Men's Golf
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- stephen.bailey@marquette.edu
- Phone:
- 288-5156
- Alma Mater:
- Radford, 1998
- Experience:
- 16th year
Six-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2025) and 2024-25 GCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year Steve Bailey enters his 16th season as the head men's golf coach at Marquette University in 2025-26.
A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia and previously a member of the coaching staff at Northwestern, Bailey has elevated the Marquette program with championship results, quality recruiting, academic excellence, facility upgrades, key fundraising, and a push to host events at Wisconsin's finest golf courses.
Bailey leads MU into to the 2025-26 season as a program having achieved numerous milestones: five BIG EAST team titles (2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025), five individual BIG EAST medalists, a national top-25 ranking for the first time in 2017-18, and program-best top-50 national end-of-season rankings in 2018-19 and 2024-25.
The 2024-25 season was one for the record books as the Golden Eagles shattered the program's scoring average record with a 283.67 mark, -1.27 strokes to par per round, and won five team events, including MU's sixth BIG EAST crown at Callawassie Island. Led by BIG EAST Player of the Year Patrick Adler, fellow All-BIG EAST First Team selections Max Lyons and Johan Widal and league freshman of the year Vincent Cervantes, a second team selection, MU placed eighth in the NCAA Urbana Regional. Cervantes led the way for MU in 15th place with a 3-under 210 and MU recorded its best regional score at 11-over 863.
During the 2024-25 campaign, Adler (Windon Memorial Classic and RedHawk Intercollegiate) and Cervantes (Irish Creek Collegiate) each earned individual medalist honors and Adler's Windon victory at Conway Farms with an 11-under 202 stands as possibly the best individual performance in program history, factoring in course and competition.
Despite the departure of All-American Hunter Eichhorn at the end of a decorated career in 2022, Bailey and assistant coach Jace Long led the Golden Eagles to their fifth BIG EAST team title in the spring of 2023 at Riverton Point in Hardeeville, South Carolina. MU competed as a team in the NCAA's Auburn Regional in 2023, marking the team's fourth NCAA regional appearance under Bailey.
Bailey has led a remarkable improvement in Marquette's team scoring average over his tenure, paced by the 2024-25 team's -1.27 strokes-to-par average. Six of MU's previous eight teams entering the 2025-26 campaign have been within three strokes of par, on average, a mark that had never been reached once in program history prior to the 2017-18 season.
In Bailey's tenure, Marquette has produced seven BIG EAST players of the year - Pat Sanchez (2015), Hunter Eichhorn (2018, 2021, 2022), Oliver Farrell (2019), Max Lyons (2024), and Patrick Adler (2025) and five league freshmen of the year in Matthew Bachmann (2017), Eichhorn (2018), Tyler Leach (2019), Lyons (2022) and Vincent Cervantes (2025). Eichhorn was just the second player in league history to earn both player and freshman of the year honors.
Fifteen players, including a program-record four in 2018, 2019 and 2023, have earned All-BIG EAST honors under Bailey's guidance and 21 have earned conference all-academic status.
Marquette has been honored 13 straight seasons (2011-12 through 2023-24) with the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-Academic Team honor.
Taking advantage of the quality of Wisconsin golf, Bailey has also elevated Marquette's profile by establishing premier home events, including the Marquette Intercollegiate at Erin Hills, which regularly features the nation's top teams and some of the world's top amateur players. Erin Hills Golf Course was the site of the 117th U.S. Open in June of 2017 and is ranked No. 8 by Golf Digest on its list of "America's 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses." In addition, MU hosted an NCAA Regional tournament for the first time in 2016 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin, site of multiple US Women's Open Championships.
Major improvements to Marquette's facilities have resulted from Bailey's leadership and fundraising abilities, highlighted by the opening of a golf-dedicated space in Marquette's Athletic and Human Performance Research Center (AHPRC) in 2019 which includes three hitting bays with simulators and swing enhancement tools, a short-game area, and an enhanced team locker room. Off-campus, Bailey helped establish a 25-year partnership with the University Club of Milwaukee in January of 2018 to give the Golden Eagles a true home course, which includes a dedicated team practice area.
During the 2019-20 campaign, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Golden Eagles had three individuals claim medalist honors, led by Eichhorn, who won at the Conway Farms (Windon Memorial Classic) and Erin Hills (Marquette Intercollegiate) on his way to PING All-America honors. Eichhorn, who became only the second golfer in program history to earn PING All-America honors in 2019-20, was also named to the Fred Haskins Award Watch List. MU's other medalist honor was earned by Tyler Leach at Crooked Stick (Crooked Stick Invitational) in October 2019.
The 2017-18 season was considered a breakthrough for Marquette's golf program. Following a record 32-under-par (832 total) win at the Northern Intercollegiate at Rich Harvest Farms in September of 2017, the Golden Eagles were elevated into the GCAA Bushnell Golfweek Top 25 Coaches Poll for the first time in 80 seasons of intercollegiate golf, cracking the poll at No. 22 on Sept. 29. MU remained in the top 25 into the spring season. By the end of the year, MU achieved a new program single-season low scoring average (288.55) and average vs. par (2.55), while Marquette's two NCAA regional players, Hunter Eichhorn and Matt Murlick, had the best individual NCAA finishes in school history.
Bailey's 2016-17 season was highlighted by Marquette's BIG EAST Championship after rallying from a 17-stroke deficit on the final day. Bachmann, then the team's No. 4 starter, was the league's individual champion. MU advanced to its second NCAA regional appearance under Bailey in May, at the Sammamish, Washington Regional. Bailey and former assistant coach Gator Todd were named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
In 2014-15, Marquette won its first BIG EAST Championship since 2008 and Bailey earned BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors. In the championship, MU rallied from an eight-stroke deficit after 36 holes and played its best golf as a team on the final nine holes of the championship. Pat Sanchez was the event's co-champion and made a critical par save on the final hole to secure Bailey's first BIG EAST championship. The 2014-15 season was marked by great balance throughout the lineup - MU was the only BIG EAST school to have five players in the league's top-18 in scoring.
In 2013-14, Bailey's team finished second at the BIG EAST Men's Golf Championship and placed a league-high three golfers on the All-BIG EAST team. Junior Brandon Cloete was joined on the all-league squad by sophomores Sanchez and CJ Swift. It was the second time Sanchez received the honor in as many seasons.
Bailey currently represents the Midwest on the NCAA All-America committee and has been a member on the Palmer Cup Team and NCAA All-Freshmen Team committee, as well as committees for the Hogan, Nicklaus, and Mickelson Award. Bailey also served two years on the Nike/Golf World Coaches Poll.
From 2005 until 2010, Bailey worked under the tutelage of Pat Goss, director of golf at Northwestern and swing coach of the former #1 ranked player in the world, Luke Donald. Goss is currently one of Golf Magazine's "Top-100 Teachers in America" and was previously selected as NCAA Division I Coach of the Year (1997).
Bailey's roles at NU included assistant coach (2005-08) and associate head coach (2008-10). In his time at Northwestern he quickly established himself as a top recruiter of domestic and international talent. Bailey's recruiting classes included six Junior All-Americans, state champions from Arizona, California and Ohio, and a top-10 recruiting class in 2008-09 as ranked by Golfweek.
The 2008-09 nationally-ranked recruiting class included South Korea native Eric Chun and Sam Chien of San Diego. Chun earned 2009 Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year honors after he became the first freshman since Steve Stricker (1986) to win the Big Ten individual championship, leading the Wildcats to their second NCAA Championships appearance during Bailey's tenure with the team. Chun also qualified for and played in the 2010 British Open in St. Andrews, Scotland, where Bailey served as his caddie. Chien is coming off a breakout year as a professional, finishing fourth on the 2014 PGA TOUR China Order of Merit after winning the Buick Open. Chien's four top-10 finishes earned him status on the Web.com Tour in 2015.
Additionally, Bailey has coached individual Big Ten champions Chris Wilson (2006) and David Lipsky (2010). Wilson helped Northwestern win the Big Ten team title in Bailey's first season coaching the Wildcats, along with 2006 conference player of the year David Merkow. Lipsky was the leading money winner on Asian Tour in 2014, earning him full status on the 2015 European PGA TOUR. Lipsky's win at the Omega European Masters vaulted him to 130 in the World Rankings.
In the classroom at NU, Bailey mentored eight Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars, 23 Academic All-Big Ten selections and 20 Academic All-BIG EAST selections.
While at Northwestern, Bailey also served as tournament director of the Big Ten Match Play Championship and the Windon Memorial Classic, and was a member of the Golf Coaches Association's Board of Directors, representing all NCAA Assistant Coaches.
Bailey graduated from Radford (Va.) University in 1998 with a degree in communications. He served one year as assistant sports information director at the school before moving on to a role with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). He coordinated tournament communications and public relations for the AJGA until 2001 when he was promoted to tournament director. As tournament director, Bailey was responsible for the administration of 13 AJGA Championships.
Bailey and his wife Bethany have been married over 20 years and have two sons, Christian and Derrick.
