Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Men’s golf associate head coach Dustin Groves was named the winner 2026 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award presented by TaylorMade Golf Company on Thursday. He is the first Cavalier assistant to win the award and the fifth ACC assistant ever to claim the prestigious national honor.
The Strickland Award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, or NJCAA assistant coach that, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom. Groves and Troy Nielsen of Cal State San Bernadino (non-D-I) will be honored with their awards during the 2026 Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) National Convention at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas December 8-10.
Tony Markel Family Men’s Golf Head Coach, Bowen Sargent, was a previous winner of the award as an assistant at Tennessee in 2004. Virginia is the only program in the country with two Jan Strickland Award recipients on staff.
“I’m incredibly honored to receive the Division I Jan Strickland Award and grateful to the committee for this opportunity,” said Groves. “To be mentioned alongside past winners and this year’s finalists, who are all deserving, means a great deal.”
If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!
Groves was hired as assistant coach at Virginia in August 2022 and promoted to Associate Head Coach at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. Since Groves’ arrival, Virginia has experienced the most successful three-year stretch in program history (2023-2026). The Cavaliers are the only men’s Division I program to reach NCAA Championship Match Play each of the last three seasons. During this span, they captured the program’s first ACC Championship and finished as NCAA Championship Runner-Up in 2025. Virginia secured their second consecutive ACC Championship on April 27.
Ranked inside the top three in every Scoreboard Powered by Clippd ranking so far this season, the Cavaliers have compiled nine top-two finishes with six victories and will be the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Bermuda Run Regional May 18-20. They have been led by four players ranked inside the top 50 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), including No. 2 Ben James who is also the top-ranked PGA Tour University golfer.
FROM TONY MARKEL FAMILY HEAD COACH BOWEN SARGENT
“I’m happy for Dustin for winning the Jan Strickland Award, obviously very a well-deserved honor. For a couple of years, Dustin has garnered the attention of many of his peers as one of the best assistants in the business. His depth of knowledge as a former player and teacher has helped our program ascend to new heights, culminating in our first of two ACC Championships and an NCAA Runner-Up finish last year. He’s been invaluable to our program and we owe a lot of our success over the past four years to his constant dedication to Virginia golf. I’m certain the Jan Strickland Award will help him in the next step of being a head coach.”
ALL-TIME DIVISION I RECIPIENTS
2026 – Dustin Groves, Virginia
2025 – Thomas Sutton, Arizona State
2024 – Chris Williams, Auburn
2023 – Dudley Hart, Florida
2022 – Matt Clark, North Carolina
2021 – Bill Allcorn, Oklahoma
2020 – Jean-Paul Hebert, Texas
2019 – Armen Kirakossian, Arizona State
2018 – Corey Maggard, Auburn
2017 – Ryan Blagg, Baylor
2016 – Andrew DiBitetto, North Carolina
2015 – John Handrigan, Florida
2014 – Chris Hill, Houston
2013 – Ryan Murphy, Texas
2012 – Jim Anderson, Texas A&M
2011 – Christian Newton, Georgia Tech
2010 – Michael Burcin, South Carolina
2009 – Brian Sharp, Virginia Tech
2008 – Walter Chun, California
2007 – Andy Bischel, UNLV
2006 – John Knauer, Arizona
2005 – Greg Robertson, Purdue
2004 – Bowen Sargent, Tennessee
2003 – Mike McGraw, Oklahoma State
If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!
