Bio

In two seasons leading the storied Gulf Coast golf program, Brad Thornton’s Bulldogs have finished in the top five at the national tournament twice. His team is coming off a record-breaking season which saw them finish fifth in Plymouth, Ind.

The 2022-23 team set a school record with 11 tournament victories, including claiming the 14^th district/region championship in the last 15 times it’s been contested. The Bulldogs swept all six MACCC events before winning the MACCC and NJCAA Gulf District tournaments. Chase Kaiser, who won a record-tying five tournaments as well as the CSC Academic All-American of the Year, signed with NCAA Division I North Alabama, and Alessio Graziani signed with NAIA William Carey.

Kaiser earned PING All-American First Team honors, with Will Burnham on the Second Team. Burnham and Andrew Zielinski were on the All-Freshman squad. Kaiser, Burnham and Graziani won NJCAA All-American honors.

In his first season in charge, Thornton led Gulf Coast to a national runner-up finish in his first season in charge. He took over the Bulldogs is 2021 after five seasons as an assistant coach. The former NJCAA All-American has now been a Bulldog as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach. 

Gulf Coast battled back from a slow start on Day 1 in Joplin, Mo., to win a sudden-death playoff with Tyler to claim second place at the 2022 NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship.

Thornton was the MACJC Championship medalist in 2012, the year he made the NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention list. He participated in two national championships at Gulf Coast, then another while playing for NCAA Division II Delta State.

In 2023, Thornton came within three shots of qualifying for the US Open. He and assistant coach Jackson Wedgeworth made it through Local Qualifying, and Thornton was within three shots of earning a spot in Final Qualifying near Atlanta.

He was a key part of Gulf Coast’s two national championships. In 2017, he walked all 72 holes at the NJCAA Championship as an assistant coach with Colin Troxler. Troxler topped the individual leaderboard to win medalist, and the Bulldogs nearly won the team title.

The next year, he spent the final two rounds of the national championship in Foley, Ala., with Carter Nicholson. His splendid play helped Gulf Coast close out its first team title. Gulf Coast won that national title with five Mississippians who beat the best teams in the country.

Thornton earned a bachelor’s degree at Delta State and a master’s at William Carey. He has been teaching at Stone High, and his golf team there has qualified for the state tournament both years.

He and his wife Krystyn have a 4-year-old daughter named Lily Kate and a 2-year-old son named Todd.