Men's Golf
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- rwakelin@kent.edu
- Phone:
- 330-672-4629
THE ROB WAKELING FILE |
Birthdate: March 4, 1971 |
Coaching Experience |
Coaching Highlights |
Playing Experience |
Kent State Director of Golf Herb Page turned to his alumni files when hiring Rob Wakeling as the Associate Head Coach for men’s and women’s golf in 2009. The move was an instant success for the Golden Flashes.
Since his return, the men’s golf program captured six consecutive Mid-American Conference titles between 2009-2014, but Kent State’s achievements do not stop there. With Wakeling’s guidance, the Golden Flashes won a share of the 2010 NCAA East Regional and had top 20 finishes at the NCAA National Championship three consecutive seasons (2010-12).
Wakeling has helped to mentor the Golden Flashes through a run that has seen them qualify for four of the last six national championships.
In addition to his on-course teaching and instruction, Wakeling also moderates the team's academic progress and oversees a national travel schedule which has taken the Golden Flashes to 23 different states during his five plus years on staff.
Wakeling was four-year letterwinner for Kent State (1989-93) and helped lead the storied program to three NCAA Championship appearances as a student-athlete. A key component during one of the most decorated runs in KSU golf, the two-time All-Mid-American Conference performer guided the Golden Flashes to a pair of MAC championships and a remarkable 16 team titles in his four years. With Wakeling serving as team captain in 1993, the Blue & Gold captured the program’s first-ever NCAA regional title with a dominating 13-stroke victory over the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams, Texas and Oklahoma State. In the final round, the All-District IV selection fired a team-low 70 to finish tied for 15th in the tournament.
Individually, Wakeling earned All-MAC honors in 1992 and 1993 and was a two-time NCAA long drive champion runner-up. He came to Kent State after spending two seasons as head coach of the Stow Walsh Jesuit High School boy’s varsity team, where he led the squad to a pair of district tournament appearances.
A golf instructor for more than 16 years, the Stow, Ohio native worked for Macgregor Golf and Top-Flite Ben Hogan Golf prior to joining the coaching ranks at Walsh Jesuit. A former Ohio Public Links and three-time Summit County Amateur champion, Wakeling played professionally on various mini tours throughout the United States and South Africa after graduating from Kent State with his bachelor’s degree in 1994.
