KSU Honors
>>2024 ASUN Coach of the Year
>>2024 ASUN Championship
Erin Thorne was announced as the Owls' head coach in June of 2021.
Year three was one to remember as she led the Owls the first ASUN title under her tenure as she spearheaded the team to a 864 team score at the program's final ASUN Championship. It was the second lowest total of the season for KSU as they collected the program's sixth conference title. Earlier in the season, Thorne guided the Owls to the lowest tournament score in program history at the Sam Golden Invitational (277). That tournament included program records for single-round low (277 in round two) and team-low through 36 holes (560). Two Owls tied the program record for a single round performance with Bella Kil's and Lara Jecnik's 66 scores through the season. Thorne coached four All-ASUN honorees in Jecnik (first), Kil (first), Nyah Kelly (Second) and Alessandra Nagayo (All-Freshman). Three of the All-ASUN participants improved their regular-season average round scores: Jecnik from 74.26 to 72.73 (-1.53), Bella Kil from 73.67 to 73.12 (-0.55) Nyah Kelly from 76.57 to 73.65 (-2.92).
Her second season was highlighted by four ASUN All-Conference selections (Bella Kil, Lara Jecnik, Meva Schmit and Cameron Neilson), the second-most in a single season in program history. On Feb. 7, 2023 at the FAU Paradise Invitational, she led the Owls to a program-record eighth-consecutive top-five finish. KSU set a program records for consecutive top-four finishes (7), consecutive top-two finishes (3) and most top-two finishes to start a season (2).
In her first season at the helm of KSU Women's Golf, Thorne became the first coach in program history to win multiple tournaments in their first season. The Owls won the 2022 Rio Verde Invitational and the 2022 Pinetree Women's Collegiate. Kennesaw State set a program record for finish percentage (77%) and posted the lowest 18-hole team round of 278 at the Jupiter Invite.
Caitlyn Campbell-Nyman, Bella Kil and Alizee Vidal each won their first individual championship during the spring season. Vidal's win at the 2022 ASUN Women's Golf Championship earned her a berth in the 2022 NCAA Division I Tallahassee Regional, becoming only the second Owl to earn a spot in the regionals as an individual.
Thorne joined KSU from Wingate University, where she served as the men's and women's head golf coach and director of student-athlete development. She led the Bulldogs to six tournament championships, eight individual medalists, a South Atlantic Conference (SAC) championship and was a three-time SAC Coach of the Year.
Thorne began to lead the men's program in May 2020 but had been at the helm of the women's program since January 2016. She led Wingate to a No. 21 ranking in the most recent WGCA coaches' top-25 poll. Under her tutelage, Thorne has improved the team scoring average by 18 shots to the current program record of 299. In addition, she has mentored three All-Americans, two SAC Players of the Year, and a SAC Freshman of the Year.
Her teams have excelled academically with a CoSIDA Academic All-America honor and 17 WGCA Scholar-Athletes.
Wingate All-American Hailey McLaughlin tied for ninth place in the 2021 NCAA Division II South Regional women's golf tournament after she won 2021 South Atlantic Conference medalist honors. As a team, Wingate tied for second in the SAC tournament.
In the shortened 2019-20 season, McLaughlin was named the 2020 SAC Freshman of the Year, and the Bulldogs won two events and posted a pair of second-place finishes. Wingate's success was celebrated with Thorne's third SAC Coach of the Year honor.
The year prior, Mind Puangcharoen was a WGCA All-American and the 2019 SAC Golfer of the Year.
2018 was a banner year for Thorne. She led Wingate to the SAC championship and received SAC Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs dominated the field with a 26-stroke victory over runner-up Queens University. Individually, Puangcharoen was the SAC individual medalist with a 54-hole total of 232. Wingate placed three on the all-tournament first team with Puangcharoen, Diana McDonald, and Laura Nunez Rodriguez.
In the regular season, the Bulldogs finished no lower than fourth in any of their tournaments, including a winning the title at the Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate. Thorne had three earn postseason honors, led by McDonald as the SAC Golfer of the Year, while Puangcharoen and Nunez Rodriguez found spots on the second and honorable mention All-SAC teams, respectively.
In 2017, Thorne was voted the SAC women's golf Coach of the Year after a school-record five Wingate student-athletes were named to the All-SAC teams. Thorne helped the Bulldogs win the 2017 Wingate Intercollegiate Challenge and had three second-place showings during the 2016-17 season.
She began her career at Wingate as a graduate assistant in July 2014 and served as acting head coach while she earned her Master of Arts in sports management in 2015.
Prior to Wingate, Thorne was the graduate assistant women's golf coach at Ohio Dominican University for one year. She helped make history when Jamie Ellison qualified for the NCAA Division II East Regional as the first ODU female golfer to qualify for post-season play.
She played in every event during her four-year career at Western Michigan University from 2003-07, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in athletic training in 2007. She was named to the Mid-America Conference second team twice, runner-up for the MAC Freshman of the Year, and a four-year member of the MAC Academic Team. In addition, she served as co-captian as a junior and senior.
Thorne played professionally starting in 2007. She competed on the Duramed Futures Tour, the Suncoast Tour and the Canadian Women's Tour. She became a member of the PGA of Canada in 2007, reaching class A status in 2012.
She coached the junior team for four years as the Assistant Golf Professional at South Muskoka Curling and Golf Club from 2008-13. Thorne was also an apprentice coach with the Golf Association of Ontario for one summer.
Thorne is a member of the Women's Golf Coaches Association, Golf Coaches Association of America, and the Professional Golf Association of Canada.
