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The 2024-25 season at Texas Tech marked the 25th season for Greg Sands leading the men's golf program.

The Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Famer led the Red Raiders to their fifth straight NCAA Championship and their sixth appearance out of the last seven championships during his Red Raiders' 2024-25 campaign. The streak for qualifying for the NCAA Championships, which ranks tied for the fifth-longest consecutive streak in all of college golf, is part of Sands' incredible resume that's placed the Red Raiders into championship play 13 times out of the program's 17 all-time total trips.

For the second consecutive year, the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships were hosted by the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., and Sands' squad made its mark on what is the newest home to championship golf for the foreseeable future. The Red Raiders finished 10th at the 2025 edition, their fourth Top 10 finish at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships in the Greg Sands era and sixth in program history.

While four-year team stalwart, Calum Scott, advanced to the final round of stroke play as an individual in his junior season the year before, he and the entire Red Raider squad advanced to the final round of stroke play en route to its 10th place finish in 2025. Texas Tech surged into the fourth round of the NCAA Championships by shooting a 2-under-par 286, matching No. 1 Auburn for the best team score, among the 30 teams in the field, in the third round of action to push the Red Raiders 11 spots up the team leaderboard, the biggest jump of any team, to finish in a tie for eighth place after beginning the day in 19th to secure its first trip to the fourth round of stroke play as a team since 2022.

Seniors Scott and Charlie DeLong, who both secured spots on PGA TOUR Americas at the conclusion of championship play, set the tone for the Red Raiders while a strong base of underclassmen supported the effort led by freshman standout Connor Graham.

Graham picked up a pair of honors during the week of the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, first being named to the PING All-Region Team and later named to the GCAA All-Freshman Team. The Golf Coaches Association of America made Graham one of five players in all of NCAA Division I college golf named to the All-Freshman Team. Among all the standouts over the years under Sands, Graham was the first Red Raider named to the GCAA All-Freshman Team. Graham led Texas Tech during the 2024-25 season with a 71.1 scoring average over 13 events and 41 rounds of golf. He also led the Red Raiders with seven Top 20 finishes, rounds carded below par (16) and rounds recorded even-par or better (25).

The postseason surge started at the Big 12 Championships as Graham was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team, helping steer Texas Tech to its second Top 3 finish at the Big 12 Men's Golf Championship in the last three years. Graham was the first Red Raider named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team since Ludvig Åberg in 2023 and was the first Red Raider freshman to earn the distinction since Wes Artac in 2015.

After its conference tournament success, Texas Tech earned its 23rd consecutive NCAA Regional bid, a streak that started in 2002. The Red Raiders were placed in the Urbana Regional as the 4-seed in a field of teams seeded one through 13 and came out of it punching its ticket as the fifth-place finisher, paced by Scott, who finished the event 6-under-par (207) to earn a tie for fifth place. It marked Scott's first Top 5 finish since placing tied for second at the Baton Rouge Regional in 2024.

With Scott and DeLong moving on to the professional ranks after exhausting their respective eligibilities, the future remains bright as Sands collected a trio of recruits in Adam Bresnu (Morocco), Simon Hovdal (Sweden) and Brady McHenry (USA, California) looking ahead to the 2025-26 season. Bresnu was the winner of the NJCAA 2025 Jack Nicklaus Award, the national player of the year out of the junior college ranks. Hovdal is from Sweden, like Texas Tech great Ludvig Åberg, and has already helped lead Team Sweden to the gold medal at the European Mens' Team Championship and is a top-ranked European golfer, while McHenry capped his high school career by winning the Channel League title and SoCal regional championship to reach the state tournament.

In 2024, the first edition of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships hosted at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. Sands' team was led by then-junior Calum Scott, who earned a tie for 11th individually at the championship (76-74-68-70=288, E), marking the third-lowest individual card by a Red Raider since the NCAA Championships implemented the four-round format leading into team match play in 2015, trailing Ivan Ramirez's 5-under-par performance in 2018 and Ludvig Aberg's 1-under-par in 2021.

The Red Raiders earned their bid to the NCAA Championships via a third-place finish at the Baton Rouge Regional which propelled the Texas Tech men’s golf team to the NCAA Championship where the Red Raiders finished 17th. Sands' squad earned two team victories during the spring of 2024 and six top-five finishes overall during the 2023-24 season.

Tech entered the spring season ranked No. 21 and rose as high as No. 5 in the national rankings on March 6. The Red Raiders entered the regional round at No. 14 via the May 9 Scoreboard powered by Clippd rankings. The Red Raiders entered the NCAA Championships ranked No. 11.

The Red Raiders had two All-America Team selections in Calum Scott (honorable mention) and Baard Skogen (honorable mention). At least one Red Raider golfer has been a part of the Division I PING All-America Teams since 2018. In addition, the Red Raiders had two All-Big 12 Team selections in Scott and Tyran Snyders, it was Scott's second-straight All-Big 12 selection and Snyders' first career honor.

As impressive or more, the Texas Tech men's golf team had six recipients, a nation-leading number among all programs at the Power Five level, named 2024 All-America Scholars. The Red Raiders honorees were Matthew Comegys, Charles DeLong, Vicente Marzilio, Calum Scott, Baard Skogen and Tyran Snyders.

In 2022-23, which was Sands' 23rd year as head coach, the Red Raiders rose to No. 1 in the national polls multiple times and earned three team wins during the season. Led by senior and now PGA superstar, Ludvig Aberg, Texas Tech secured eleven total top-five finishes, including wins at the Inverness Intercollegiate, Big 12 Match Play, and the ACC/Big 12 Golf Challenge.

Aberg finished ranked as the top-ranked player in the inaugural PGA TOUR U rankings, which earned him a PGA TOUR card as soon as time in the scarlet and black ran up. He repeated as the individual champion at the Big 12 Championships his senior season, and became the seventh golfer all-time to sweep the three national awards: Hogan, Haskins and Nicklaus.

The team advanced to its third consecutive NCAA Championship after advancing out of the Norman Reginal with a fourth-place finish. The Red Raiders fell in a dramatic playoff on the third day of the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club, missing out on the 15th and final team spot for the fourth and final day of stroke play at the championship.

In November of 2022, Sands agreed to a seven-year contract extension that will keep him leading the Tech men’s golf program through the 2029-30 season.

In 2021-22, Sands led the Red Raiders on a special postseason that culminated with a quarterfinal appearance at Grayhawk. The Elite 8 appearance for Tech was the third in program history and second since the 2017-18 season.

Led by senior Sandy Scott, and junior Ludvig Aberg, the Red Raiders recorded 10 top-five finishes as a team including a third-place finish at the 2022 Yale Golf Club. Aberg won the 2022 Prestige and was named the 2022 Ben Hogan Award winner.

In 2020-21, Sands led his Red Raider squad to the NCAA Albuquerque Regional Championship with the team shooting 26-under-par for a double-digit win and a berth to the 10th trip to the NCAA Championship under his leadership.

Sands was inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame on Dec. 6, 2021, for his role in establishing the Red Raiders as a perennial contender on the national stage.

His accomplishments include 20 consecutive NCAA regionals, advancing to the two NCAA Quarterfinals appearances, a top-10 finish in 2010 and the program's first two PING All-America First Team honorees in 2006 and 2010. Fredrik Nilehn earned Big 12 Player of the Year and Hogan Award semifinalist in 2018 under Sands who has had 18 players earn all-American selections. He was named the 2019-20 Golf Coaches Association of America’s Central Region Coach of the Year and will serve as the United States head coach at the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup

Since taking over the program in 2001, Sands has led the Red Raiders to 27 team titles and 33 individual tournament wins. What falls beneath the radar is Sands' ability to provide his student-athletes with an outstanding education, reflected in in the fact that the team consistently ranks among the top academic programs in the Big 12 Conference with five earning 2020-21 Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Sands led the Red Raiders to three tournament victories during the 2019-20 shortened season with wins at The Carmel Cup, Inverness Intercollegiate and the Big 12 Match Play Tournament. Tech reached a No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history and finished the season ranked No. 3 by Golfstat and No. 5 by Golfweek. Along with team success, Sands helped Sandy Scott, Andy Lopez and Markus Braadlie to individual titles during the year. Scott, Hogan and Lopez were each named Golfweek All-Americans and Scott earned CoSIDA Academic All-American.

In six stroke play events, the Red Raiders finished in the top-4 five events with a third-place showing at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in the event that would be the final competition before the season was ended due to coronavirus pandemic.

The Red Raiders picked up seven second-place finishes in 2017-18 before an injury to Big 12 Player of the Year Fredrik Nilehn saw to a slight slide to a No. 3 seed at the NCAA Columbus Regional, the 17th-straight NCAA appearance for the program--a Texas Tech record for any sport.

From there, the Red Raiders earned a berth into the NCAA Championship, but they weren't done yet. Inexplicably, without Nilehn, Tech rallied and finished third in the stroke play portion--the best finish in program history--and earned a berth in the match play quarterfinals for the second time in school history, narrowly falling to eventual national runner-up, Alabama, 3-2.

NCAA appearance No. 16 saw the Red Raiders earn the No. 2 seed at the College Grove Regional, after a season that included two team tournament wins, most notably dusting a field full of the nation's best teams to win the 2017 Amer Ari Invitational team and individual titles. Tech also had two players, Nilehn and Ivan Ramirez, earn All-Big 12 Tournament team honors.

The 15th-straight NCAA Regional Appearance took the Red Raiders to Albuquerque, N.M., where the young Red Raiders flirted with qualifying for the NCAA Championships before ultimately bowing out in what was a wild finish. Sands also picked up yet another top-three finish at the Big 12 Championships, where three Red Raiders placed in the top-15 individually. Tech also picked up a team tournament win at the El Macero Classic, the 17th team tournament title under Sands.

For the second straight season, the Red Raiders came close to bringing home their first Big 12 Conference championship in school history, in 2015. Tech finished second overall at the tournament, tying its highest finish at the event with the previous year's runner-up finish as well.

Texas Tech's 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals came in his 15th season at the helm as the Red Raiders earned a spot in the NCAA Lubbock Regional. This marked the first time the men's program has hosted a postseason tournament. The Red Raiders finished in second place behind top-seed Texas, advancing to the NCAA Championships where Tech wrapped up its season with a 17th-place finish, just one stroke from the cut.

In a year where expectations weren't as high as in others, Sands turned in yet another remarkable coaching job in 2013 as he led a group of one senior and five sophomores to the NCAA Championships in Atlanta. Tech earned one of 30 coveted spots in the championship with a fifth place finish in the NCAA Columbus Regional. In Atlanta, the Red Raiders got hot in the final round and ended up at No. 14 overall - marking the third highest finish in program history. Under Sands' guidance, two of Tech's top three finishes at the NCAA Championships have come during his tenure as head coach.

Tech's first trip back to the NCAA Championship followed NCAA Regional appearances in Greensboro (2012) and Tucson (2011).

The Red Raiders earned their highest finish since 1959 in June of 2010, when Tech wrapped up a seventh place finish at the 2010 NCAA Championships at The Honors Course in Chattanooga. Tech advanced to match play for the first time after completing an improbable comeback on the final day of stroke play. Tech's eighth place finish was also highlighted by the fact that Nils Floren was named to the PING All-America First-Team and he became just the second player in school history (both under Sands) to earn that prestigious honor.

En route to the 2010 NCAA Championships, Texas Tech secured its first regional championship in school history as the Red Raiders took down top-seeded Texas A&M at its home course in College Station at the South Central Regional. The Red Raiders finished 13-under 851 for the tournament which also set a school record for the lowest score for a Tech team in an NCAA Regional.

The 2008-09 campaign was another successful season in school history as Sands guided the team to two tournament wins and four top five finishes. Additionally, nine players posted top five finishes and two claimed medalist honors. The Red Raiders set the school scoring record for a 54-hole event with an 824 at the UTSA Invitational in the spring and shattered the school single-round record with a 266 in the same event - which Tech won by 20 strokes. All of these accomplishments came against one of the nation's top 20 schedules.

Texas Tech advanced to its fourth NCAA Championships appearance under Sands in 2009, following an impressive outing at the NCAA Southwest Regional in Austin. The Red Raiders carded a 2-under first round and led by 10 strokes to position itself for an opportunity to advance.

Of the NCAA regional appearances, the West regional in 2002 ranks as the most dramatic. Then-senior Kyle Willmann stared down a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole in the final hole of regulation play. In a must-make situation, Willmann drained the putt, sending the team to a playoff, and ending a 26-year hiatus for the program in championship competition.

The Red Raiders fell short in three other appearances, before dominating the field at the 2006 East regional in Orlando, Fla. With 10 spots up for grabs, Tech positioned itself on the first day as one of the tournament's top five teams and didn't waver during the three-round event. The Red Raiders shot 9-over par for the event to finish in third place.

In his 18 seasons as head coach, Sands has led the team to 19 tournament titles. Consistently, his players have broken records and established themselves on the Texas Tech charts.

A native of Jacksonville, Texas, Sands was a member of the back-to-back Western Athletic Conference championship teams in 1997 and 1998 at TCU. He also was named Academic All-WAC Scholar-Athlete during the 1995-96 seasons.

Sands graduated from TCU in 1997 with an undergraduate degree in communications, along with a history minor. Sands' playing resume includes winning the Texas Collegiate Championships (Waterwood National in 1997) and co-champion of the Crown Colony Intercollegiate in 1997.

Sands was an All-Region player at Jacksonville High School and led his team to a third-place finish at the 4A State Championships in 1992. Sands and his wife, Stephanie, have three sons, Caden, Hudson and Harrison and a daughter, Reese.

The Sands File:

Hired: May 2, 2000
Alma Mater: TCU ('97)
Family: Stephanie (wife), three sons (Caden, Hudson and Harrison) and one daughter (Reese)

NCAA Championships Appearances (13)

2002
2006
2007
2009
2010
2013
2015
2018
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

NCAA Regional Appearances (23)

2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Wins

Team tournament titles: xx
Individual medalists: xx

All-Americans

Ludvig Aberg: 2021 (1st), 2022 (1st), 2023 (1st)
Andrew Dresser: 2006 (3rd)
Nils Floren: 2010 (1st), 2011 (3rd)
Oscar Floren: 2006 (1st); 2007 (HM)
Kyle Hogan: 2020 (HM)
Andy Lopez: 2020 (HM)
Fredrik Nilehn: 2018 (HM)
Ivan Ramirez: 2018 (HM)
Sandy Scott: 2019 (2nd), 2020 (2nd), 2020 (3rd)
Clement Sordet: 2015 (2nd)
Baard Skogen: 2022 (HM), 2024 (HM)
Calum Scott: 2024 (HM)
Chris Ward: 2010 (2nd)

All-Big 12 Golfers

Ludvig Aberg: 2021, 2022, 2023
- 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year
Andrew Dresser: 2004, 2006
Finley Ewing IV: 2013
Nils Floren: 2009, 2010, 2011
Oscar Floren: 2005, 2006, 2007
Garrett Merrell: 2008
Fredrik Nilehn: 2018
- 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year
Matt Smith: 2011
Calum Scott: 2023, 2024
Sandy Scott: 2019
Tyran Snyders: 2024
Clement Sordet: 2015
Chris Ward: 2008, 2010

Academics

xxx
Three Big 12 Scholar Athletes of the Year
- Finley Ewing IV (2013)
- Fredrick Nilehn (2018)
- Kyle Hogan (2021)

Coaching History

Texas Tech (head coach): 2000-present
Texas Tech (assistant coach): 1999-2000
TCU: (graduate assistant): 1997-1999

Playing History

TCU: 1993-97
- Academic All-American
Jacksonville HS (TX)

Name	Title	Phone
Greg Sands	Head Coach	(806) 834-5549
James Vargas	Associate Head Coach
Nathan Weant	Assistant Coach

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