Men's Golf | 8/25/2022 5:00:00 PM
MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—Jimmy Stobs, after 20 years at the helm of the Buccaneer men's golf program, has resigned to accept the head coaching position at the U.S. Naval Academy, Michael L. Covone, the director of athletics, announced today.
Stobs built the Bucs into a power in NCAA Division II golf, winning three National Championships (2007, 2013, 2014), two NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional titles (2010 and 2014), and five Sunshine State Conference crowns (2013, 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022.) He was named the National Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America in 2007 and 2013 and South Regional Coach of the Year in 2004, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2020, and 2022. He was also the SSC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2019 and 2022. Stobs was inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame in 2015.
He has coached all 49 of the Buccaneers' All-America seasons, including the Jack Nicklaus Division II National Player of the Year in 2014 (Adam Svensson), 2019 (Jorge Garcia) and 2022 (AJ Ewart). Ewart also went on to win the 2022 GolfStat Cup, an award that goes to the collegiate men's golfer with the lowest stroke average across all divisions. Svensson currently plays on the PGA Tour. The Bucs have also excelled in the classroom, earning 23 Scholar and Academic All-America awards. Daniel Stapff earned NCAA Elite awards as the top GPA among the competitors at the national finals in 2010 and 2012, the only Buc to win the award twice. He was also a three-time SSC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the only male and one of only two students to win the award three times in their career.
The Bucs ended five seasons as the national leader in scoring average (2009-10, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2018-19, 2021-22) and had seven more years in the top-10. Stobs' teams won 56 tournaments during his career, including a school-record eight in 2013-14, 2018-19 and 2021-22. The 2018-19 team completed 28 or 36 total rounds under par. Last year's team posted three rounds of -18 or better, including a school-record -19 on the second round at the Matlock Collegiate Classic. Under Stobs, the Bucs also claimed 46 individual titles, including seven each for Svensson (2013-14) and Ewart (2021-22).
Stobs joined the Barry staff in 2002 after 10 years playing professional golf. He played on several different tours, including the Nike (1997), Golden Bear, South American, Montgomery, South Florida and Trans-Act Mortgage tours. Throughout his 10-year professional career, Stobs enjoyed much success, winning 25 mini-tour events, including the 1998 Florida Open.
A graduate of Florida Atlantic with a bachelor's degree in communications, Stobs played for the Owls in 1991-92 under Mary Mills. He was part of a squad which won four straight tournaments and finished fourth in the NCAA Division II national tournament, earning the team's sportsmanship award. He also played for Georgia Southern University from 1987-90.
Stobs is an active member of the GCAA and served as one of two Division II coaches on the GCAA National Board of Directors. In the summer of 2008, Stobs was selected as the head coach for the 2008 USA team that competed in the Fuji/Xerox championship in Tokyo, Japan, and helped Team USA take back the title in the annual event. In 2015, he coached the USA to a fourth place finish at the Toyota Junior World Golf Cup in Japan.
Stobs has also served on several NCAA regional and national committees throughout his career at Barry. In 2008, he served on the GCAA International Team Selection Committee and the Jack Nicklaus Award Committee. Stobs has been a part of the GCAA All-America and All-Freshman committee, serving as chairman in 2008, and has served on the NCAA South Region selection committee since 2006. He also served on the David Toms Award Committee, given to the collegiate golfer who overcomes adversity.
The university will begin an immediate search for his replacement.
