Kansas State University Athletics

Women's Golf Tradition

6

NCAA Regional Appearances

20

Team tournament wins in program history

26

Individual championships in program history

288.13

Team scoring average record set in 2024-25

The 2024-25 season marks the 44th season of women's golf at K-State and the third under head coach Stew Burke, a former K-State assistant coach who spent the previous four seasons as the head coach at Tulane. Burke, who was the 2022 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year at Tulane, originally joined K-State in the spring of 2014 and worked in Manhattan through the fall of 2016. He then served parts of three seasons as the associate head coach at USC before taking over the Tulane program in the fall of 2019.

All Burke has done over his first two seasons is guide the program to its first NCAA Championship appearance in 2025, set and then reset the school's team scoring average record, presided over three team championships and seven individual championships, produce the school's first First Team All-American in Carla Bernat and the school's first individual conference champion in Sophie Bert.

Under Burke, Bernat left Kansas State with the career scoring average record (70.44) and both the first- (70.08 in 2024-25) and second-place (70.90 in 2023-24) marks for single-season scoring average, in addition to ranking second in career wins (5), top-five (14) and top-10 (16) finishes. 

In April of 2025, Bernat also captured the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateur title with an impressive 72-hole score of 12-under par 204, the first player in the history of the event to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds.

Burke worked under Kristi Knight, who spent 27 seasons at the helm of the Wildcat Women's Golf program. She came to K-State as the school's first full-time women's golf coach in the fall of 1995 after playing at the University of Oklahoma and led the Wildcats to 13 collegiate wins. Each of the school’s top-25 team and individual rounds as well as team and individual 54-hole scores came under Knight in addition to every team and individual record in program history.

The best players in school history played under Knight as, in her first season, Trisha Hoover finished in a tie for eighth place at the 1996 Big Eight Championships and became K-State's first all-conference women's golfer.

In the early 2000s, the program ascended to new heights, advancing to four straight NCAA Regionals from 2001-2004. Christine Boucher, one of the most accomplished golfers in school history, was a key peace to this historic run. Boucher finished second in the Big 12 Conference Championship in 2002, the highest ever for a Wildcat in a conference championship and grabbed Second Team All-Big 12 honors. She was named to the first team in 2003, and in 2004 Boucher was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year. Boucher is the only Wildcat to ever advance to an NCAA championship finals, doing so in 2003.

Recent years have seen the Wildcats recapture some of that success. In 2014-15, K-State captured two team tournament titles, their first team wins since 2004, and also produced two individual tournament wins. Capping off the year was sophomore Madison Talley's selection to the 2015 NCAA Regionals as she became the first player in program history to earn an individual bid to a NCAA Regional.

In 2015-16, the Wildcats produced a 297.31 team stroke average, which was the second best in school history and narrowly missed tying the 297.30 average K-State produced the year prior. The Wildcats also recorded four of the top 10 team rounds in school history in 2015-16, while they registered six of the top 20 54-hole scores, including an 861 at the Westbrook Invitational to rank second in school history.

Individually in 2015-16, Talley earned her second-straight NCAA Regional berth and narrowly missed the cut for the NCAA Championship when she tied for 12th. That came on the heels of finishing fourth in the 2016 Big 12 Championship, the first time since 2004 a Wildcat finished in the top 10 of the conference tournament and subsequently earn a spot on the All-Big 12 Tournament Team. Talley also attacked the record books as she fired a 5-under par 66 in the second round of the Schooner Classic to rank second in school history, which was one of six new individual rounds to rank in the top 15 in school history. The Wildcats also had six 54-hole score added to the top 10 in school history during 2015-16.

The next year saw more team success as the Wildcats earned a bid to the 2017 NCAA Athens (Ga.) Regional after earning two team victories. The Wildcats also had two team wins in 2017-18, while Connie Jaffrey had a pair of individual wins en route to an individual bid to the NCAA Madison Regional. Much like Talley, Jaffrey left K-State with many high marks, owning a 74.13 career stroke average to rank first in school history, while she earned a 72.85 mark in 2017-18 to also set the school record. Jaffrey also left with five of the top 10 lowest individual rounds and seven of the top 10 lowest 54-hole scores.

Most recently, Haley Vargas earned an individual bid into the 2023 NCAA San Antonio Regional, the first Wildcat to compete in the postseason since Jaffrey did so in 2018.

LETTERWINNERS

K-State Women's Golf has produced many letterwinners in its brief history, including Wildcat legends Carla Bernat (above), Christine Boucher and Connie Jaffrey.

COACHES

Head coach Stew Burke and assistant coach Rinko Mitsunaga enter their third season at K-State in 2025-26.

 20 Team Championships Since 1981

  • Spring 2025 /// MountainView Collegiate
  • Fall 2024 /// Powercat Invitational
  • Fall 2023 /// White Sands Invitational
  • Fall 2019 /// Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Fall 2017 /// Trinity Forest Invitational
  • Fall 2017 /// Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Spring 2017 /// Westbrook Invitational
  • Fall 2016 /// Chip-N Club Invitational
  • Fall 2014 /// Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate
  • Fall 2014 /// Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Spring 2004 /// Texas A&M Mo'Morial
  • Fall 2003 /// Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Fall 2002 /// Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Spring 2002 /// MountainView Collegiate
  • Fall 2001 /// Sunflower Showdown
  • Fall 1996 /// Northern Iowa Classic
  • Spring 1993 /// Southwest Missouri State Invitational
  • Fall 1991 /// Shocker Fall Classic
  • Spring 1988 /// Kansas State/Pepsi Classic
  • Spring 1987 /// Southwest Missouri State Invitational

 26 Individual Championships Since 1981

  • Carla Bernat /// 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional
  • Sophie Bert /// 2025 Big 12 Championship
  • Carla Bernat /// 2025 MountainView Collegiate
  • Carla Bernat /// 2024 Powercat Invitational
  • Carla Bernat /// 2024 Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
  • Haley Vargas /// 2023 White Sands Invitational
  • Carla Bernat /// 2023 Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Reid Isaac /// 2020 Schooner Fall Classic
  • Niamh McSherry /// 2019 Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Reid Isaac /// 2017 Trinity Forest Invitational
  • Connie Jaffrey /// 2017 Maryb S. Kauth Invitational
  • Connie Jaffrey /// 2017 Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational
  • Connie Jaffrey /// 2016 Greenville Regional Preview
  • Olivia Eliasson /// 2014 Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate
  • Connie Jaffrey /// 2014 Johnie Imes Invitational
  • Michelle Regan /// 2007 Bronco Fall Invitational
  • Helene Robert /// 2005 Marilynn Smtih Sunflower Invitational
  • Christine Boucher /// 2004 Texas A&M Mo'Morial
  • Christine Boucher /// 2003 Price's Give 'Em Five
  • Christine Boucher /// 2003 Chip-N Club Invitational
  • Christine Boucher /// 2003 Mountain View Collegiate
  • Christine Boucher /// 2002 Edwin Watts Invitational
  • Christine Boucher /// 2001 Mo'Morial Invitational
  • Elise Carpentier /// 2001 MountainView Collegiate
  • Carrie Chambers /// 1996 Northern Iowa Classic
  • Jill Zientara /// 1988 Kansas State/Pepsi Classic

All-Time Individual Rounds

Score Par Player Date Event (Round)
1. 63 72 Sophie Bert 2/23/25 Westbrook Invitational (3rd)
2. 64 72 Christine Boucher 11/5/02 Edwin Watts Invitational (3rd)
3. 65 70 Noa van Beek 9/20/25 Schooner Fall Classic (2nd)
65 70 Stalee Fields 9/20/25 Schooner Fall Classic (2nd)
65 72 Carla Bernat 2/24/25 Westbrook Invitational (3rd)
65 70 Reid Isaac 9/27/20 Schnooner Fall Classic (2nd)
65 72 Ella Adams 2/25/18 Westbrook Invitational (1st)

All-Time Lowest Individual 54-Hole Scores

Score Player Date Event
1. 70-68-66--204 Carla Bernat 5/5-7/25 NCAA Lexington Regional
72-63-69--204 Sophie Bert 2/23-24/25 Westbrook Invitational
67-73-64--204 Christine Boucher 11/4-5/02 Edwin Watts Invitational
4. 70-68-67--205 Carla Bernat 3/2-4/25 MountainView Collegiate
70-65-70--205 Reid Isaac 9/27-28/20 Schooner Fall Classic

All-Time Lowest Team Rounds

Score Event Date Round
1. 269 Schooner Fall Classic 9/23/24 2
2. 274 Schooner Fall Classic 9/20/25 2
274 Westbrook Invitational 2/23/25 2
4. 275 Westbrook Invitational 2/24/25 3
5. 277 Rainbow Wahine Invitational 10/22/24 2
277 Ron Moore Intercollegiate 10/5/24 2
277 Westbrook Invitational 2/25/24 2
277 Bruzzy Challenge 4/1/19 1

All-Time Lowest Team 54-Hole Scores

Score Event Date Place
1. 285-274-281--840 Schooner Fall Classic 9/20-21/25 7th
291-274-275--840 Westbrook Invitational 2/23-24/25 3rd
283-277-280--840 Westbrook Invitational 2/25-26/24 6th
4. 287-277-280--844 Rainbow Wahine Invitational 10/21-23/24 2nd
5. 287-277-284--848 Ron Moore Intercollegiate 10/4-6/24 2nd

Full K-State Women's Golf All-Time Records