Mason Banger Named Men's Golf Assistant Coach
July 03, 2023 | Men's Golf
LOS ANGELES – UCLA Men's Golf Head Coach Armen Kirakossian named Mason Banger as his assistant coach on Monday morning.
"I am very pleased to welcome Mason Banger to the Bruin Family," Kirakossian said. "Mason is ready to get to work and help elevate UCLA golf back to the national stage. He has built a great reputation for being a high-character, hard-working and caring coach. Mason is going to make a large positive impact on our guys both as players and men. Welcome to Westwood Mason and Caroline Banger."
Banger arrives to Westwood with three and a half seasons of NCAA Division I and II coaching experience. Most recently, Banger spent Spring 2022 and the entire 2022-2023 season at Abilene Christian where he helped the Wildcats to the 2022 Western Athletic Conference Championship in their first year in the new league. It was also Abilene Christian's first men's golf conference title as a Division I program.
"I am excited to be joining Coach Kirakossian and the UCLA golf team," Banger said. "UCLA is steeped in athletic tradition and it has been a dream of mine to coach at the highest level in collegiate athletics. I am looking forward to adding value to a program that is continuing to climb back to its rightful place in college golf. Armen has a fantastic vision for the program. I could not be happier to have the opportunity to work under one of the top coaches in the country."
The Wildcats finished 2021-2022 with a 10th-place finish in the NCAA Stockton Regional. Abilene Christian placed eighth at the 2023 WAC Championship after graduating five key members from the previous season's squad.
Prior to Abilene Christian, Banger coached the 2020-2021 season at Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns posted four top 5 finishes, including a season-best runner-up placement at the Louisiana Classics on their home course at Oakbourne Country Club.
In the 2018-2019 campaign, Banger served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Harding University (Division II) where he understudied head coach Dustin Howell who has led the Bisons' men's golf program for 15 seasons as of 2023.
Banger competed at Harding from 2014-2018, setting the program career record for wins (3), stroke average (73.99), rounds under par (27), rounds played (112) and best winning percentage (.776). He was a three-time All-Great American Conference golfer, including first-team accolades in 2018 when he also earned PING All-Central Region honors.
A team captain at Harding, Banger was Academic All-Conference and a 2018 Srixon/Cleveland Golf and GCAA All-American Scholar Athlete. He also served as caddy for English professional golfer Harry Ellis at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2018 Memorial Tournament.
Banger earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sport and Recreation Management from Harding in 2018. He later earned his Master of Science in Education (MSE) in Kinesiology in 2020.
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