Staff Directory

Mason Banger

Title:
Assistant Coach
Alma Mater:
Harding, '18
Year at UCLA:
4th in 2026-27
Email:

Mason Banger has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the UCLA men’s golf team (2023-24 through 2025-26). He joined the Bruins’ program in July of 2023, working alongside head coach Armen Kirakossian.

Banger and Kirakossian have positioned UCLA to play their best golf in years, having concluded the 2025-26 season as the NCAA runner-up to top-seeded Auburn. Through Banger’s three seasons in Westwood, UCLA has advanced to the NCAA postseason each year, with trips to the NCAA Championship field in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2025 and 2026. The Bruins finished in third place at the 2025 NCAA Auburn Regional and registered a second-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Corvallis Regional. UCLA’s berth at the NCAA Championships in 2025 marked the Bruins’ first such appearance since 2018. The Bruins advanced to the NCAA finals in 2026, securing impressive match-play wins in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds against No. 2-seed Texas and No. 6-seed Arizona, respectively.

In Banger’s three years with UCLA’s program, the Bruins have placed third or better in 17 tournaments. UCLA has produced five team tournaments wins in the past two seasons – three wins in 2024-25 and two titles in 2025-26. Within the Big Ten, the Bruins have produced the league’s Men’s Golfer of the Year in 2025 (Pablo Ereño) and the past two Big Ten Freshmen of the Year – Baylor Larrabee in 2025 and Josh Kim in 2026. In addition, Kirakossian has been named the Big Ten Men’s Golf Coach of the Year in 2025 and 2026.

The Bruins captured the team championship in the fall of 2025 at the Fighting Irish Classic and in the spring of 2026, at the Big Ten Championships in Oregon. That marked the second-consecutive year in which UCLA’s program won the Big Ten Championship. Larrabee and Kim were honored as first-team All-Big Ten selections after the conference championship event. One year after Larrabee was honored as the 2025 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Kim was recognized as the 2026 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In addition, Larrabee was recognized as an honorable mention All-America selection from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

During the 2024-25 season, the Bruins won The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, Calif. That marked UCLA’s first team win since taking the title at The Lamkin San Diego Classic in 2021. In March of 2025, the Bruins finished in first place out of 30 teams at The Goodwin, hosted by Stanford University. UCLA won the Big Ten Championships in Baltimore in May of 2025 in its first year competing in the Big Ten. The Bruins concluded the Big Ten Championships one stroke ahead of second-place Illinois. The Bruins finished third or higher in seven tournaments in 2024-25 and closed the year under par as a team (-62) across 13 stroke play tournaments.

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 victories over No. 2-seed Texas and No. 6-seed Arizona. UCLA secured its first-ever wins in the NCAA Championships’ match-play format, which was introduced in 2009.

At the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign, Kirakossian was recognized as the NCAA Division I Golf Pride Grips West Region Coach of the Year (selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America). Kirakossian was also 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).

Omar Morales and Pablo Ereño had very strong individual campaigns during Banger’s first two years in Westwood (2023-24, 2024-25). 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. 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 honorees in 2025. That marked the first time in which UCLA’s program had four or more all-league honorees since the 2012-13 season, competing in the Pac-12 Conference.

Morales and Ereño concluded their collegiate careers ranking second and third, respectively, in scoring average – Morales at 71.22 (116 rounds) and Ereño at 71.32 (133 rounds). Ereño graduated from UCLA with the highest number of career under par rounds (63), with Morales ranking third on that 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. They 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.

Banger’s first year as a coach at UCLA (2023-24) featured strong campaigns 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 improved his play during the 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 the Bruins’ next event at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. He shot -11, 205 (68-68-69).

Banger arrived to Westwood with three and a half seasons of NCAA Division I and II coaching experience. Most recently, Banger spent the spring of 2022 and the entire 2022-23 season at Abilene Christian, where he helped the Wildcats to the 2022 Western Athletic Conference Championship in their first year in the new league. That also marked Abilene Christian's first men's golf conference title as a Division I program.

The Wildcats finished 2021-22 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 coaching at Abilene Christian, Banger served as a coach at Louisiana in 2020-21. The Ragin’ Cajuns posted four top-five finishes, including a season-best runner-up placement at the Louisiana Classics on their home course at Oakbourne Country Club.

In the 2018-19 campaign, Banger served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Harding University (Division II), where he understudied head coach Dustin Howell, who had led the Bison’s men’s golf program for 15 seasons.

Banger competed at Harding from 2014-18, 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 an academic all-conference selection 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’s degree in sport and recreation management from Harding in 2018. He later earned his master’s degree in education (MSE) in kinesiology in 2020.