THE FLATS – Ryan Hybl, whose 51 tournament victories in 17 seasons at Oklahoma – including the 2017 NCAA Championship – are the sixth-most among active Division I men’s golf coaches, has been named head coach at Georgia Tech.
Hybl, a Colbert, Ga. native, is only the fifth head coach in Georgia Tech golf’s illustrious 107-year history, joining a legendary list that includes only H.E. Dennison (1931-55), Tommy Plaxico (1956-82), Puggy Blackmon (1982-95) and Bruce Heppler (1995-2026).* Hybl takes the torch from Heppler, a Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Famer who led the Yellow Jackets to 28-straight NCAA regionals, 22 NCAA finals and four national runner-up finishes in his 31 seasons at the helm.
“We’re ecstatic to welcome Ryan, Rebecca, Ady and Harper to the Georgia Tech family,” Georgia Tech vice president and director of athletics Ryan Alpert said. “It’s a significant statement for Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech golf and the legacy that Coach Bruce Heppler built in his 31 seasons on The Flats that a coach of Coach Hybl’s caliber and experience has accepted the opportunity to lead this program. We couldn’t be more grateful to Coach Heppler and all of his student-athletes that have made Georgia Tech golf one of the nation’s premier programs and we couldn’t be more excited for Coach Hybl to lead it into its next era.”
Like Heppler, Hybl is a member of the GCAA Hall of Fame, thanks to leading Oklahoma to unprecedented success in his 17 seasons leading the Sooners (2009-26). OU’s achievements under Hybl include:
- winning the 2017 national championship;
- 51 tournament victories, including this week’s NCAA regional in Corvallis, Ore.;
- 15-consecutive NCAA finals berths – the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history and the second-longest active streak in the nation;
- seven NCAA finals match play appearances from 2016-25, which were the most in the nation during that nine-year span**;
- three conference championships (Big 12 – 2018, 2022 and 2023);
- having at least one player named all-America in 14 of his first 16 seasons at the helm.
Hybl is the first head coach in Georgia Tech athletics history that won a national title as a head coach at the highest level of NCAA competition before his/her arrival on The Flats.
Making Oklahoma’s success under Hybl even more impressive is the fact that he inherited a team that finished 10th at the 2009 Big 12 Championship and quickly transformed it into one of the nation’s top programs.
The Sooners’ feats under Hybl have led to a multitude of individual honors for the 45-year-old head coach. In addition to being inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame in 2024, his accolades include:
- being named 2022 Dave Williams National Coach of the Year;
- earning two Big 12 Coach of the Year awards (2018 and 2021);
- serving as head coach of the United States’ 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup team.
The success started right out of the gate for Hybl at OU, as in 2009-10, he led the Sooners to a tournament victory at the Kansas Invitational, one of only 33 coaches in NCAA Division I history to win a tournament in his first season at the helm.
A year later, Oklahoma earned an NCAA regional berth in Hybl’s second season and advanced to the tournament final, starting a historic streak of 15-consecutive finals appearances.** The 15-straight NCAA final berths are second behind only Texas (19) among the nation’s longest current streaks and are the fifth-most in NCAA Division I history.
In 2017, Hybl delivered the second national championship in Oklahoma men’s golf history (and first since 1989) when he led the 13th-seeded Sooners to a 3-1-1 victory over Oregon in the national title match. OU’s all-America trio of Max McGreevy, Grant Hirshman and Brad Dalke combined for five individual titles during the championship season in 2016-17, the most in a single season in school history.
In 2018, Hybl guided the Sooners to their first Big 12 championship since 2006, en route to being named the conference’s Coach of the Year for the first time.
The Covid-19-shortended 2019-20 season was shaping up to be a special one for OU, as it was ranked as high as No. 1 nationally and finished No. 2 when the pandemic wiped out the remainder of the season.
In 2021, Oklahoma matched a then-school record with five tournament wins and reached the national championship match, finishing runner-up. Hybl was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
The Sooners put together one of the most special seasons in program history in 2021-22, when they set a new program record with seven tournament victories, including the 2022 Big 12 Championship, and spent the entire spring season ranked No. 1 nationally before their season came to an end in match play at the NCAA Final. The seven tournament wins are tied for the 32nd-most in NCAA Division I single-season history, while a pair of three-tournament winning streaks are tied for the 34th-longest winning streaks ever in Division I. The record-setting squad was led by current PGA Tour standout Chris Gotterup, who was named National Player of the Year as OU’s first winner of the Haskins Award.
In 2023, Hybl led the Sooners to their second-straight Big 12 title, giving Oklahoma back-to-back conference championships for the first time since it won three-straight Big Eight titles from 1955-57.
OU won five total tournaments in 2023-24, including its fifth NCAA regional title under Hybl, and produced a whopping four all-Americans.
In his 17th and final season at Oklahoma in 2025-26, Hybl has led the Sooners to two more tournament triumphs, including a resounding 20-stroke victory at this week’s NCAA regional. His final tournament at the helm at OU will be the NCAA final, which will be held May 29-June 3 in Carlsbad, Calif.
“I’m thankful to President Ángel Cabrera and Ryan Alpert for their faith in me to lead the legendary Georgia Tech golf program,” Hybl said. “The Institute has an unparalleled golf history, starting with one of the greatest figures ever in American golf, Bobby Jones, and going on through the years with an incredible line of NCAA champions, national players of the year, U.S. Amateur champions, British Amateur champions and PGA Tour standouts. To be entrusted with leading a program with such a rich tradition, and to take the torch from one of the greatest coaches in the history of our sport in Coach Heppler, is truly humbling.
“I’m also grateful to join the brotherhood of Georgia Tech golf, which includes the men I just mentioned, along with so many others, including many friends that I grew up with in Georgia. These men have made their marks in all walks of life, on and off the golf course, and to know that they are all in to support our program and help take it to an even higher level is an extraordinary feeling. That all-in attitude also extends to President Cabrera and Ryan. I’m honored to be the head coach at an institution that has such a deep commitment to golf. It is a commitment that very few places in the nation can rival.
“Finally, this is an opportunity for my family and me to come home. We’ve missed out on a lot of special moments with our family in Georgia over the years, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to not only lead such a great, historic program, but to do it at home.
“I also want to extend my deepest gratitude and affection for the University of Oklahoma and all of the people that have made our 17 years in Norman so special. I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve achieved together, and my full and complete focus for the next 10 days is on trying to win another national championship with a very special group of men. It has been an honor to be the head coach at OU for 17 years, and I’m equally honored to be the next head coach at Georgia Tech. The future is very bright for both programs.”
Before beginning his head coaching career at Oklahoma, Hybl was an assistant coach at Georgia from 2005-09. He helped lead Georgia to four-straight NCAA top-10 finishes, two Southeastern Conference championships and an NCAA regional title in his four seasons on UGA’s staff, while helping produce 18 all-Americans, 16 all-SEC selections, an SEC Player of the Year and three SEC Freshmen of the Year.
As a player, Hybl was a two-time all-American and two-time team captain at Georgia (2000-04). One of the most decorated players in UGA history, he recorded 13 top-10 individual finishes and a 72.7 career scoring average. In 2002, he earned a place on the United States’ Palmer Cup roster and was a Ben Hogan Award semifinalist. He also excelled in the classroom, earning a prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship to go along with scholar all-America, SEC academic honor roll, president’s list, dean’s list accolades. He also earned UGA’s Joel Eaves (highest grade point average by a male student-athlete) and Dick Bestwisk (top graduating senior GPA) awards.
Following his collegiate career, he played professionally on the Nationwide, Hooters and Tar Heel tours and recorded several top-10 finishes before a career-ending elbow injury in 2009.
As a youth, Hybl was the top-ranked golfer in the country, the 1998 American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year, a three-time AJGA all-American and a three-time member of the United States’ Canon Cup team.
Hybl is married to the former Rebecca Booker and they have two daughters, Ady and Harper.
* Georgia Tech golf did not have a head coach from 1919-30
** the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic
THE RYAN HYBL FILE
Personal
Hometown: Colbert, Ga.
Family: Wife – Rebecca; Daughters – Ady and Harper
Alma Mater: Georgia, 2004
Playing Experience
2000-04 – Georgia
2004-09 – Nationwide, Hooters and Tar Heel professional tours
Coaching Experience
2004-09 – Georgia (assistant coach)
2009-26 – Oklahoma (head coach)
2026- – Georgia Tech (head coach)
Year-by-Year as a Head Coach
2009-10: 1 tournament title
2010-11: 1 tournament title, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (28th)
2011-12: 1 tournament title, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (11th)
2012-13: 1 tournament title, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (11th)
2013-14: 3 tournament titles, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (t-16th)
2014-15: 3 tournament titles, NCAA regional champion, NCAA Championship (t-28th)
2015-16: 3 tournament titles, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (match play quarterfinals)
2016-17: 3 tournament titles, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship, NATIONAL CHAMPION
2017-18: 5 tournament titles, Big 12 champion, NCAA regional champion, NCAA Championship (match play quarterfinals)
2018-19: 3 tournament titles, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (match play quarterfinals)
2019-20: 2 tournament titles (season shortened and Big 12/NCAA Championships canceled due to Covid-19 pandemic)
2020-21: 4 tournament titles, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (match play runner-up)
2021-22: 7 tournament titles, Big 12 champion, NCAA regional champion, NCAA Championship (match play quarterfinals)
2022-23: 4 tournament titles, Big 12 champion, NCAA regional, NCAA Championship (17th)
2023-24: 3 tournament titles, NCAA regional champion, NCAA Championship (9th)
2024-25: 5 tournament titles, NCAA regional champion, NCAA Championship (match play quarterfinals)
2025-26: 2 tournament titles, NCAA regional champion, NCAA Championship
TOTAL: 51 tournament titles, 3 Big 12 championships, 15 NCAA Regional appearances, 6 NCAA Regional championships, 15 NCAA Championship appearances, 7 NCAA Championship match play appearances, 1 national championship
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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