Kristi Knight - Women's Golf Coach - Kansas State University Athletics

Photo by: Larry Radloff Photography

Kristi Knight

Title:
Head Coach
Phone:
(785) 565-8486

The Knight File

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Hometown: Crockett, Texas
Education: Oklahoma (’88, '93)
Playing Experience: Oklahoma (1985-88)

COACHING HISTORY

1995-2023: K-State Head Coach

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2001 NCAA Regionals
2002 NCAA Regionals
2003 NCAA Regionals
2004 NCAA Regionals
2017 NCAA Regionals
WGCA President (2016-18)

A name synonymous with K-State women’s golf, Kristi Knight led Kansas State from the fall of 1995 until she announced that she was stepping away from the program after the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

“I’m so thankful for my time at K-State and have enjoyed it so much, but it is time for something new for myself and for the program,” Knight said. “I’ve worked with a lot of great people during my tenure. I appreciate Max Urick for giving me the opportunity in 1995, and I have worked for many great athletic directors after Max in Tim Weiser, John Currie and Gene Taylor. Additionally, I appreciate the athletics staff that has had an impact on our program, including Casey Scott, Jamie Hamor and Mindy Hoffman.

“There are a lot of great people at K-State, which is the reason why I’ve stayed for as long as I have,” Knight continued. “I am thankful for all the players I have had the opportunity to coach and for our current associate head coach Jared Helin; he is a great coach and a great person. This is a really special place, and I will always help K-State in any way I can.”

All five program appearances in NCAA Regionals (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2017) and five individual berths came with Knight at the helm. During her tenure, K-State accumulated 71 top-five team finishes, including 47 in the top three and 13 wins. Each of the school’s top-25 team and individual rounds, as well as team and individual 54-hole scores, have come under Knight in addition to the entire top-10 list of team stroke average, highlighted by a school-record 297.30 mark in 2014-15.

Knight coached both Christine Boucher and Connie Jaffrey, who sit atop most of the individual records in K-State history. Boucher finished second in the Big 12 Championship in 2002 – the highest ever for a Wildcat in a conference championship – as she grabbed All-Big 12 Second Team honors. She was named to the first team in 2003, and, in 2004, Boucher was named the Big 12 Player of the Year. Boucher holds the school records for lowest round (64) and lowest 54-hole score (204), both coming at the 2002 Edwin Watts Invitational. She is also first in career wins (6), top-five (21) and top-10 (27) finishes in addition to career events played (48) and career rounds played (131).

Boucher is the only Wildcat in school history to advance to the NCAA Championship as she did so in 2003.

Jaffrey finished her career in 2017-18 as the school's record holder in career stroke average (74.13) and single-season stroke average (72.85 in 2017-18), while she finished second in career wins (4), top-five (9) and top-10 (15) finishes. She earned All-Big 12 honors in 2017-18, was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Month, and she advanced to the postseason twice in her career, doing so with the team in 2017 and as an individual in 2018.

Another Knight pupil, Madison Talley, concluded her time at K-State edging out Boucher for the top career stroke average mark in school history at 74.64 before Jaffrey broke that mark. Talley also held the school record for single-season stroke average at 73.78 in 2014-15 and finished her senior campaign fifth at 74.84. Under Knight’s direction, Talley finished fourth at the 2016 Big 12 Championship, the first time since Boucher in 2004 a Wildcat has finished in the top 10 and subsequently earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Talley also competed as an individual in the 2015 NCAA San Antonio Regional and the 2016 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.

During Knight’s final season, she coached Haley Vargas to an individual bid to the 2023 NCAA San Antonio Regional as Vargas finished third in school history with a 73.90 stroke average.

Not only did Knight helped her players strive for excellence on the golf course, but in the classroom as well as her pupils accumulated 95 Academic All-Big 12 selections in her 27 years at K-State, including a school-record six in 2020 and five more in each 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Knight was also heavily involved with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA – formerly National Golf Coaches Association of America). She was elected to serve on the Awards Committee in 2006, while she later served as the Division I Director. Following a two-year stint as Vice President, Knight completed her two-year appointment as President of the WGCA in 2017-18.

A native of Crockett, Texas, Knight graduated from Norman (Okla.) High School. She played collegiately at Oklahoma from 1985 to 1988, where she was a consistent player for the Sooners, lettering three years. As a senior, Knight was named team co-captain and selected as a Scholastic All-American.

After earning her bachelor’s degree, Knight began working at the prestigious Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond, Oklahoma, and then went on to earn her master’s degree in sports administration from Oklahoma in 1993.