Entering her 17^th full season as head coach of the Santa Clara women’s golf program in 2026-27, Krystal Kelly has led the Broncos to unprecedented heights.

Since Kelly over the reins full-time as head coach ahead of the 2011-12 season, Santa Clara has captured 19 team titles, qualified for the postseason three times, has seen two individuals qualify for the NCAA Championships, finished in the top three at the WCC Championship in four of the last five years, and have shattered nearly every record in the Santa Clara record book.

Kelly’s teams hold every spot of the program’s top 10 single season scoring average record, and they have improved in each of the last three years culminating with the 2025-26 squad owning the program record at 292.17 strokes. Her teams also hold each of the top 10 18-hole and 54-hole scoring records.

Prior to Kelly’s arrival, Santa Clara had never finished an event with a team score at or under par. The Broncos have since finished under par five times with a record of 18-under par at the 2023 Timpanogos Collegiate Invitational.

Under Kelly’s tutelage, 16 different Broncos have earned a total of 19 All-WCC honors since she first took over in spring of 2011. During that time, a total of 17 Broncos have earned NCGA/WGCA All-America Scholar honors with many earning the honor multiple times. The Broncos have had at least one All-America Scholar in each of the last 10 seasons and has had at least three players earn the honor in the last six consecutive seasons.

Two Broncos have won major conference awards under Kelly’s guidance with both Annie Freman and Kelsey Kim winning WCC Freshman of the Year honors in 2013-14 and 2023-24, respectively. Kim, entering her senior season in 2026-27, is already at the top of nearly of individual record in program history, including a program-record 73.44 scoring average.

Meva Schmit, a 2024 graduate, became Kelly’s first former player to play professionally when she earned two professional tour cards for the 2025-26 season for the China LPGA Tour and the WPGA Tour of Australasia.

Beginning in 2022-23, Kelly and her staff set the groundwork for hosting one of the premier tournaments on the west coast – the Silicon Valley Showcase. The annual event has been held at Green Hills Country Club in Millbrae, Calif. in each of the last four years where it has drawn some of the top teams and individuals in collegiate golf.

2025-26

• The Broncos shattered the program record for scoring average at 292.17 strokes per round, besting the previous record set a year earlier of 295.67 strokes.
• SCU finished in the top five in eight of their 10 events played, including a team victory at the season-opening Kalispel Invitational.
• Three individuals (Kelsey Kim, Chloe Lam and Audrey Brust) posted three of top four scoring averages in program history.
• Kim had one of the finest individual seasons in program history as she set a program-record stroke average of 71.64 while shattering the previous program record of rounds under par (9) with 16 on the year. She also Tied the program record for both top 20 finishes (10) and tied for the second-most top 10 finishes (8).
• Kim became just the third player in program history to qualify for a NCAA Regional. She also earned All-WCC honors.
• SCU took third place at the WCC Championship for the third-straight year, and set a new program record at the event at 22-over par. Alexa Pineda shot even par individually, the lowest in program history at the event, to take fourth place and earn honorable mention All-WCC honors.

• Second-lowest scoring average in program history (295.67)
• Four top-three finishes, including three-straight events at the end of the season.
• Won the 2025 GolfWeek National Golf Invitational (NGI) – the program’s first-ever postseason victory.
• Took third at the WCC Championship for the third time over the last four years. Set the program record at the tournament for an individual team round (2-under 286) and had the second-best 54-hole team score (24-over 888).
• Freshman Chloe Lam earned All-WCC honors after tying for 5^th at the WCC Championship.
• Four Broncos tallied scoring averages that rank top-15 in program history: Kelsey Kim (73.88), Lam (74.37), Audrey Brust (74.52) and Amy Im (74.55).

• Qualified for the GolfWeek NGI for the second-straight year and finished in third place.
• Shattered the program’s 54-hole total with an 18-under 846 in the season-opening UVU Timpanogos Collegiate Invitational.
• Also at Timpanogos, the team shattered both the records for an individual round (12-under 276 in the second round) and 36 holes at 12-under 546.
• SCU finished runner-up at the Timpanogos Collegiate as one of two top-three finishes in the fall. In total, they had four top-three finishes over the course of the season.
• Finished third at the WCC Championship.
• Meva Schmit earned All-WCC honors while Kelsey Kim was the program’s second-ever WCC Freshman of the Year.

• Hosted the Silicon Valley Showcase for the first time.
• Earned a postseason invite for the first time in program history. Finished fifth at the 2023 GolfWeek NGI.
• Also finished fifth at the WCC Championship.

• After dealing with issues surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic for both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, the Broncos had a fantastic comeback season by setting a then-program record scoring average of 297.47 strokes.
• Won two team titles – Wyoming Cowgirl Classic and Bobcat Desert Classic.
• Posted three runner-up finishes, and took third at the WCC Championship.
• Senior Claire Choi won individual medalist honors at both the events the team also won and finished the year with one of the top scoring averages in program history at 74.03 strokes.
• Choi and freshman Borina Sutikto (74.07 strokes) both earned All-WCC honors.

• Set a then-program record scoring average of 298.97 strokes.
• Posted six top-three finishes, including a victory at the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational.
• Sarah Busey and Emily Sumner earned All-WCC honors with Busey posting a then-program record average of 73.43 strokes per round.

• Won two events – Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate and Cal Poly Invitational.
• Kristin Le won medalist honors for the third time of her career, doing so at the Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate.

• Once again matched the program record of three team victories, doing so in three consecutive tournaments – Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate, Lady Mustang Invitational and SCU Colby Invitational.
• Kristin Le earned her second of two All-WCC honors after leading the team in scoring at 74.51 strokes, and became just the second player in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships (Mike Ueoka, 2009).
• Le captured the second individual title of her career at the Lady Mustang Invitational while senior Annie Freman put a cap on her incredible career by winning medalist honors for a program-record sixth time, doing so at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.

• The Broncos tied the program record of three team victories – SCU Colby Invitational, Matador Invitational and Battle at the Rock.
• Annie Freman earned All-WCC honors for the second time and won two individual titles (Fresno State Classic and Wyoming Cowgirl Classic) while Kristin Le won medalist honors for the first time at the Battle at the Rock.
• Ashley Noda was the fourth Bronco to win an individual title, doing so at the SCU Colby Invitational.

• Won the Firestone Grill Cal Poly Invitational.
• Kristen Le earned the first of two All-WCC accolades at season’s end.

• Set a program record with three team victories – Boise State Bronco Invitational, SCU Colby Invitational and Grand Canyon Spring Invitational (co-champs).
• SCU battled back from six shots back on the second day to capture the 36-hole SCU Colby Invitational.
• The Broncos finished in the top-five seven times out of 11 tournaments played. They took third place at the WCC Championship
• Three players earned All-WCC honors – Annie Freman, Taylor Camany (honorable mention) and Monique Riley (honorable mention).
• Freman tied the program record for individual wins in a season with three victories – SCU Colby Invitational, Firestone Grill Cal Poly Invitational and Wyoming Cowgirl Classic (co-medalist).
• Kaci McCartan also won medalist honors, doing so at the Boise State Bronco Classic.

• With a roster that included four freshmen and just one senior, the Broncos posted seven top-10 finishes over their 10 events.
• All five players, including three freshmen, placed inside the top-20 at the WCC Championship.
• Balbina Guajardo earned All-WCC honors.

• Kelly’s first full season as head coach.
• The Broncos wasted no time making waves under the new leadership, capturing a pair of team titles in the fall – SCU Colby Invitational and Lamkin Grip Cal Poly Invitational. Both tournaments also saw Broncos win individual titles – Taylor Camany (Colby Invitational) and Balbina Guajardo (Lamkin Grip).
• Camany earned All-WCC honors.

• Following Polly Schulze’s resignation, Kelly got her first chance at being a head coach as she was named the program’s leader on Feb. 8, 2011.
• She guided the team over the spring season with three players earned All-WCC honors at season’s end (Mike Ueoka, Taylor Camany (HM) and Tamara Surtees (HM).

• Prior to coming to Santa Clara as an assistant coach in 2009, Kelly played professionally from 2006-08. She was named the California Tour ‘Player of the Year’ in 2007 after leading the tour’s money list.
• Graduated from UCLA with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology in 2004.
• Was an outstanding collegiate golfer with the Bruins as both an All-American and NCAA Champion.
• She and her husband, Matt, have a son, Kole.