Kevin Millikan is entering his 10th season (2021-2022) as head women's golf coach. He is in his 25th year of service at Texas Wesleyan University. He also serves the department as Associate Athletic Director after previously serving seven years as Athletic Director and ten seasons as the head men's golf coach.
After starting the women's golf program in the 2012-13 season, Millikan, the 2015, 2018 and 2021 Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Coach of the Year, quickly turned Texas Wesleyan Women's Golf into a top-5 program in the NAIA. The Rams have made six consecutive appearances in the NAIA National Championships finishing as high as fourth in 2016.
Last season (2020-21) saw the Lady Rams return to competition in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Millikan’s Rams continued to excel, winning their second SAC Championship while he was named SAC Coach of the Year for a third time. The team produced eight top-five finishes in 10 events including wins at the SAC Championship, Houston-Victoria’s Claud Jacobs Invitational and Oklahoma City’s Sydney Cox Invitational.
The Rams were rated as high as ninth nationally, while extending the program’s streak to 51 consecutive appearances in the NAIA Coaches’ Top-25 poll.
Emily Hunt was named NAIA All-American as well as All-SAC, and Annaka Watts was named SAC Freshman of they Year, becoming the fourth Lady Ram to earn that title in eight years of SAC membership. The team once again earned SAC Scholar-Team recognition while six Lady Rams were named Academic All-SAC and three were named SAC Scholar-Athletes.
The young program has already produced seven All-Americans and nine NAIA Scholar-Athletes, while the Lady Rams have been named an NAIA Scholar-Team in all nine seasons.
Among the seven All-Americans is four-time 1st-team All-American selection Alex Schies who played from 2014-2018. Schies was named SAC Player of the Year in all four seasons, winning SAC Medalist honors twice. She posted eight individual wins while the program's first five team wins came during her tenure. She graduated in the spring of 2018 while holding all 13 individual records accounted at the time. She posted a career scoring average of 75.78 while finishing in the top-20 in 33 of the 39 tournaments she played.
In ten seasons as head men’s golf coach, Millikan led the Rams to 17 tournament wins. In his first four years, the Rams qualified for the NCAA Division II Regionals three times, earning a national championship berth and an 11th place finish in 2000. In five of his last six seasons as head coach, Millikan led the Rams to a top-10 finish in the NAIA National Tournament and had at least one All-American selection in each of his last six seasons. In 2009 he led the Rams to their ninth NAIA National runner-up finish. During his tenure the Rams featured 14 All-Americans and seven NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
Millikan joined the Wesleyan golf team as a player following the 1995 championship season and has been involved with the University ever since.
As a player, he participated in the 1997 NAIA National Golf Championship and was a member of the 1997 H.O.T. Conference Championship Team. That season he was chosen by his teammates to receive the Lewis & Dorothy Peek 3-D Award, given annually in recognition of a player's desire, dedication, and determination. In both the 1996 and 1997 seasons, Millikan was nominated by the coaching staff for the Gene & Ann Burge Sportsmanship Award.
Following his senior season, Millikan served as the Rams' assistant coach for two years before taking over as head coach after the 1999 National Championship season.
Millikan also held a tremendous record in his seven years as Texas Wesleyan’s Athletic Director. He was named Red River Athletic Conference Athletic Director of the Year for the 2009-10 school year after Texas Wesleyan’s eight NAIA sports posted an overall record of 150-94 (.615). The Rams excelled in conference play, posting a record of 82-28 (.745) and winning RRAC Championships in Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Golf, and Softball. Five teams were ranked in the top-25 nationally, while three made NAIA National Tournament appearances. That year 31 Rams received All-Conference recognition, while four were named NAIA All-American. The Rams also excelled in the classroom. Six athletes were named NAIA Scholar Athletes, while 82 posted GPA’s of 3.0 or higher. In all, 242 student-athletes notched a cumulative GPA of 2.84.
In the following year, Millikan led the Department to its first Red River Athletic Conference All-Sports Award. The Rams took one RRAC Championship and six runner-up finishes while scoring points in eleven of their twelve sponsored sports. The department added men and women’s cross country and track and field programs and continued to excel in the classroom. Over 300 athletes combined for a GPA of 2.78 while 117 held a 3.0 or higher.
In addition, Millikan helped make tremendous improvements to the school’s athletic facilities during his tenure as AD. A renovated Sid Richardson Center (Basketball, Volleyball, Table Tennis) opened in the fall of 2008, the Morton Fitness Center opened in 2010, and parking and field lighting were added to Martin Field (soccer).
Millikan graduated from Texas Wesleyan in December, 1998, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. He and his wife, Kelly, reside in Fort Worth with their daughter, Kenedy.
Women's Golf under Kevin Millikan
2023-2024 – The 2023-2024 season once again proved to be historic, the Lady Rams tied the record of team wins with four and set a new program record with 10 top five finishes. The Lady Rams continued to dominate the field nationally as they reached number five in the nation, their highest in program history. The Rams saw victories across the board as they won the Texas Intercollegiate for the third year in a row, they also found victories at Claud Jacobs once again, Wayland Baptist’s Top of Texas Invitational, and the Texas Wesleyan Spring Invitational. The Rams finished second in the SAC Championship once again and found themselves in familiar territory at the NAIA National Tournament. The Rams finished in sixth place, their second highest finish in program history. For the first time in Texas Wesleyan Women’s Golf history, there were three NAIA All-Americans with Malisone Chanthapanya (first-team), Raeleigh Davidson (second-team), and Makena Junkin (third-team). There was also a new record for most NAIA Scholar-Athletes in a single season, Malisone Chanthapanya , Megan Kim, Bailey O'Donnell, Salome Arango, and Addie Pulin were all recognized.
2022-23 – The 2022-2023 season saw the Lady Rams break some records as a team. They tied their own record of four wins as a team in a season, they also tied a program record for most top five finishes in a season with nine. As the Rams continued to build onto themselves from years prior, they once again found themselves victorious at the Texas Intercollegiate, Wayland Baptist Fall Invitational, Claud Jacobs Invitational, and the Tussle at Tanglewood. The Rams finished second in the SAC Championship for the second year in a row but unfortunately missed out on an NAIA National Tournament bid. The Lady Rams once again had a pair of NAIA All-Americans in Malisone Chanthapanya (first-team) and Natalie Miksovska (third-team). Brooke Sullivan, Emily Isaacson, Bailey O'Donnell, Malisone Chanthrapanya were all recognized as NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
2021-22 - The 2021-2022 season once again proved the Lady Rams strong showings week in and week out. Millikan's Rams showed out all season long, racking up nine top five places as well as three team victories at the Texas Intercollegiate, Northwest Iowa Invitational, and the Claud Jacobs Invitational. The Rams finished second at the SAC Championship and advanced to their seventh NAIA National Tournament in 10 years as a program, resulting in a tie for eighth place out of 30 teams. Malisone Chanthapanya (first-team) and Emily Hunt (third-team) were named NAIA All-Americans. Millikan once again produced multiple NAIA Scholar-Athletes that year with three, Emily Hunt, Quinn Barber, and Brooke Sullivan were all recognized with this honor.
2020-21 - The 2020-2021 season saw the Lady Rams return to competition in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Millikan’s Rams continued to excel, winning their second SAC Championship while he was named SAC Coach of the Year for a third time. The team produced eight top-five finishes in 10 events including wins at the SAC Championship, Houston-Victoria’s Claud Jacobs Invitational and Oklahoma City’s Sydney Cox Invitational. The Rams were rated as high as ninth nationally, while extending the program’s streak to 51 consecutive appearances in the NAIA Coaches’ Top-25 poll. Emily Hunt was named NAIA All-American as well as All-SAC, and Annaka Watts was named SAC Freshman of they Year, becoming the fourth Lady Ram to earn that title in eight years of SAC membership. The team once again earned SAC Scholar-Team recognition while six Lady Rams were named Academic All-SAC and three were named SAC Scholar-Athletes.
2019-20 - The 2019-20 season will be remembered across the sports landscape as a season of what might have been. Once again, the Lady Rams were rated in every NAIA Coaches' Poll, reaching as high as No. 10 and stretching their streak to 45 consecutive rankings. The team was coming off of back-to-back wins at Houston-Victoria's Claud Jacobs Invitational and Bellevue's Spring Break Classic when the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In six tournaments, the Lady Rams posted three wins and a runner-up finish while never finishing outside of the top-five. Emily Hunt took the individual win at the Claud Jacobs Invitational while Brooke Sullivan and Joely Henderson tied atop the leaderboard at the BU Spring Break Classic. Piper Frisbie was named All-Conference and SAC Freshman of the Year becoming the third Lady Ram to take that award in seven years of SAC membership. Six Lady Rams were named Academic All-SAC, while Quinn Barber and Emily Hunt were received SAC Scholar-Athlete recognition.
2018-19 - The Lady Rams stretched their streak to 41 consecutive rankings in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll, reaching as hig as No. 8. The season started with the program's sixth victory, which came at their own Hawks Creek Invitational. Win No. 7 came on Feb. 18 when the Rams topped the field at Houston-Victoria's Claud Jacobs Invitational. The team also posted three runner-up finishes and seven top-5 finishes in 11 tournaments on the year. Elena Sinde Romero and Joely Henderson were named All-Conference after placing fourth and fifth respectively at the SAC Championships and leading the team to a third place finish. The Rams made their fifth consecutive appearance at the NAIA National Championship, placing 15th while Elene Sinde Romero was the team's top finisher at T49. Jaci Trotter was named NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the second time.
2017-18 - The Lady Rams stretched their streak to 33 consecutive rankings in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll, spending the bulk of the season at No. 5 in the nation. Alex Schies capped her career by being named both SAC Player of the Year and 1st-team NAIA All-American for a fourth consecutive season. Schies won the SAC individual championship for the second time while leading the team to its first SAC Championship. Three other Rams joined Schies as All-SAC selections. The team posted four wins and three runner-up finishes in 10 tournaments. In the fourth consecutive appearance at the NAIA National CHampionship, the placed 15th while Schies was the team's top individual finisher at T43. Jacey Patton and Jaci Trotter were both named NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
2016-17 - The Lady Rams stretched their streak to 25 consecutive rankings in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll. The team finished tenth in their third consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Championship. In 21 tournaments, they notched 20 top-10 finishes, 13 top-5's, and 5 runner-up finishes. The team placed second in the SAC Tournament while Alex Schies won the tournament and was named SAC Player of the Year for the third year in a row. Schies was also named 1st-team All-American for the third straight year, while Jacey Patton was named NAIA Scholar-Athlete. The team has had at least one scholar athlete in each of its five year existence.
2015-16 - The Lady Rams stretched their streak to 18 consecutive rankings in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll. The team finished tied for fourth in their second appearance in the NAIA National Championship at Savannah Quarters Country Club. In 12 tournaments, they notched 11 top-10 finishes, 6 top-5's, and a pair of runner-up finishes. They placed third in the SAC Tournament while Alex Schies was named SAC Player of the Year for the second year in a row and Elena Sinde Romero was named SAC Freshman of the Year. Schies also becam the program's first player to claim multiple victories in a single season with wins at the Hawks Creek Invitational and the Embry-Riddle Eagle Invitational. Schies was named 1st-team All-American and Jacey Patton was named 3rd-team All-American, while Stephanie Myers was named NAIA Scholar-Athlete for a second time. For the fourth consecutive year, the team also earned NAIA Scholar-Team recognition.
2014-15 - The team was ranked as high as 8th nationally and finished 9th in their first NAIA National Championship appearance. In 10 events the team posted nine top-10 and seven top-5 finishes including the program's first win at the Southern Arkansas Mulerider Classic. The Lady Rams featured two NAIA All-Americans including freshman Alex Schies who was named both 1st-team All-American and Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Player of the Year. Meanwhile Millikan was named SAC Coach of the Year. Three Lady Rams were named NAIA Scholar-Athlete and the team was named an NAIA Scholar-Team for the third straight season.
2013-14 - Millikan led the team to an improvement of over six strokes in their scoring average. The team was rated in the top-25 of every NAIA Coaches' Poll and was rated as high as 18th. They were just two positions shy of making the program's first NAIA National Tournament Appearance. In 11 events, they posted ten top-ten and five top-five finishes including runner-up finishes at UT-Tyler's Al-Jones Memorial and UT-Brownsville's Ocelot Invitational. Alexis Belton became the program's first individual winner at UT-Tyler's Al-Jones Memorial and Deborah Dover was the program's first NAIA Scholar-Athlete Selection. The team was also named an NAIA Scholar-Team.
2012-13 - Millikan guided the inaugural women's golf team at Texas Wesleyan to a third place finish in the Red River Athletic Conference. The Lady Rams notched six top-10 finishes and received the NAIA Scholar-Team award.
