Georgia State named Jessica Steward the Panthers’ second-ever head coach in July 2019 and in just her first two seasons, the seasoned coach has made a major inpact on recruiting.
In the shortened 2020-21 season, she led the Panthers to a win over Dayton in a dual match to begin the year, as well as a tie for fourth at the Georgia State Invitational. She also oversaw the development of freshman Mahina Leveau who earned a second-place finish at the Georgia State Invitational and shot one of the lowest three round scores in program history.
In a shortened first season with the Panthers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Steward led Georgia State to multiple impressive performances, including the teams’ lowest round, a 1-under 287, in 4.5 years, at the Amelia Island Collegiate. Individually her squad garnered nine top 25 finishes in just six events while Emma Berlin finished the year with one of the top 10 single season scoring averages in program history.Â
Steward came to GSU after leading Lamar for four seasons. In her first year at Lamar, she led the program to the 2016 Southland Conference Championship title before earning Southland Conference Coach of the Year accolades.
In 2017, Steward was again recognized among her peers as the LPGA’s Central Section Coach of the Year.Â
In her four years at Lamar, Steward coached two Southland Conference Players of the Year, one SLC Student-Athlete of the Year, one conference Freshman of the Year, and two conference Newcomers of the Year. In total, Steward has mentored five  All-Southland First-Team selections in addition to three Second Team and four Honorable Mentions.Â
In four years, Steward coached the Cardinals to ten team tournament titles and seven runner-up finishes. She also led individual players to 15 low-medalist honors (including ties). Throughout 40 stroke play events, Steward’s golfers have earned 46 top-five finishes.Â
In her final season, the Cardinals garnered five top 3 team finishes, including a tournament title at the Babs Steffens Invitational.
Steward was also instrumental in reviving the Cardinal Challenge Golf Tournament, at the Beaumont Country Club, which saw Lamar win the title in 2017.
Steward came to Beaumont after spending the previous seven seasons as the Women’s Head Coach at Purdue-Fort Wayne (formerly known as IPFW) where she guided the Mastodon program to its most successful run in school history. PFW continued its improvement under Steward’s guidance, culminating in record-setting seasons for both the team and individual season stroke averages during her final two years.
The Mastodons also posted their highest finish at the Summit League Championships in 2014. Steward’s teams accounted for four of the top-five team scores in school history for 18, 36 and 54 holes. During the 2013-14 campaign, Steward coached PFW to its first tournament win in program history at the 2014 Bulldog Florida Invitational, along with the program’s first individual medalist.
A certified Class A LPGA teaching professional, Steward’s athletes have also proven themselves in the classroom. PFW was recognized for posting one of the top-10 team GPAs in the country following the 2012-13 season. Steward has also placed nine players to the WGCA Scholar All-American list during her first three seasons at Lamar, in addition to the 16 honorees, she mentored at IPFW.Â
Originally from Mystic, Conn., Steward played high school golf on the boys’ team at Fitch Senior High School. She won the New England High School Girls’ Championship and was named All-State and All-New England during her senior season. Steward started her collegiate career at Boston College, where she averaged 79.62 strokes per round, finishing inside of the top-10 in five of her 11 tournaments.
She transferred to Miami after her opening college season and played her final three collegiate seasons with the Hurricanes. During her time in Miami, Steward was ranked as high as No. 33 nationally by Golfstat. A former team captain, Steward was named Academic All-ACC while recording the lowest two and three-round tournament scores in program history at 7-under par as a junior.Â
Steward graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 2008 in Sport Administration with a minor in Business Management. She has since earned a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Higher Education Administration from the University St. Francis (Ind.).
