Last season, the Boise State women’s golf team improved their game and rank, with current fifth-year senior Leia Chung taking home the Mountain West Conference championship. This season, the team strives to keep these standards with new players and a new conference.
Head coach Kailin Downs has been with Boise State women’s golf for six years, with 19 years of coaching experience overall. The team dynamic she’s built over her years here is one based around community and connection. She says the support from the Boise State community in general can add to the team bond, linking public support for university athletics to motivation and ambition for the athletes.
“If you have a really good core team culture, then even when a couple pieces leave it, the core is still there,” says Downs, “They have made that as important as I have, and that’s what it takes. If I was the only one who cared about it, it really wouldn’t work.”
Boise State golf has a unique schedule due to the seasonal aspects of the sport. There are no preseason tournaments or practice competitions, with every round counting from beginning to end. The season is split into two: the beginning of fall semester and the end of spring semester, with the winter months in between serving as the team’s off-season.
The difficulty with the season stretching across the entire school year is the effects it has on the players’ academic schedules. Student athletes on the women’s golf team travel and compete sporadically throughout the year, affecting both semesters of academics. They have to work extra hard to stay consistent in their schoolwork as well as their game.
“You know, balancing your schedule with workouts, classes, homework and traveling, you definitely need to make a lot of time for it,” Leia Chung, last year’s Mountain West Conference champion said. She will be graduating this spring with a double major in finance and accounting. “It teaches you a lot of time management skills and discipline in getting those things done.”
During the offseason, players are expected to continue practicing and perfecting their skills on their own, but the on-campus practice facilities are open to them year round. Located in the varsity center, they practice chipping and putting on an indoor green and practice their tee-shots and drives using two simulators that allow for the team to practice as if on an actual golf course.
The team practices often on golf courses around the Treasure Valley, which allow them free access to their facilities. “We have amazing support from all of our golf courses, and that ranges from private to public,” Downs explains. “We truly do go somewhere different everyday.”
While the team has been improving their rankings consistently each year, the real team connection comes from behind the scenes. Each player brings something special to the table.
Senior Teal Matsudea, a past Mountain West Conference competitor states, “I think what’s hard about it being so individual is that we all kind of play well at different times. It never happened at the same time… But I think that’s still a positive in the sense that we all had good tournaments.”
Matsudea says she looks forward to the upcoming season and watching the team blend. With three new additions to this year’s roster, the team dynamic will grow and develop, creating a team that works together, even in an individualized sport.
“You kind of just have to remind yourself that it’s not your whole life and, sure we spend a lot of time doing it, but everything else is what matters more: your relationships and the things you do. You can’t judge yourself on your performance all of the time.” says Matsudea.
This season of women’s golf will be a learning curve. With new players joining and being a part of the Pac-12 conference, a lot is changing, but Coach Downs is excited for this year’s roster and tournaments, with many of the courses being brand new.
The team is entering this season ranked 94th out of nearly 300 division I women’s golf teams in the country. With a conference champion and a team of players who support and care for each other, coaches and players alike have high hopes for this year, and expect to see great things from themselves and each other.
For those interested in following this season of women’s golf, Scoreboard allows students and staff to stay updated on scores, live stats and rankings easily and efficiently. The Boise State women’s and men’s golf teams will host a tournament against the University of Idaho at Hillcrest golf course on March 29, 2027, which will be a spectator-friendly event. The team’s season-opener begins Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8 a.m. in Madison, Wisconsin.
“Women are impressive, and I think that as records continue being broken and we keep reaching new benchmarks in women’s sports, it continues to be inspiring,” says Coach Downs.
