Jay Horton - Head Coach - Staff Directory - Iowa State University Athletics

Staff Directory

Jay Horton

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
Phone:
(515) 294-3823

Jay Horton’s dream came true when he was named head men’s golf coach at Iowa State in August of 2000 after spending a season as interim head coach for the men’s golf program. Now in his 11th year as head coach of the ISU men, Horton is revered as one of the best players and instructors in the state of Iowa.

A 1991 graduate of Alabama-Birmingham, Horton became a PGA professional in 1992. While in college, Horton was twice named to the Sun Belt all-conference team. In his final season with the Blazers, Horton won medalist honors at the Sun Belt Conference Championship.

Following graduation, Horton was an assistant professional at Crow Valley Golf Club in Bettendorf, Iowa, for two years before starting a career as a playing professional. Throughout his career, Horton has qualified for two PGA Tour events (1992 and 1998 John Deere Classics) and two Nike Tour events. He was also the record holder at ISU’s Veenker Memorial Golf Course with an 8-under par 64, until one of Horton’s former players, Clark Smith, posted a 63 on Sept. 1, 2003 during a team qualifying round.

In 1995, Horton went back to teaching, accepting the teaching professional position at Brooks Country Club in Okoboji, Iowa. He also spent time traveling the country conducting corporate golf schools for the Tuner Group.

In May of 1999, Horton was hired as an assistant for both the men’s and women’s golf programs at Iowa State. Three months later, Horton was named ISU’s interim men’s golf coach and was later promoted to head coach. In his 10 years as the Cyclone mentor, six Iowa Staters have captured medalist honors. In the fall of 2001, Horton claimed his first team title, winning the Big Four Championship. The Cyclones have won seven tournaments in Horton’s tenure, including back-to-back titles during both the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Under Horton’s guidance, Cyclone Tyler Swanson became the first amateur to make the cut in 32 years at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in 2003. In 2004, Jeremy Lyons became the first Cyclone to earn a postseason appearance under Horton’s watch, qualifying as an individual to the NCAA Central Region. Chris Baker achieved that same honor in 2007-08 during his senior campaign and was Horton’s first golfer to receive first-team all-Big 12 honors. Baker also received all-tournament honors at the 2005 Big 12 Championship and holds ISU’s single season stroke average record. In 2006, Joe Cermak became the first golfer in school history to score three sub-70 rounds in a tournament.

In 2008-09, Horton helped mentor Nate McCoy, who broke ISU’s single-season stroke average mark for a freshman with a 73.83 scoring clip.

For all of the success Horton’s golfers have accomplished on the course, they have matched those achievements in the classroom. The men’s golf program consistently ranks among the top athletic teams at the University, claiming the best men’s team GPA award in each of Horton’s first three seasons. In addition, Horton and ISU have had six academic All-Americans (Aaron Patton, 2000; Kevin Oswald, 2002-03; Greg Stephanson, 2003; Jeremy Lyons, 2003-04; Chris Baker, 2007-08; Rodney Hamblin, 2007).