Steve Bradley Named Head Men's Golf Coach at Mercer
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 | Men's Golf
Steve Bradley, an assistant men's golf coach at Florida for the past three seasons, has been named the head men's golf coach at Mercer University, the school announced in a press conference yesterday.
Bradley, a member of the UF golf team from 1997-99 under head coach Buddy Alexander, had a strong three seasons coaching the Orange and Blue, leading the Gators to three trips to the NCAA Championships and an SEC title in 2011.
2010-11 was an impressive season for Bradley and the Gators as they captured their first SEC Championship since 2003 and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 11th consecutive season. Florida also recorded victories in four additional tournaments, including its ninth-consecutive Gator Invitational and the NCAA Southeast Regional. Additionally, the Gators saw three players, Bank Vongvanij, Andres Echavarria and Phillip Choi, combine to take home six individual medalist honors. Vongvanij, Echavarria and Choi were also First Team All-SEC Honorees and PING All-Americans. For his strong efforts in coaching the Gators, Bradley was a finalist for the Jan Strickland award, given to the nation's top assistant.
Bradley helped lead the Gators to their 10th straight NCAA Championships to cap the 2009-10 season. The Gators posted two tournament wins and finished in the top-five in eight of their 13 tournaments. Under Bradley's tutelage, Tyson Alexander and Echavarria both earned their first individual tournament wins of their respective careers.
In his first year as an assistant coach at Florida, Bradley helped lead the Gators to the NCAA Championship after claiming the title at the NCAA Southwest Regional. The Gators had eight top-five finishes on the season, including three tournament wins. They defended their title at the Gator Invitational for the sixth-straight year and won the inaugural Golden Ocala Collegiate.
The Gators were also successful in the classroom during Bradley's tenure, as 12 UF golfers were named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, led by Vonvanij, who was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's golf in 2010 and 2011.
Bradley, a former captain of the men's golf team at UF, transferred from Florida State in 1997 and spent two seasons with the Gators before graduating in 1999. He had two top-10 finishes during his senior year and helped lead the Gators to the SEC Championship title in 1999. He was named a second-team All-SEC performer during his junior year in 1997-98. His best collegiate finish came as runner-up at the 1998 Morris Williams Intercollegiate.
Before transferring to UF, Bradley led Florida State with five top-20 finishes during his sophomore year. As an amateur, Bradley won the 1996 Florida State Amateur title and qualified for the 1994 U.S. Amateur.
He is originally from Ocala, where he was an All-State selection at Forest High School and led his team to the 1994 Florida State Championship.
