MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Lauren Giesecke, a renowned women’s golf coach with nine years of head coaching experience, has been named head coach of the Middle Tennessee women’s golf program, Director of Athletics Chris Massaro announced Monday. Giesecke becomes just the fourth Blue Raiders head coach in the program’s history.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Lauren and her family to MTSU,” said Massaro. “Her proven ability to win, from leading Grand Canyon to five victories this past season to her rise from walk-on to team captain at Indiana, demonstrates the work ethic and leadership we value in our coaches. I always also impressed by the way she guided the program from Division II to Division I during her tenure. This was a tremendously strong pool of candidates, so I want to thank everyone involved in the search process.”
The Kokomo, Indiana, native comes to Murfreesboro from Grand Canyon, where she had been the head coach of the Lopes since 2015. Under Giesecke, GCU broke numerous Division I era program records in the 2022-23 season, bringing home six top-three finishes and 5 top-three finishes in a row during the 2023 spring campaign. The Lopes earned 24 All-WAC honors with Giesecke’s guidance, including two Freshman of the Year awards, and recorded 15 team tournament victories and 11 individual tournament titles.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to join Middle Tennessee as the new women’s golf coach. This is such an amazing opportunity to lead this incredible group of student-athletes,” said Giesecke. “I hope to be able to contribute to the rich athletic tradition of MTSU. I’m looking forward to building on the success, both academically and athletically, of this program and help our student-athletes reach their fullest potential. After visiting the athletic facilities and meeting everyone on campus, I knew this would be the perfect fit for me and my family. Thank you to Chris Massaro, Diane Turnham and Lee De León for this opportunity, I am so excited to be a Blue Raider!”
A graduate of Indiana, Giesecke led Grand Canyon to a historic 2017-18 season, including WAC Coach of the Year honors, the WAC Championship, and a berth to an NCAA Regional. In her final season with the Lopes, GCU finished third at the WAC Championship and won a D-I program-best five tournament titles. The program finished in the top-five in 10 of its 11 events and top-three in nine tournaments.
Prior to arriving at GCU, Giesecke was an assistant coach from 2013-15 at South Florida, where she helped the program rise in the national rankings and helped coach standout Ashley Burke to all-conference status and an NCAA regional berth.
Giesecke graduated from Indiana in 2011 with a degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Coaching as a four-year member of the Hoosiers’ golf team.
Before coaching at USF, she worked as the Junior Golf Manager of PGA of America’s Georgia Section, helping organize and run junior golf tournaments. She also spent time with the American Junior Golf Association and International Junior Golf Tour. In addition to her collegiate duties, Giesecke coached the 2019 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup girls team in Japan.