University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Men's Golf
Armen Kirakossian
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Alma Mater:
- UT Pan American, '10
- Year at UCLA:
- 5th in 2026-27
Armen Kirakossian enters his fifth season as the UCLA men’s golf head coach in 2026-27. He was selected to lead UCLA’s program on June 13, 2022, and has made a strong impact in Westwood through his first four seasons.
Kirakossian has propelled UCLA’s program onto the national scene over the past two seasons, with the Bruins playing their best golf in over a decade. In the past two seasons, UCLA has advanced to the NCAA Championship field with a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Auburn Regional and a second-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Corvallis Regional. UCLA’s berth at the NCAA Championships in 2025 marked the team’s first appearance at that event since 2018. In 2026, UCLA punched its ticket to match play for the first time since 2015 and concluded the tournament as the national runner-up, falling to top-seeded Auburn in the finals.
Under Kirakossian’s leadership, the Bruins have won five tournaments over the past two seasons (2024-25 and 2025-26), including back-to-back Big Ten Championship titles in UCLA’s first two years in the Big Ten Conference. UCLA produced the conference’s Men’s Golfer of the Year in 2025, with then-senior Pablo Ereño. Kirakossian was named the Big Ten Men’s Golf Coach of the Year in 2025 and 2026. In the past two seasons, the Bruins have had the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year, with Baylor Larrabee (2025) and Josh Kim (2026). Both Larrabee and Kim were selected as first-team All-Big Ten honorees in May of 2026.
UCLA’s scoring averages in the past two seasons rank as the lowest single-season averages going back to the fall of 1981. The Bruins posted a program-record mark of 283.6 in 2024-25 and followed that with an average of 285.1 in 2025-26.
The Bruins’ thrilling run to the NCAA Championship finals in 2026 included a four-team playoff at the conclusion of four days of stroke play, followed by back-to-back match play wins against No. 2-seed Texas and No. 6-seed Arizona. Kirakossian helped UCLA secure its first-ever wins in the NCAA Championships’ match-play format, which was introduced in 2009. In all, UCLA registered team titles in 2025-26 at the Fighting Irish Classic (fall of 2025) and at the Big Ten Championships (May 2026).
In 2025, Kirakossian was honored as the NCAA Division I Golf Pride Grips West Region Coach of the Year, as selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He was a finalist for the 2025 NCAA Division I Dave Williams Coach of the Year Award. UCLA swept the 2025 Big Ten Conference men’s golf awards, including Kirakossian being named the league’s Coach of the Year. Ereño was honored as the Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Year and Larrabee was recognized as the conference’s Freshman of the Year. Kirakossian became UCLA’s first head coach to secure conference “Coach of the Year” acclaim since 2010-11 (Derek Freeman). He has become the first UCLA head coach to win the conference’s “Coach of the Year” award in back-to-back seasons since Eddie Merrins in 1982 and 1983.
UCLA produced three team tournament wins in 2024-25. During the fall season, the Bruins won The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, Calif. That marked the Bruins’ first team win since taking the title at The Lamkin San Diego Classic in 2021. UCLA finished in first place out of 30 teams at The Goodwin, hosted by Stanford University in March 2025. UCLA won the Big Ten Championships at Baltimore Country Club, finishing one stroke ahead of second-place Illinois. The Bruins finished third or higher in seven tournaments in 2024-25, including a runner-up finish at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in Oct. 2024. The Bruins concluded the 2024-25 season under par as a team (-62) across 13 stroke play tournaments, marking the second straight year in which UCLA finished the season under par.
Omar Morales and Pablo Ereño had very strong individual campaigns under the direction of Kirakossian. Ereño secured third-team GCAA All-America acclaim as a senior (2025) and Morales earned the same honor as a junior (2024) before being recognized as an honorable mention in 2025. At the conclusion of stroke play at the 2025 NCAA Championships, Morales and Ereño were ranked No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, in the final PGA TOUR University rankings PGA TOUR U. Morales and Ereño earned first-team all-league honors in 2024 and 2025 – awards in the Pac-12 (2024) and Big Ten (2025), respectively. Both golfers were named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List heading into the spring seasons in 2024 and 2025. During the 2023-24 season, Morales and Ereño became UCLA’s first golfers selected to that award’s watch list since 2015-16.
Ereño and Morales (first team) joined teammates Kyle An and Baylor Larrabee (second team) as All-Big Ten Conference selections in 2025. That marked the first time in UCLA had four or more all-league honorees since 2012-13, competing in the Pac-12 Conference.
Glancing at UCLA’s career record book, Morales and Ereño concluded their collegiate careers ranking second and third, respectively, in scoring average – Morales at 71.22 through 116 rounds, and Ereño at 71.32 over 133 rounds. Ereño graduated from UCLA with the highest number of career under par rounds (63), with Morales ranking third on that career list (57 rounds). Morales posted a single-season school record scoring average in 2023-24 (69.91), while Ereño followed in the No. 2 spot in 2024-25 with an average of 70.23. Ereño and Morales tied for the school single-season record for rounds in the 60s – Ereño with 19 rounds in 2024-25, and Morales having equaled that number in 2023-24.
Morales continued to represent UCLA on the sport’s highest level with a second-straight U.S. Open berth at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024. He earned an invitation to the World Wide Technology Championship in Nov. 2024, competing at his third PGA TOUR event. Morales competed in second PGA TOUR event at the Mexico Open and put on an impressive showing at the Latin America Amateur Championships where he placed runner-up.
Kirakossian’s work during his second season at UCLA (2023-24) included strong campaigns across the board from Ereño and Morales. Morales established program records in scoring average (69.91), rounds under par (25) and rounds in the 60s (19). Ereño’s marks were just as impressive, as the Spaniard significantly improved his play during UCLA’s spring season. Ereño compiled a 70.78 scoring average, which ranks seventh in school history. He ranked second on the squad behind Morales with six top-10 finishes, eight top-20 finishes, 22 rounds under par and 15 rounds in the 60s. The Bruins’ fall 2023 portion was highlighted by back-to-back individual wins from then-freshman Luke Powell and Morales. Competing in his second tournament, Powell shot -17, 199 (64-67-68) to earn his first title at the Hamptons Intercollegiate. Less than two weeks later, in Oct. 2024, Morales claimed his second career medal in UCLA’s next event at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. He shot -11, 205 (68-68-69).
Kirakossian, who owns 12 total years of collegiate coaching experience, led the Bruins to three top-five team finishes in his first year at the helm of the program in 2022-23. The 2022-23 season was highlighted by t-5th mark at the highly competitive Southwestern Invitational, where Ereño and Morales finished in the top 20. Morales was the most impressive individual performer in Kirakossian’s debut season. After finishing 89th in his first event of the season, Morales improved in each tournament, culminating in the first medal of his collegiate career at the El Macero Classic. Ten days later, Morales competed in his first PGA TOUR event at the Mexico Open. He qualified for the 123rd U.S. Open on June 5, 2023, after winning his qualifying round at Hillcrest Country Club.
Before arriving at UCLA, Kirakossian spent five seasons at Arizona State, two as associate head coach and three as an assistant. He helped lead the Sun Devils to four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, including a runner-up finish in 2021-22 and a third-place showing in 2020-21. During Kirakossian’s tenure, Arizona State produced more All-Pac-12 honorees (17) than any other school in the conference. In 2021-22, the Sun Devils boasted a Pac-12-leading four first-team selections, the most by an ASU team since 1993-94.
Following the 2018-19 season, Kirakossian was named a Strickland Award Winner as the top assistant coach in the country. He coached three consecutive Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award-winners from 2019-22 in Cameron Sisk (2019), David Puig (2021) and Preston Summerhays (2022), and a total of 11 All-Americans at Arizona State. Under Kirakossian and head coach Matt Thurmond, the Sun Devils ranked in the top 10 in the final Golfweek Rankings in each of the final four seasons. In addition, Arizona State won 15 team tournaments and 15 individual titles over his five seasons in Tempe, Ariz.
Prior to coaching at Arizona State, Kirakossian was an assistant coach for Pepperdine University from 2015-17. While at Pepperdine, Kirakossian helped oversee a strong turnaround with a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2017, the program’s best mark since 2005. Pepperdine ranked 19th in the final Golfweek rankings for a 59-spot improvement from when Kirakossian joined the program.
Several individuals shined under Kirakossian’s leadership at Pepperdine, including Hogan and Nicklaus award winner Sahith Theegala, who regularly competes on the PGA Tour. At Arizona State, Chun An Yu became the No. 1 amateur in the world by the end of the 2019-20 season.
Kirakossian arrived at UCLA with prior head coaching experience. Before working at Pepperdine, Kirakossian was the head coach at his alma mater, Texas Pan American (UTPA), where he led the Broncos to three top-five finishes in 2014-15. He also served as a volunteer assistant coach at UTPA in 2012-13 prior to being hired as head coach in August 2014. One of Kirakossian’s student-athletes, Nicolas Paltret, won the Western Athletic Conference's individual crown and advanced to an NCAA Regional, becoming the school's first student-athlete to participate in the NCAAs since 1978.
Kirakossian was a member of UTPA’s golf team, earning first-team all-conference and GCAA All-American Scholar honors. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2010.
Armen Kirakossian's Year-by-Year UCLA Head Coaching Record
Kirakossian has propelled UCLA’s program onto the national scene over the past two seasons, with the Bruins playing their best golf in over a decade. In the past two seasons, UCLA has advanced to the NCAA Championship field with a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Auburn Regional and a second-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Corvallis Regional. UCLA’s berth at the NCAA Championships in 2025 marked the team’s first appearance at that event since 2018. In 2026, UCLA punched its ticket to match play for the first time since 2015 and concluded the tournament as the national runner-up, falling to top-seeded Auburn in the finals.
Under Kirakossian’s leadership, the Bruins have won five tournaments over the past two seasons (2024-25 and 2025-26), including back-to-back Big Ten Championship titles in UCLA’s first two years in the Big Ten Conference. UCLA produced the conference’s Men’s Golfer of the Year in 2025, with then-senior Pablo Ereño. Kirakossian was named the Big Ten Men’s Golf Coach of the Year in 2025 and 2026. In the past two seasons, the Bruins have had the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year, with Baylor Larrabee (2025) and Josh Kim (2026). Both Larrabee and Kim were selected as first-team All-Big Ten honorees in May of 2026.
UCLA’s scoring averages in the past two seasons rank as the lowest single-season averages going back to the fall of 1981. The Bruins posted a program-record mark of 283.6 in 2024-25 and followed that with an average of 285.1 in 2025-26.
The Bruins’ thrilling run to the NCAA Championship finals in 2026 included a four-team playoff at the conclusion of four days of stroke play, followed by back-to-back match play wins against No. 2-seed Texas and No. 6-seed Arizona. Kirakossian helped UCLA secure its first-ever wins in the NCAA Championships’ match-play format, which was introduced in 2009. In all, UCLA registered team titles in 2025-26 at the Fighting Irish Classic (fall of 2025) and at the Big Ten Championships (May 2026).
In 2025, Kirakossian was honored as the NCAA Division I Golf Pride Grips West Region Coach of the Year, as selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He was a finalist for the 2025 NCAA Division I Dave Williams Coach of the Year Award. UCLA swept the 2025 Big Ten Conference men’s golf awards, including Kirakossian being named the league’s Coach of the Year. Ereño was honored as the Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Year and Larrabee was recognized as the conference’s Freshman of the Year. Kirakossian became UCLA’s first head coach to secure conference “Coach of the Year” acclaim since 2010-11 (Derek Freeman). He has become the first UCLA head coach to win the conference’s “Coach of the Year” award in back-to-back seasons since Eddie Merrins in 1982 and 1983.
UCLA produced three team tournament wins in 2024-25. During the fall season, the Bruins won The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, Calif. That marked the Bruins’ first team win since taking the title at The Lamkin San Diego Classic in 2021. UCLA finished in first place out of 30 teams at The Goodwin, hosted by Stanford University in March 2025. UCLA won the Big Ten Championships at Baltimore Country Club, finishing one stroke ahead of second-place Illinois. The Bruins finished third or higher in seven tournaments in 2024-25, including a runner-up finish at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in Oct. 2024. The Bruins concluded the 2024-25 season under par as a team (-62) across 13 stroke play tournaments, marking the second straight year in which UCLA finished the season under par.
Omar Morales and Pablo Ereño had very strong individual campaigns under the direction of Kirakossian. Ereño secured third-team GCAA All-America acclaim as a senior (2025) and Morales earned the same honor as a junior (2024) before being recognized as an honorable mention in 2025. At the conclusion of stroke play at the 2025 NCAA Championships, Morales and Ereño were ranked No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, in the final PGA TOUR University rankings PGA TOUR U. Morales and Ereño earned first-team all-league honors in 2024 and 2025 – awards in the Pac-12 (2024) and Big Ten (2025), respectively. Both golfers were named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List heading into the spring seasons in 2024 and 2025. During the 2023-24 season, Morales and Ereño became UCLA’s first golfers selected to that award’s watch list since 2015-16.
Ereño and Morales (first team) joined teammates Kyle An and Baylor Larrabee (second team) as All-Big Ten Conference selections in 2025. That marked the first time in UCLA had four or more all-league honorees since 2012-13, competing in the Pac-12 Conference.
Glancing at UCLA’s career record book, Morales and Ereño concluded their collegiate careers ranking second and third, respectively, in scoring average – Morales at 71.22 through 116 rounds, and Ereño at 71.32 over 133 rounds. Ereño graduated from UCLA with the highest number of career under par rounds (63), with Morales ranking third on that career list (57 rounds). Morales posted a single-season school record scoring average in 2023-24 (69.91), while Ereño followed in the No. 2 spot in 2024-25 with an average of 70.23. Ereño and Morales tied for the school single-season record for rounds in the 60s – Ereño with 19 rounds in 2024-25, and Morales having equaled that number in 2023-24.
Morales continued to represent UCLA on the sport’s highest level with a second-straight U.S. Open berth at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024. He earned an invitation to the World Wide Technology Championship in Nov. 2024, competing at his third PGA TOUR event. Morales competed in second PGA TOUR event at the Mexico Open and put on an impressive showing at the Latin America Amateur Championships where he placed runner-up.
Kirakossian’s work during his second season at UCLA (2023-24) included strong campaigns across the board from Ereño and Morales. Morales established program records in scoring average (69.91), rounds under par (25) and rounds in the 60s (19). Ereño’s marks were just as impressive, as the Spaniard significantly improved his play during UCLA’s spring season. Ereño compiled a 70.78 scoring average, which ranks seventh in school history. He ranked second on the squad behind Morales with six top-10 finishes, eight top-20 finishes, 22 rounds under par and 15 rounds in the 60s. The Bruins’ fall 2023 portion was highlighted by back-to-back individual wins from then-freshman Luke Powell and Morales. Competing in his second tournament, Powell shot -17, 199 (64-67-68) to earn his first title at the Hamptons Intercollegiate. Less than two weeks later, in Oct. 2024, Morales claimed his second career medal in UCLA’s next event at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. He shot -11, 205 (68-68-69).
Kirakossian, who owns 12 total years of collegiate coaching experience, led the Bruins to three top-five team finishes in his first year at the helm of the program in 2022-23. The 2022-23 season was highlighted by t-5th mark at the highly competitive Southwestern Invitational, where Ereño and Morales finished in the top 20. Morales was the most impressive individual performer in Kirakossian’s debut season. After finishing 89th in his first event of the season, Morales improved in each tournament, culminating in the first medal of his collegiate career at the El Macero Classic. Ten days later, Morales competed in his first PGA TOUR event at the Mexico Open. He qualified for the 123rd U.S. Open on June 5, 2023, after winning his qualifying round at Hillcrest Country Club.
Before arriving at UCLA, Kirakossian spent five seasons at Arizona State, two as associate head coach and three as an assistant. He helped lead the Sun Devils to four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, including a runner-up finish in 2021-22 and a third-place showing in 2020-21. During Kirakossian’s tenure, Arizona State produced more All-Pac-12 honorees (17) than any other school in the conference. In 2021-22, the Sun Devils boasted a Pac-12-leading four first-team selections, the most by an ASU team since 1993-94.
Following the 2018-19 season, Kirakossian was named a Strickland Award Winner as the top assistant coach in the country. He coached three consecutive Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award-winners from 2019-22 in Cameron Sisk (2019), David Puig (2021) and Preston Summerhays (2022), and a total of 11 All-Americans at Arizona State. Under Kirakossian and head coach Matt Thurmond, the Sun Devils ranked in the top 10 in the final Golfweek Rankings in each of the final four seasons. In addition, Arizona State won 15 team tournaments and 15 individual titles over his five seasons in Tempe, Ariz.
Prior to coaching at Arizona State, Kirakossian was an assistant coach for Pepperdine University from 2015-17. While at Pepperdine, Kirakossian helped oversee a strong turnaround with a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2017, the program’s best mark since 2005. Pepperdine ranked 19th in the final Golfweek rankings for a 59-spot improvement from when Kirakossian joined the program.
Several individuals shined under Kirakossian’s leadership at Pepperdine, including Hogan and Nicklaus award winner Sahith Theegala, who regularly competes on the PGA Tour. At Arizona State, Chun An Yu became the No. 1 amateur in the world by the end of the 2019-20 season.
Kirakossian arrived at UCLA with prior head coaching experience. Before working at Pepperdine, Kirakossian was the head coach at his alma mater, Texas Pan American (UTPA), where he led the Broncos to three top-five finishes in 2014-15. He also served as a volunteer assistant coach at UTPA in 2012-13 prior to being hired as head coach in August 2014. One of Kirakossian’s student-athletes, Nicolas Paltret, won the Western Athletic Conference's individual crown and advanced to an NCAA Regional, becoming the school's first student-athlete to participate in the NCAAs since 1978.
Kirakossian was a member of UTPA’s golf team, earning first-team all-conference and GCAA All-American Scholar honors. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2010.
Armen Kirakossian's Year-by-Year UCLA Head Coaching Record
| Season | Events | Team Wins | Individual Wins | Top 5’s | Conf. Finish | Regionals Finish | NCAA Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12th (Pac-12) | N/A | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6th (Pac-12) | 7th | N/A |
| 2024-25 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1st (Big Ten) | 3rd | T-20th |
| 2025-26 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1st (Big Ten) | 2nd | 2nd |
| Totals | 47 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 2 Conf. Titles | 3 Regionals | 2 NCAA Berths |
Saturday, May 17
Friday, May 16
Saturday, January 20
Wednesday, January 22
