Ryan Heisey - Assistant Coach - Men's Golf Coaches

Ryan Heisey

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
rh22w@fsu.edu
Phone:
252-571-5353

(updated April 2025

Ryan Heisey, who is coaching the No. 1 ranked male (Luke Clanton) and female (Lottie Woad) amateur players in the world, is in his third season at Florida State. During his first two seasons, he has helped coach both the men’s and women’s into the NCAA Championship Finals with the men finishing as the National Runners-Up in 2024. During his first two seasons in Tallahassee, he has worked with 10 All-Americans (six men and four women) while helping coach both teams into the top-12 of the final standings in the NCAA Championship and into the top-10 of the final national rankings in both of his first two years.

Heisey helped coach the Florida State women's team to the first ACC Championship in school history in 2025. The Seminoles finished in a tie for second place in stroke play then defeated Cal (3-0) and Wake Forest (3-2) to win the conference championship on April 19, 2025 at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

The Seminole men were ranked No. 6 and the and the Seminole women were ranked No. 12 in the final Golfweek polls of the 2023-24 season. The Seminole men were ranked No. 7 by Golfweek and No. 8 by Golfstat, while the Florida State women were ranked No. 9 by Golfstat and No. 10 by Golfweek in the 2022-23 final national rankings. The Florida State men advanced to match play finished in a tie for third in the NCAA Championship, while the women advanced to match play and finished in a tie for fifth at the National Championship Finals.

Heisey has helped teams at three of his four coaching stops – at UNC Greensboro, UAB, and Florida State -- to appearances in the NCAA Regional Championships and NCAA Championship Finals.

Heisey’s tenure at Florida State has seen incredible national accolades earned by both the Seminole men and women.

During his first season at Florida State, Heisey helped coach a school-record four All-Americans in the men’s side, along with two on the women’s team. Junior Brett Roberts (Second-Team), redshirt junior Cole Anderson (Third-Team), junior Frederik Kjettrup (Honorable Mention) and Clanton (Honorable Mention) were each recognized by the Golf Coaches Association of America. The four selections eclipse the previous school records of three in 2015 and 2021. Charlotte Heath (First-Team) and Woad (First-Team) were named All-Americans by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association.

During his second season, four Seminoles earned All-American honors. The men were honored with two All-Americans – Clanton (First-Team) and Kjettrup (Second-Team). The women were also honored with two All-Americans – Woad (First-Team) and Mirabel Ting (Honorable Mention).

Both the Florida State men and women have had at least one player earn All-American honors in each of the last four seasons. Woad was named as the National Freshman of the Year (co) by the WGCA.

He works with both the nationally ranked Seminole men’s and women’s teams in all areas of player development and program administration under Head Men’s Coach Trey Jones and Head Women’s Coach Amy Bond.

Heisey has coached student-athletes to tremendous success at each school on his growing coaching resume.

Heisey spent one season as a volunteer assistant at his Alma Mater, UNC Greensboro. In his one season with the Spartans, he helped lead UNCG to the 2018 Southern Conference title and a berth into NCAA Regionals.

Heisey moved to Chattanooga as an assistant coach and spent two successful seasons at the Tennessee-based school (2019 and 2020). He helped lead the Mocs to the 2019 Memphis Intercollegiate team championship and to a third place finish at the Southern Conference Championships, as well as four top-five ream finishes.

Heisey joined the Blazers after spending two seasons as the assistant coach at Chattanooga (2019 and 2020).

At UAB, and with Heisey's assistance, Nick Robillard was named the Conference USA Golfer of the Year in 2021 and the CUSA Men’s Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Robillard earned All-CUSA First-Team honors in 2021 and All-CUSA Second-Team honors in 2022. Khavish Varadan was also a two-time All-CUSA selection under Heisey – first team in 2022 and second team in 2021.

Heisey turned pro in 2014 and made 41 career starts playing on the PGA’s Latin America and Mackenzie (Canada) tours.

A native of New Bern, N.C., Heisey graduated from UNC Greensboro in 2010 with a degree in Tourism Management. He is married to the former Jillian Idle. The couple welcomed their first child – Wilson – into the world shortly before the beginning of the Seminoles’ 2023 spring season.

HEISEY AND SEMINOLE WOMEN IN 2023-24
Heisey helped guide the Seminole women to a top-12 finish at the 2024 NCAA Championship Finals, marking their sixth consecutive season in the national top 12. Under his guidance, standout golfer Lottie Woad earned All-American honors and is ranked second in school history for career stroke average. Woad also son the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2024. The team also achieved academic excellence, recording a program-high 3.892 GPA in the 2024 spring semester. Five players were named to the 2024 WGCA Scholar Athlete Team, continuing Florida State’s tradition of success both on the course and in the classroom.

HEISEY AND THE NATIONAL RUNNER-UP SEMINOLE MEN’S TEAM IN 2024
Heisey played a key role in the Florida State Men’s Golf team finishing as the 2024 NCAA National Runners-Up. His work with current junior Luke Clanton has helped him earn All-American honors and ascend ot the No. 1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in 2024. The Seminoles were the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Stanford Regional and have played in 18 consecutive NCAA Regional Championships. Clanton made history with the lowest single-season stroke average in school history (69.33) and earned First-Team All-American honors in 2024. Gray Albright earned All-ACC honors, and Tyler Weaver was named the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year.

FIRST SEASON AT FLORIDA STATE WAS A SUCCESSFUL ONE
Heisey coaching of both the men’s and women’s team at Florida State in 2023 helped the program achieve a number of top-flight achievements for both programs. The Seminole men were ranked No. 7 in the final Golfweek poll, advanced to match play and finished in a tie for third place in the NCAA Championships, earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Morgan Hill Regional Championship and finished in third place in the regional. The Seminole women were ranked No. 9 in the final Golfstat poll, advanced to match play and finished in a tie for fifth place in the NCAA Championship finals, earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Raleigh Regional Championship, and finished in fifth place in the regional championship. He helped coach four All-American’s on the men’s side (Junior Brett Roberts, Second-Team, redshirt junior Cole Anderson Third-Team, junior Frederik Kjettrup, Honorable Mention, and freshman Luke Clanton, Honorable Mention, as recognized by the Golf Coaches Association of America. On the women’s side, Charlotte Heath, First-Team, and Lottie Woad, First-Team, earned All-American honors as named by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association. Both the men (Seminole Intercollegiate and the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial) and the women (the Schooner Fall Invitational and the Florida State Match Up) won two tournament championships in Heisey’s first season at Florida State.

HEISEY AS A PROFESSIONAL GOLFER
Heisey played 41 total professional events during his professional career, playing 22 events on the PGA Tour of Canada and 19 events in the PGA Tour Latin America. He played in 11 events in the PGA Tour of Canada in 2017.

HEISEY AS AN AMATEUR CHAMPION
Heisey won the 2010 North Carolina Amateur Championships in 2010. In winning the North Carolina Amateur, he birdied the final hole to shoot a tournament low round of 64 and set the all-time lowest 72-hole score in North Carolina Amateur Championship history with an 11-under par 269. Heisey was the runner-up of the North Carolina State Match Play Championship in 2010 and placed fourth overall at the Middle Atlantic Amateur Championships in 2010.

BEGAN HIS COACHING CAREER AT UNC GREENSBORO IN 2018
Heisey, who finished as the runner-up at the 2010 Southern Conference Championship, began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, UNC Greensboro, in 2018. In Heisey’s one season at UNC Greensboro, the Spartans displayed consistent improvement and capped its season with the first Southern Conference Championship in his only season at UNC Greensboro. The Spartans’ Southern Conference championship qualified UNC Greensboro to play in the second NCAA Regional Championship in school history. The Spartans’ outstanding season was rewarded individual honors for Terrance Stewart (the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year), Jonathan Brightwell (the Pinnacle Award presented to the player with the highest GPA on the championship team, Bryce Hendrix, Nick Lyerly, and Josh Stockwell where were all named to the All-Southern Conference team.

CONTINUED HIS COACHING CAREER AT CHATTANOOGA IN 2019
Heisey spent two successful seasons at Chattanooga (2019 and 2020). He helped lead the Mocs to the 2019 Memphis Intercollegiate team championship and to a third place finish at the Southern Conference Championships, as well as four top-five ream finishes. In 2019, he coached Oliver Simonsen who nearly became the third player in school history to average under par for an entire season.

SUCCESS IN TWO SEASONS AT UAB
As an assistant coach at UAB (2021 and 2022), Heisey led the Blazers to a 24th place finish at 2021 NCAA Championship Finals and to two appearances in the NCAA Regional Championships (at Noblesville, Ind., in 2021 and at Stockton, Cal., in 2022. The Blazers’ 24^th place finish in the 2021 NCAA Finals marked UAB’s fifth-best NCAA finish in program history. Heisey helped engineer one of the most memorable moments in UAB history during the final round at the NCAA Noblesville (Ind.) Regional Championship. The Blazers entered the final round of the regional in eighth place and 11 strokes outside of the cutline to advance to the NCAA Finals. The Blazers shot 13 under par to erase the deficit and claim the fifth and final spot for a berth into Nationals from the Noblesville Regional. During the 2022 season, Heisey coached Khavish Varadan who earned All-Conference USA First-Team honors, and Alfie Fox and Nick Robillard, who earned All-Conference USA Second-Team honors.