Barton Ahtletics
John Karrs, Director of Athletic Communications
WILSON – Barton College’s Derek Hamm has been named the permanent Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach for the Bulldogs. Hamm has served as the interim head coach for Barton since the beginning of the 2019-20 school year following the resignation of Ashley Leonard, who took over as Head Women’s Golf Coach at UNC Greensboro early last fall.
“I want to thank Todd Wilkinson (Director of Athletics) and Barton College for giving me the opportunity to lead the golf programs going forward,” Hamm said. “Barton College is a special place and I am beyond excited for the opportunity to lead and teach the young men and women of our programs. The Bulldogs have had an incredible amount of success in our history and I hope to make our student-athletes, alumni and fans proud by adding to those past successes. I cannot wait to get this upcoming season started!”
The Bulldogs had their season cut short in the middle of March due to the pandemic but wrapped up the abbreviated season with a first-place showing at the Barton Men’s Golf Intercollegiate at the Wilson Country Club. The men’s team also finished second at the Griffin Invitational on Monday, Sept. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Petersburg, Va.
“Derek Hamm stepped into lead our men’s and women’s golf programs in 2019-20,” said Barton Director of Athletics Todd Wilkinson. “His leadership has been excellent and deserving of his promotion to the permanent head coaching position. Coach Hamm has been a loyal, dedicated and consistent presence in the golf program since joining the staff in 2018.”
Hamm was an assistant coach for the Bulldogs in 2018-19 after lettering four seasons for the men’s golf program (2015-18). Hamm won the 2015 Cutter Creek Invitational and earned three top-five finishes during his intercollegiate career. Hamm led the Bulldogs to three consecutive runner-up finishes at the Conference Carolinas Championship: two as a golfer (2017 and 2018) and one as an assistant coach (2019).
Hamm, a native of Heath, Ohio, was named to the All-Conference Carolinas Third Team as a sophomore in 2016 and earned all-tournament honors in the league championship as a freshman in 2015. Hamm also won the team’s Reid Hill Sportsmanship Award in 2014-15 and was named the team MVP in 2015-16.
“I have enjoyed watching his growth as a student-athlete with our Barton Leadership Academy and the last two years as a member of our coaching team,” Wilkinson said. “Derek (Hamm) is smart, hardworking and passionate. Both golf teams performed very well on and off the course this year. I am excited he will lead our program in the future.”
Hamm, a 2018 summa cum laude graduate of Barton College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, was a two-time All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Hamm also received his MBA from Barton in May of 2020.