James Madison University has extended the contract of Women’s Golf Head Coach Tommy Baker through the 2028-29 academic year, according to an announcement from Director of Athletics Matt Roan.
Baker will enter his eighth season as head coach in 2025-26. Since taking over, he has led the program to significant achievements, including a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship in the 2020-21 season. Before his arrival, the team finished seventh at the CAA Championships.
“We’re pleased to extend Tommy Baker as our women’s golf head coach,” Roan said. “With Tommy leading the team, a positive culture has been established and excellence has been achieved, as evidenced through many academic, athletic, and personal success stories, including a conference championship. He’s had several seasons as a top-seeded program based on regular season performance, and he has had both team and individual representation in NCAA postseason competition. The Sun Belt is certainly a challenging golf league, and we’re confident that Tommy is positioning the program for success this year and beyond. Specifically, I’d like to commend him for his approach to mentoring our student-athletes to be well-rounded students and leaders on this campus and in their future endeavors.”
Baker was named CAA Coach of the Year for 2021-22. His teams have recorded the six best single-season scoring averages in program history; in 2021-22 they posted an average score of 293.03. Under his leadership, eight players have earned All-Conference honors. Kendall Turner was named CAA Player of the Year after the 2020-21 season. The team also saw two individuals earn at-large selections to NCAA Regionals during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
“I want to thank Matt Roan, Kevin Warner, and President Jim Schmidt for their continued support and the opportunity to keep leading the JMU women’s golf program,” Baker said. “We are undoubtedly building something special here at JMU, and I’m excited to build on the foundation we’ve established over the past eight years while pursuing even higher levels of success in the years ahead. JMU is home for my family and me, and I’m deeply committed to bringing more championships to this exceptional institution.”
During this fall season, James Madison finished among the top five teams in three out of five tournaments—including tying for first place at the Elon Invitational on September 16—which marked Baker’s eighth win with JMU and his 25th overall as a coach. The Dukes are scheduled to compete next at Daniel Island Invitational in South Carolina on March 2.
