Jeff Thomas was named the third head coach in the history of the Liberty University golf program on June 14, 2004, replacing long-time head coach Frank Landrey who retired from his position in May 2004.

Since taking over the program, Thomas has transformed Liberty golf into one of the true programs on the rise in collegiate golf. He has guided the Flames to nine conference titles (in three difference conferences), 14 NCAA Regional appearances, an NCAA Regional title in 2012 and four team trips to the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship (2012, 2019, 2021 and 2022). Additionally, he coached an NCAA Regional medalist who individually earned a spot at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship.

Thomas has instructed some of the best talent to ever step foot on the golf course for the Flames. He has coached six All-Americans, 14 players who earned 26 PING All-Region honors, eight players who have qualified for the U.S. Amateur, two players who quailed for the U.S. Open as collegiate amateurs and five conference Player of the Year honorees.

Thomas’ ability to help mold collegiate players into their best on the course has been well documented. He is a four-time conference Coach of the Year (Big South: 2010, 2011, 2018; Conference USA: 2024), six-time VaSID State Coach of the Year (2011, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022) and twice been a finalist for the Dave Williams Award (2011 and 2012).

The golf team has rewritten the program’s record book under Thomas’ leadership. Liberty has won 24 of the program’s 34 Division I team tournaments victories with Thomas as head coach.

Thomas’ teams have worked just as hard in the classroom as on the golf course. Under his direction, 22 Liberty golfers have earned GCAA/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars accolades and 12 times Liberty has been named to the GCAA All-Academic Team list (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026).

Thomas joined the Flames' golf coaching staff during the 2001-02 season as an assistant coach and quickly made an impact. The Flames made Liberty Athletics history in 2003, when Liberty was selected as an at-large team for the NCAA Regionals for the first time in school history. Golf became the first Liberty Athletics program to receive an at-large team bid to any NCAA Championship event.

The Flames made significant strides during the 2005-06 season, Thomas’ second at the helm of the program. Liberty claimed two tournament titles under Thomas, plus he led the Flames back to the NCAA Regionals as an at-large team at the NCAA East Regional in Orlando, Fla.

Thomas individually helped a pair of golfers earn NCAA postseason experience in 2009 and 2010. Robert Karlsson, a two-time NCAA Regional at-large invite (2009 and 2010), was joined by Max McKay at the 2010 NCAA East Regional, where both golfers posted Top 25 finishes at the event hosted by Yale in New Haven, Conn. McKay carded a one-under par 209 to finish tied for 16th place, becoming the eighth golfer in Big South history to finish a NCAA Regional event with a sub-par score.

Thomas brought to an end a seven-year stranglehold on the Big South Conference title by Coastal Carolina in 2011. His Flames capped off an impressive season, winning the program’s first-ever conference title by 31 strokes and posting the second-lowest 54-hole championship total in the event’s history (eight-under par 856).

The victory earned Liberty a trip to the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Ariz., for the NCAA Arizona Regional, the program’s third Regional appearance and second under Thomas. Liberty was the No. 5 seed for the three-day, 54-hole event, the program’s highest Regional seeding.

The Flames repeated as Big South champions in 2012, posting a conference championship record score of 20-under par 844 to win by 10 strokes over Coastal Carolina.

Liberty’s second Big South title in a row earned the Flames a much closer postseason trip, as the Flames were the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Greensboro Regional in Greensboro, N.C. The Flames continued their strong play and claimed the title on the East Course at the Grandover Resort, besting Florida by three strokes and No. 1 seed Auburn by six strokes.

Liberty’s NCAA Regional title earned the Flames a trip to the famed Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., the program’s first-ever appearance at the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship. Thomas’ program made the most of their rookie national championship experience, finishing in tenth place, one shot shy of advancing to the match play portion of the event.

Thomas guided the Flames to a third-straight NCAA Regional appearance in 2013, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Fayetteville Regional. The Flames were the No. 7 seed at the event hosted at The Blessings Golf Course in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Flames returned to the winner’s circle twice during the 2013-14 season, including a third Big South Men’s Golf Championship title. Liberty made its fourth-straight NCAA Regional appearance as the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Eugene Regional contested at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

Thomas helped continue Liberty’s NCAA Regional run during the 2014-15 season when Big South Freshman of the Year Isaiah Logue individually qualified for postseason play. Logue, the third golfer in program history to compete individually at an NCAA Regional, participated in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional at the UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Flames won their fourth Big South title under Thomas during the 2015-16 season, winning by 12 strokes over Campbell. Liberty's 11-under par 853 is the team's second-best total at a Big South Men's Golf Championship event and earned the Flames a trip to the NCAA Albuquerque Regional.

Liberty finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 49 in the final Golfstat national rankings, spending each week of the season in the top-50 national rankings. The Flames spotlighted the run with a No. 22 ranking on Oct. 22.

Following a second-place finish at the 2017 Big South Men's Golf Championship, the Flames earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Regional. Liberty was the No. 8 seed at the NCAA Austin Regional, which was contested at the University of Texas Golf Club (par 71, 7,355 yards) in Austin, Texas, May 15-17.
Thomas helped Liberty capture its fifth Big South title in eight seasons when the Flames won the conference championship by a 19-stroke margin of victory over second-place Campbell.

The Flames finished the year ranked No. 42 in the final Golfstat rankings. Liberty posted six top-three team finishes in 2017-18, including a first-place finish at the Oregon's Duck Invitational and the Big South Men's Golf Championship. The Flames wrapped up their season at the NCAA Raleigh Regional in Raleigh, N.C., the team’s seventh NCAA Regional appearance in the last eight years.

During the Flames’ five-year run as a member of the ASUN Conference (2018-23), Liberty captured a pair of conference titles in 2021 and 2023, while making three-straight appearances at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship (2019, 2021 and 2022 – no national championship in 2020).

Liberty won the 2023 ASUN Conference Championship in dominate fashion, putting its name in the conference record book with a 53-under par 811 (275-261-275). Individually, Jonathan Yaun claimed conference medalist honors with a conference record 18-under par 198 (68-63-67).

During this same timeframe, Liberty qualified for three-straight NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. Liberty finished in fifth place at the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional in Athens, Ga., fourth place at the 2021 NCAA Tallahassee Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., and fifth place at the 2022 NCAA Stockton Regional in Stockton, Calif.

During the Flames first season as a member of Conference USA in 2024, Liberty kicked off its run in another conference by claiming the conference title in dramatic fashion. Liberty finished in third place of the stroke-play portion of the championship, rallied to post a semifinal victory over Sam Houston and pushed UTEP into extra holes where they ultimately claimed the conference title on the fifth playoff hole of the championship round.

Two years later, Thomas guided the Flames to a second Conference USA title 2026 when the Flames rallied in stroke play followed by two convincing victories in match play. Liberty rolled to a dominating 4-1 victory over New Mexico State during the morning semifinal match before securing the title with a 3.5-1.5 victory over UTEP in the afternoon championship session.

The victory put the Flames back in NCAA Regional play where Liberty finished tied for fifth place at the NCAA Corvallis Regional in Corvallis, Ore. Liberty would lose in a playoff to No. 42 San Diego for the final team spot to the national championship. However, sophomore Michael Lugiano finished as the NCAA Regional medalist and would go to record a 47^th place finish at the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship.

During his playing career at Liberty, Thomas was a four-year member of the Flames' golf program (1992-95) and graduated from Liberty in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in business management. During his days on Liberty Mountain as a player, Thomas helped continue the growth of the program, including a pair of team tournament championships during the 1994-95 season (Davis and Elkins Tournament and the Liberty/Water’s Edge Classic).

Prior to coming to Liberty, Thomas served as an instructional professional at River Hills Country Club in Tampa, Fla., and Walden Lake Golf and Country Club in Plant City, Fla. He also served as the head professional at Poplar Forest Golf Club in Forest, Va., where he and his wife, Heidi, currently reside with their three daughters, Molly, Madeline and Mia.

Coaching Awards/Honors:
2010 Big South Coach of the Year
2011 Big South Coach of the Year
2011 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year
2011 Dave Williams Award finalist (presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America)
2012 Dave Williams Award finalist (presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America)
2012 Virginia State Golf Coaches Association Coach of the Year
2013 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year
2018 Big South Coach of the Year
2018 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year
2018 Virginia State Golf Coaches Association Coach of the Year
2019 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year
2021 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year
2022 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year
2024 Conference USA Coach of the Year

Conference Championships (9):
2011 Big South Conference Champions
2012 Big South Conference Champions
2014 Big South Conference Champions
2016 Big South Conference Champions
2018 Big South Conference Champions
2021 ASUN Conference Champions
2023 ASUN Conference Champions
2024 Conference USA Champions
2026 Conference USA Champions

NCAA Regional Appearances (14):
2006 NCAA East Regional
2011 NCAA Arizona Regional
2012 NCAA Greensboro Regional (Team Champions)
2013 NCAA Fayetteville Regional
2014 NCAA Eugene Regional
2016 NCAA Albuquerque Regional
2017 NCAA Austin Regional
2018 NCAA Raleigh Regional
2019 NCAA Athens Regional
2021 NCAA Tallahassee Regional
2022 NCAA Stockton Regional
2023 NCAA Bath Regional
2024 NCAA Stanford Regional
2026 NCAA Corvallis Regional

NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship Appearances (5):
Team
2012 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship (10th place)
2019 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship (20th place)
2021 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship (21st place)
2022 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship (26th place)
Individual
2026 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship (Michael Lugiano – T47 place)

Name	Title	Email Address	Phone	Twitter	Instagram
Jeff Thomas	Head Golf Coach	jthomas5@liberty.edu
Logan Reese	Assistant Coach	lrreese1@liberty.edu

2026-27 Men's Golf Coaching Staff

Coaching Staff