Sonoma State University Athletics

The 2022-23 season will be the 20th year for head men's and women's golf coach Val Verhunce since starting with Sonoma State back in 2004. Verhunce has led the men's golf program to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 9 straight dating back to their 2022 appearance in the west regional. Last year Verhunce added another piece of hardware to his collection as the men were crowned CCAA Tournament champions, making it the program's third title, all under Verhunce.  

Verhunce has led the men's program to a combined 15 NCAA Tournament appearances and 8 NCAA Championship appearances, coaching 8 student-athletes to 14 All-American honors, including one who earned the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award twice in his career (Jarin Todd). 

On the women's side, Verhunce has guided the Seawolves to 10 NCAA Regional qualifications and 3 NCAA Championship showings, as well as coaching a four-time All-American in Spencer Heller, who was just the third student-athlete in the history of Sonoma State to earn the All-America distinction four times.

Val Verhunce will look to get the women's team back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The 2014-15 season saw both the men's and women's teams advancing to the national championship for just the second time in the same season.    

In 2009, he became just the third coach in Sonoma State history to win a national championship, joining Peter Reynaud (women’s soccer, 1990) and Marcus Ziemer (men’s soccer, 2002).

The 2008 CCAA and West Region Coach of the Year, Verhunce wasted little time turning Sonoma State golf into a national power.  The squad made the regionals in its third year, won the region in its fifth season, and the national title in its sixth, capping off an unprecedented rise to the top of the sport.

Perennially ranked among the top teams in the nation, the Sonoma State men have already had five players earn a total of 11 All-American honors since 2006 and Jarin Todd, a senior on the 2009 national champion team, was a two-time Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the national player of the year.

A PGA Professional with over 25 years of experience and a Class “A” member of the Professional Golfers Association of America, Verhunce has supported golfers in realizing their goals along in addition to providing them with a high level of motivation.

The former men’s head golf coach at St. Vincent’s High School in Petaluma, Verhunce, a proven team player and leader is currently operating at Adobe Creek CC, and Peacock Gap. Verhunce is the owner and director of instruction for the Val Verhunce Golf Improvement Centers. Prior to that, he was the director of instruction at Rooster Run.

An active player in the NCPGA Section and various Pro-Am’s, and a winner of several NCPGA sanctioned events, Verhunce was a collegiate golfer at Texas Wesleyan University and the University of South Florida. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing and currently lives in Santa Rosa with his wife and two kids.

Men's Yearly Record

*NCAA Division II Tournament Appearance
^NCAA Division II Champions
 

Women's Yearly Records

*NCAA Division II Tournament Appearance