Former Marshall head coach to lead Bulls' program
TAMPA, JULY 11, 2016 – USF Director of Athletics Mark Harlan announced Monday the hiring of Tiffany Prats as the head coach of the USF women's golf program.
“I am excited to welcome Tiffany back to the state of Florida and to our Bulls family,” Harlan said. “Tiffany is driven for success, brings a terrific background in both collegiate and professional golf, and has a strong and engaging coaching philosophy. She will be an excellent leader and mentor for our student-athletes.”
An accomplished collegiate golfer at the University of Miami (2003-06) and a player on professional golf tours for two years, Prats was also an outstanding player on the Florida junior golf circuit early in her career. She brings seven years of collegiate coaching experience to USF, most recently spending the past two seasons as head coach for Marshall University's women's program (2014-16). Prats also had assistant coaching stints at Maryland (2011-14) and San Diego State (2010-11).
While leading the Thundering Herd program, Prats guided her teams to several school bests, including the lowest round in school history at the Conference USA Championship (2015), low team season scoring average (2014-15), low individual season scoring average (2014-15), and the best Conference USA Championship team and individual scoring totals (2015) in program history.
While at Maryland, Prats served as the team's head coach on several occasions while the Director of Golf traveled with the men's team. She helped lead the Terps to three first-place tournament finishes and three second-place finishes during these instances over her three seasons. She also helped guide the Terrapins to the 2012 NCAA Regional Tournament, just the program's fourth-ever appearance.
While at San Diego State, Prats helped lead the team to three tournament victories and consecutive NCAA Regional Tournament appearances during her two seasons. During her tenure the Aztecs jumped from 86th to 27th in the national rankings.
Following graduation from the University of Miami in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in sports administration, Prats spent two seasons playing professionally. She played on the Sun Coast Tour (2008-09), finishing second at Southern Dunes (2008) and third in the Prep Series at Mission Hills in Palm Springs, Calif. (2008). She played on the LPGA Futures Tour (2009) and was a member of The Royal Canadian Golf Association (2008). Prats also worked with The First Tee of Myrtle Beach and LPGA/USGA Junior Girls Golf, while also serving as assistant golf professional at the Deering Bay Yacht and Country Club in Coral Gables, Fla.
Prats recorded nine top 10 tournament finishes and was a two-year team captain while playing at the University of Miami where she lettered all four years. She played in the 2004 and 2005 NCAA regionals among her 37 tournament. Prats finished 10th in the 2003 Big East Tournament and was also a representative on Miami's Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
During her junior career, Prats won the 2002 Florida Junior Girls Invitational, was named the 2003 Golfer of the Year by the Gainesville Sun and in 2010 was named the Golfer of the Decade by the Gainesville Sun after an outstanding prep career at Williston High School. A two-time all-state selection, she lost only one match in high school.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 competing at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, having started with a men's soccer contest in 1965. Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the Tampa campus. The Bulls have claimed eight conference titles, so far, in their first three seasons in The American. Eight USF programs reached NCAA post-season competition in the 2014-15 season as USF posted an 83 percent Graduation Success Rate among student-athletes, with 182 earning conference all-academic recognition.
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