of Arizona, starting as an assistant coach in 2012 before being promoted to associate head coach in 2016. Radley helped lead the Wildcats to the 2018 national championship in his final season before coming to Oregon.
On June 7, 2024, the Oregon athletic department announced it had reached an agreement with Radley on a contract extension that runs through the 2028-29 season.
"Derek Radley's leadership and commitment to the University of Oregon have elevated our women's golf team into one of the truly elite programs in the country," athletic director Rob Mullens said. "He has created a championship culture and is extremely dedicated to providing an exceptional student-athlete experience both on and off the course, and he and his wife, Sara, and their children are terrific members of our Oregon community. We are excited to continue to have Derek lead our program for years to come as we compete for both Big Ten and national championships."
Radley has built the Oregon program up into a national power through his first seven seasons in Eugene. Oregon has reached at least the national semifinals at the NCAA Championships in three of the last four seasons going into 2025-26, including a trip to the championship match in 2022 and back-to-back appearances in the semifinals in 2024 and 2025. Radley has also led Oregon to a pair of conference championships, capturing the Pac-12 title in 2022 before winning the Big Ten Championship in 2025 in the program's inaugural year in the league.
Through the 2024-25 season, Radley has coached the Ducks to 53 top-five finishes in 69 stroke-play tournaments with 11 team victories and 18 runner-up finishes while compiling a stellar 735-240-11 competitive record. He has also recruited and developed players at a rate never before seen at Oregon. Prior to Radley's arrival, UO had just two all-Americans in its history; in his seven seasons, Radley has coached seven players to 10 all-American selections including four all-Americans in 2021-22 and the first two-time, first-team all-American in program history in Kiara Romero (2024-25).
2024-25 | 7th Season
Radley coached the Ducks to yet another historic season in 2024-25, leading Oregon to the Big Ten Championship in its first year while returning to the national semifinals at the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row and third time in a four-year span. Oregon placed in the top five in all 12 of its tournaments while capturing three victories, winning at the Alice & John Wallace Classic early in the spring before opening postseason play with back-to-back wins at the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional. It marked the second conference title and second NCAA Regional victory in program history, all coming under Radley.
Oregon's fall season featured four top-five finishes, including a first-place stroke-play finish at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup before falling in the championship match against Arkansas. The Ducks opened the spring with four consecutive top-two finishes, including a dominant win at the Alice & John Wallace Classic on the strength of the lowest 54-hole team total in program history with a 34-under 818. The Ducks ran away with the Big Ten Championship with a 12-under 276 in the final round and then dominated at the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional, matching its Big Ten 54-hole score with a 12-under 852. At the NCAA Championships, Oregon advanced to match play for the third time under Radley and fourth time in program history with a second-place finish in stroke play, shattering the program 72-hole scoring record with a 6-under 1,146. Oregon took down No. 2 seed Texas, 3-2, in the quarterfinals before narrowly falling to eventual national champion Northwestern in the semifinals, 3-2.
Individually, Oregon was led for the second year in a row by Kiara Romero, who followed up a sensational freshman season with an even better sophomore campaign. Romero broke her own single-season program records for scoring average (69.91) and birdies (138) while earning Big Ten Golfer of the Year honors and becoming the first two-time, first-team all-American in Oregon history. After posting four runner-up finishes throughout the regular season, Romero broke through with her first win of the year at the Big Ten Championships, shooting 7-under par to become the third Duck ever to win an individual conference title. She followed that up with a dominant win at the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional, shooting the lowest individual round in program history with a 10-under 62 in round two before winning with a 16-under 200, the second-lowest 54-hole total ever by a Duck. At the NCAA Championships, Romero broke her own 72-hole scoring record with a 5-under 283 to tie for eighth overall, her second straight top-10 finish in as many NCAA Championships.
Romero was complimented by two more all-Americans in freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham and sophomore Karen Tsuru. Both Ducks joined Romero on the all-Big Ten first team, while sophomore Tong An was named to the second team. Vinijchaitham was a second-team all-American and WGCA all-Freshman selection after posting a 71.46 scoring average with 123 birdies, second-most ever by a Duck behind only Romero, and Tsuru was a honorable mention all-America selection. Vinijchaitam (Alice & John Wallace Classic) and Tsuru (Juli Inkster Invitational) both earned individual wins throughout the season, giving Oregon three individual medalists. An provided arguably the highlight of the season in the NCAA quarterfinals, defeating Texas' Lauren Kim in a second playoff hole to send Oregon back to the national semifinals.
2023-24 | 6th Season
The Ducks got the 2023-24 season off to a strong start, placing second at the Annika Intercollegiate before winning the Molly Collegiate Invitational for the program's eighth victory under Radley. Oregon shattered the program 54-hole scoring record to win the Molly Collegiate Invitational, finishing with a 28-under 842. UO also placed third at the Windy City Classic at 22-under par, putting the Ducks at a whopping 73-under par through the season's first three tournaments.
After a string of uncharacteristic performances during the spring, the Ducks found their groove during the postseason to book their ticket to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time under Radley and 13th time in program history. Oregon used two strong rounds to surge to a third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, before putting together a 5-under 283 in the final round of the NCAA Auburn Regional to book its ticket to the national tournament. At the NCAA Championships, the Ducks tied for sixth overall in stroke play to reach match play for the second time under Radley and third time in program history. Oregon defeated No. 2 seed LSU in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals for the second time in three seasons, before narrowly falling to UCLA.
Radley coached freshman Kiara Romero to arguably the greatest season in program history, as she became just the second Duck ever to earn first-team all-America honors while also being named the WGCA Co-Freshman of the Year. Romero set program single-season records for scoring average (70.84) and birdies (118) while winning two individual titles and shooting par-or-better in 24 of 31 rounds.
2022-23 | 5th Season
Coming off the greatest season in program history, the Ducks got 2022-23 off to a strong start with a solid fall season. Oregon’s NCAA runner-up finish in 2022 earned it berths to two prestigious fall tournaments – the Annika Intercollegiate and the East Lake Cup – and the Ducks had a pair of top-five finishes at the Windy City Classic and the Pac-12 Preview. Junior transfer Ashleigh Park was the standout of the fall after joining Oregon from Texas, ending the fall with a runner-up showing at the Pac-12 Preview.
The Ducks opened the 2022-23 spring season in exciting fashion, using a 4-under 280 in the final round of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge to storm back and win the event - previously called the Northrop Grumman Challenge - for the second year in a row. It was the Ducks' seventh tournament win under Radley, all coming since the spring of 2021. Oregon followed up its 2022 Pac-12 title with a runner-up finish in 2023, shooting 6 under in the final round to move up from fourth. The Ducks fell short of returning to the NCAA Championships, placing 10th at the NCAA Westfield Regional.
2021-22 | 4th Season
Oregon enjoyed a terrific fall season to kick off 2021-22, headlined by a historic and dominant performance at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Radley's squad shattered the program's 54-hole records for both total score and score vs. par with an astounding 26-under 838, running away with the team's second tournament victory since Radley and assistant coach Monica Vaughn took over. Sophomore Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu became the first Duck to earn outright individual medalist honors since 2016 with a phenomenal showing, breaking the program individual 54-hole records with a 17-under 199. Lu capped the tournament with a 7-under 65 and finished the week with a stretch of 42 straight holes without a bogey. UO closed the fall season with four top-five finishes in four tournaments.
Oregon carried its terrific fall season into a stellar spring campaign, earning back-to-back wins at the Florida State Match Up and the Northrop Grumman Challenge before running away with its first-ever team title at the Pac-12 Championships on its home course at Eugene Country Club. The Ducks were led by sophomore Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, who shot 6-under par to join Caroline Inglis (2015) as the only UO players ever to win the individual conference title. Oregon made more program history with all five players in its starting lineup earning all-Pac-12 recognition, including a program-record three players on the first team in Lu, Nielsen and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin.
The Ducks followed up their Pac-12 Championship win with a convincing victory at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, winning an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the 12th time. Chacon led the charge in Albuquerque, shooting 9-under par to become the first Duck ever to win an NCAA Regional individual title. Oregon’s fifth team victory of the season set a new program record.
The Ducks made more history at the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, finishing second overall in stroke play to advance to match play, where they knocked off San Jose State and Texas A&M to reach the national title match. Oregon got off to a slow start before making a late push, but ultimately fell to No. 1 Stanford and came up just short of the program's first-ever NCAA championship. A whopping four Ducks earned WGCA all-America honors, with Lu and Lin each landing on the second team and both Chacon and Nielsen receiving honorable mention.
2020-21 | 3rd Season
After the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated the 2020-21 fall season, Radley guided the Ducks to a terrific 2021 spring campaign. The Ducks racked up six top-five finishes before reaching the NCAA Championships, where they placed 11th overall and came up just two strokes shy of advancing to match play. The Ducks posted a 23-over 1,175 in the NCAA Championships, the second-best 72-hole team performance in program history. UO auto-advanced to the NCAA Championships as the No. 4 seed at the Baton Rouge Regional after it was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Oregon's impressive spring season was highlighted by the program's first tournament win under Radley and first since 2016, as the Ducks used a stellar final round to finish as co-champions at the PING/ASU Invitational. After a slow start that saw UO in 10th place through 18 holes, the Ducks rattled off a phenomenal 9-under 279 to fly up the leaderboard and claim the victory. Chacon closed with a 4-under 68 to lead the comeback and tie as the individual runner up.
Chacon was fantastic for the Ducks throughout the 2021 spring season, becoming the fourth all-American in program history and second under Radley with WGCA second-team honors. Chacon was also an all-Pac-12 selection along with Lu, giving Oregon multiple first-team all-conference honorees in a season for the first time in program history.
2019-20 | 2nd Season
Radley had the Ducks on pace for a historic season in 2019-20 before the sports world was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Radley’s young squad recorded six top-five finishes in seven events before the abrupt end to the season, with the Ducks setting new single-season records for scoring average (290.48), scoring average vs. par (3.05), par-4 scoring (4.18) and par-5 scoring (4.84) while tying the program record with nine rounds of par or better.
Nielsen led the Ducks as a true freshman with a 72.52 scoring average, the second-best in program history, while finishing in the top 20 in all seven events to open her collegiate career. Nielsen became only the third Duck ever to receive WGCA all-America honors, and first under Radley, earning honorable mention status.
2018-19 | 1st Season
Radley led the Ducks to the program’s 12th straight NCAA Regionals appearance in his inaugural season at Oregon, earning the No. 7 seed in the Cle Elum Regional. The Ducks just missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a team, but Radley helped senior Kathleen Scavo earn an individual bid to the national tournament. Scavo went on to tie for 23rd overall, the fifth-best individual showing in program history.
Relentless Recruiter
Radley has already proven himself to be an ace recruiter in his time with the Ducks. He signed Nielsen, Chacon, and Ching-Tzu Chen in his first official recruiting class with the Ducks, three players who played huge roles in helping the Ducks return to national prominence.
In November 2019, Radley bolstered the 2020-21 roster in a huge way with the signing of Lu, the top-ranked player out of Asia for the 2020 collegiate signing class. Lu was ranked as high as No. 77 on the World Golf Amateur Rankings entering her freshman season.
Radley added to an already talented and experienced roster going into 2021-22, signing 2021 Big West Player of the Year Brittany Shin as a transfer from Cal State Fullerton. UO also signed local star Baylee Hammericksen, the top-ranked high school player out of the state of Oregon.
Though the majority of Oregon’s 2021-22 roster returned in 2022-23, Radley continued to be aggressive and brought in reinforcements through both recruiting and the transfer portal. Radley signed junior transfer Ashleigh Park out of Texas to add more NCAA Championships experience to Oregon’s roster, and he also added a two-time JUCO national champion in Minori Nagano out of Seminole State College. Anika Varma joined the 2022-23 team as the lone freshman after enjoying a decorated career at Granite Bay High School in Roseville, Calif.
Radley’s squad will see more impact additions in 2023-24, when talented recruits Kiara Romero and Karen Tsuru join the roster. Romero is the top-ranked recruit in the class of 2023 according to Golfweek, with Tsuru coming in at No. 11 in the class.
Before Oregon
Arizona earned five top-10 NCAA Championship finishes during Radley’s time with the Wildcats, culminating with the national title in 2018. With Radley by her side during the championship round, junior Haley Moore birdied her first playoff hole to give Arizona a 3-2 win over Alabama. The Wildcats also earned a trio of top-three finishes at the Pac-12 Championships with Radley on staff, securing a conference title in 2015.
Radley coached seven All-Americans at Arizona, including two-time selection Lindsey Weaver in 2014 and 2015. The Wildcats were ranked in the top-12 nationally in each of Radley’s six seasons. On the recruiting trail, Radley helped the Wildcats sign multiple top-20 ranked prospects, including Tigard, Ore., native Gigi Stoll, a two-time Pacific Northwest Women’s Player of the Year.
Personal
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Radley is a 2006 graduate of Ferris State, where he was a two-time all-conference selection on the Bulldogs’ golf team. He earned a degree in marketing and professional golf management.
Radley served as LPGA tour pro Sara Brown’s coach and caddie in 2010 and 2011. Radley is certified as a PGA Class A Professional. He began his teaching career at two top-25 golf schools, Crystal Mountain in Michigan and Dana Rader in North Carolina.
Radley and Brown were married in 2013. The couple has two sons, Palmer and Ryder, and one daughter, Azalea.
Kiara Romero | NCAA Regional Preview
Tuesday, April 29
Suvichaya Vinijchaitham | NCAA Regional Preview
Tuesday, April 29
Derek Radley | NCAA Regional Preview
Tuesday, April 29
Derek Radley: "We try and share on each others' success."
Tuesday, May 14
