BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – Indiana men’s golf head coach Mike Mayer announced the hiring of Corey Ziedonis, a four-year letter winner at Indiana, as an assistant coach. Ziedonis returns to IU after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia since January 2016.
“What Corey Ziedonis has accomplished in collegiate golf, in a very short period of time, is truly amazing,” Mayer said. “His work at Ball State as graduate assistant, and then at Virginia, where he helped them to the NCAA finals in his first season as an assistant, establishes him as one of the premiere assistant coaches in the country. His knowledge and connections in junior golf around the county, especially in Indiana, has helped him become a strong and effective recruiter. He brings something to every aspect of our program and we are thrilled that he is coming back home.”
While at Virginia during the spring of 2016, the Cavaliers registered five Top 5 team finishes in tournament play and advanced to the NCAA Championship after a fifth place finish at the NCAA Regional in Franklin, Tennessee. Virginia went on to finish 22ndas a team at the NCAA Championship and Derek Bards tied for 17th individually.
“First, I am extremely grateful to Coach Mayer for giving me the opportunity to return to IU and his belief in me as an integral part of the program moving forward,” Ziedonis said. “To have the chance to coach at my alma mater in the state where I grew up is something that I have always dreamed and I can’t wait to get started. I believe there are big things in store for IU men’s golf on the horizon and I’m excited to be part of that.”
Ziedonis played for Mayer at IU from 2009-10 season through the 2012-13 season and finished his career with 74.84 career scoring average in 85 rounds of golf in the Cream and Crimson. The native of Indianapolis was named an All-American Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America following his senior year and collected seven Top 25 tournament finishes that season as well.
During his career, Ziedonis has the penchant for putting up solid scores on some of the most challenging tournaments. He helped the Hoosiers to NCAA Regional appearances in each of his four years and finished inside the Top 25 at those tournaments on three occasions, highlighted by a T11 finish as a sophomore. While competing in the Big Ten Championship each of his four years, he racked up three Top 25 finishes and helped the team to a second place finish in 2012.
After graduating from Indiana with a degree in sports marketing and management in 2013, he spent the next two seasons as a graduate assistant with the men’s golf program at Ball State and also served as a player relations manager on the Golfweek Junior Tour in the spring and summer of 2014.
