Chris Gilbert is in his third season as an assistant coach for the Wisconsin men's golf team after joining the program in January, 2018. Prior to that, Gilbert most recently was an assistant coach at Washington State and also competed on the Adams Pro Tour and Web.com Tour Q School for three years.
“Chris is excited to get back to the Midwest where he and his wife Olivia have so many family members," UW head coach Michael Burcin said. "He and his wife both attended Kansas and Chris played for Jamie Bermel, a coach I have an enormous amount of respect for, both in the way he runs his program and how his players conduct themselves. Coach Bermel had great things to say about Chris, which served as a big vote of confidence.
At Wisconsin, Gilbert has helped lead the Badgers to 12 top-10 finishes, including an undefeated run through the Big Ten Match Play that saw UW defeat No. 12 Illinois, No. 29 Penn State and No. 44 Northwestern, a win at the 2018 Pinetree Intercollegiate and a win at the 2019 Musketeer Classic. Wisconsin also placed second at the D.A. Weibring Invitational with junior Griffin Barela earning a share of first place, becoming the first Badger since 2006 to earn medalist honors.
In his first season as an assistant coach for the Cougars (2016-17), Gilbert assisted with the Cougars’ eight top-10 team finishes, along with 11 individual top-10 finishes. WSU captured the Itani Quality Homes Intercollegiate (Sept. 12-13) championship on its home course, shooting 10-under par (842) for the three rounds. Senior Nick Mandell captured his first individual tournament title, winning the tournament as an individual after shooting 210 (-3).
Freshmen Nicklaus Chiam and Daniel Kolar showed promise in their rookie seasons, as Chiam tied for fifth at the Itani Quality Homes Intercollegiate (Sept. 12-13) and Kolar tied for the best WSU finish at the Pac-12 Championships (April 28-30), placing tied for 26th.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity Mike has given me to join the golf program at the University of Wisconsin,” Gilbert said. “After touring the facilities and hearing Mike’s vision for the future, I am thrilled to come help the program in any way that I can and watch it continue to improve. I would also like to thank Dustin White for our time at Washington State. I am very lucky to have started my career coaching players of such high caliber, and am excited to see what the future holds for them as well.”
A 2013 graduate of Kansas, Gilbert was a two-time individual medalist and is the only golfer in Jayhawks history to make two separate appearances as an individual at the NCAA Regionals. He led the team in scoring average for three-consecutive seasons and was an All-Big 12 Selection. While in college he was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) executive committee for three years and was actively involved in organizing community service events.
Following graduation, Gilbert turned pro in 2013 and competed on the Adams Pro Tour and Web.com Tour Q School for three years.
