Bio

Jackson Wedgeworth’s starts his third season as assistant coach at his alma mater after having helped lead Gulf Coast to its second team national championship. He was a player on the first Bulldog squad to hoist the trophy in 2018.

The 2023-24 team beat Kirkwood by three shots at Twin Hills Golf Club in Joplin, Mo., to claim the trophy. In addition to breaking the school record for tournament wins, the Bulldogs shot the lowest score in the third round of the NJCAA Gulf District Championship (263) which also set a mark for score to par (25-under). Five different players won medalist honors in that winning streak, and the Bulldogs won their 15^th district/region championship in the last 16 times it’s been contested.

Those five golfers also earned spots on the PING All-American teams. Will Burnham and Andrew Zielinski were named to the First Team, with Peyton Russell on the Second Team. Jackson Wise and Stanley Campbell earned Honorable Mention. Campbell and Russell were named to the five-man All-Freshman Team.

Burnham, who was named a CSC Academic All-American, signed to play at Southern Miss. Zielinski, who was named the CSC Academic All-American of the Year, will continue his career at NCAA DII Lee University. Kyle Davidson will play at NAIA Point University, while Mateo Jiminez will continue his career at NAIA William Carey.

The 2022-23 team swept all six MACCC events before winning the MACCC and NJCAA Gulf District tournaments. They finished fifth at the national championship in Plymouth, Ind. 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.

He led Gulf Coast to its first NJCAA golf team national championship in 2018, capping off a splendid career that boasted 18 top-10 finishes and left his name peppered through the school record book. He was named to the Ping All-American Second Team as a sophomore after winning the Hubert Tucker Award for the lowest scoring average in MACJC events.

At the 2017 NJCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship, Wedgeworth was part of a Gulf Coast squad that led for the first three rounds and well into the fourth. He finished third in the individual standings, but the Bulldogs fell five shots short of the team championship.

The next year, he won the first MACJC tournament and had six top-five finishes, plus four more in the top-10.

During the 2018 national championship, Wedgeworth opened with an even-par 72 that tied him for 10^th, and followed with a 73 that left Gulf Coast nine behind MACJC-rival Meridian in second place.

Wedgeworth helped lead the charge on the third day. His 2-under moved him into a tie for eighth, and in the fourth round he shot 4-under. Gulf Coast surged from two behind Meridian at the start of the final day to edge the Eagles by one for the school’s sixth overall national championship.

Wedgeworth earned NJCAA All-American First Team honors for the second straight year by finishing tied for third. He was also a semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus National NJCAA Player of the Year Award.

He went on to play three seasons at the University of North Alabama, where he was named an All-American Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America and earned All-ASUN Conference Second Team honors in 2021.

Wedgeworth was a three-time ASUN Conference Player of the Week at UNA, and he was medalist at the 2020 Tiger Invitational by Jason Dufner.

In 2023, he advanced to the U.S. Open Final Qualifying with head coach Brad Thornton. Wedgeworth shot 69 in Marksville, La., to earn one of six spots that were allocated for the 111-man field.

Wedgeworth and his wife Ema were married in 2023. He continues to play golf professionally.