Dan Braun enters his fifth full year as the IUP men's golf head coach in the fall of 2023. Braun was named the sixth head coach in program history December 7, 2018 and took over the Crimson Hawks for the spring portion of their 2018-19 season.
He also serves as the athletic department's first academic coordinator, bridging the gap between academic support services on campus and the IUP student-athlete population.
Braun has successfully continued IUP's tradition of excellence on the golf course during his short time in charge of the program, winning four straight PSAC Championships (fall 2019, spring 2021, fall 2021, fall 2022). In 39 tournaments as the head coach, Braun has led the Crimson Hawks to 12 victories and eight second place finishes. In total, IUP has finished 27 of his 39 tournaments inside the top-5 of the final team standings.
His players have also excelled individually, combining for 14 All-Atlantic Region and 19 All-PSAC honors since the spring of 2019. That includes two PSAC Golfers of the Year (Shaun Fedor in 2020, Matt Cocorikis in 2019) and three PSAC Freshman of the Year winners (Salazar in 2022, Fedor in 2020, Nick Ward in 2019).
Braun has been lauded for his success, earning Atlantic Region and PSAC Coach of the Year honors after the 2019-20 season. He was named the league's Coach of the Year again following the 2022-23 season.
Braun has also tutored Jack Buccigross (2018-22), the only golfer IUP history to earn five career all-region honors.
Braun's teams also excel in the classroom, winning three straight IUP Men's Academic Team of the Year awards (2020, 2021, 2022), as well as the PSAC Top Team GPA for men's golf in 2021.
Individually, IUP has eight GCAA Scholar All-Americans since the spring of 2019, including a program record five in 2021.
Braun helped the IUP men's golf program continue its unprecedented run of success with a fourth straight conference championship, won in October 2022 at Iron Valley Golf Club in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. It marked the program's 32nd conference crown and the Crimson Hawks' sixth in the last seven seasons.
IUP led wire-to-wire in the tournament, in first place all three rounds, eventually winning by 15 strokes over second-place Gannon. Individually, Guillermo Salazar captured medalist honors for the tournament by one shot, the 18th golfer to win the PSAC individual championship.
Braun and the Hawks secured three tournament wins during the 2022-23 campaign, making the program's record 26th straight NCAA regional appearance. IUP battled back to overtake Gannon during the final round of the regional championship at Iron Valley in May 2023, finishing third in the team standings and securing the program's first automatic bid to nationals since 2014-15.
The Hawks finished 17th in a loaded national field during the 2023 NCAA DII Men's Golf Championships, held at the Avalon lakes Country Club in Warren, Ohio. IUP featured a balanced lineup in 2022-23, placing four golfers on the All-PSAC teams. Alex Swinnerton was named the PSAC Freshman of the Year, while Jackson Buccigross was named a GCAA DII PING All-American selection.
Braun's third season was highlighted by the program's 31st PSAC Championship in the fall at the Hershey Country Club. It was Braun's third straight title and the Crimson Hawks' fifth in the last six seasons.
IUP won by six strokes over second place Gannon, with three Hawks finishing in the top-8 on the individual leaderboard. Freshman Isaiah Swan was the PSAC's individual champion, the 17th IUP golfer to win medalist honors at the conference championship.
Braun and the Hawks then won two of their five tournaments in the spring, including West Chester's Dr. Edwin B. Cottrell Invitational and Bloomsburg's Husky Invitational. Two more medalists followed for Braun and the Hawks, with Jack Buccigross winning at the Cottrell Invitational and Shaun Fedor winning the Husky Invitational.
IUP made its record 25th straight NCAA regional championship appearance at Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, N.Y., finishing in a tie for eighth out of 20 teams.
Braun got off to a great start at IUP, winning two tournaments in the spring of 2019 followed by back-to-back PSAC championships in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021.
After taking over for Fred Joseph during the second half of the 2018-19 season, Braun helped Matt Cocorikis win three straight tournaments, earn all-region and PSAC Men's Golfer of the Year honors, and finish as the No. 1-ranked player in Golfstat's regional rankings. Nick Ward was the PSAC Freshman of the Year that spring while he and Cocorikis were joined by freshman Jack Buccigross on the All-PSAC squad. Those three, plus Jeremy Eckenrode, were all-region selections.
Braun also finished his first spring leading the Crimson Hawks to the No. 1 spot in the final Golfstat Atlantic Region team rankings.
The Crimson Hawks totaled four tournament wins during 2018-19, the most in a year since the 2012-13 team won six times. The average team score of 301.9 was also the best since the 2013-14 squad shot a 299.2.
In the fall of 2020 Braun led IUP to three victories in five events, culminating in the program's 29th all-time PSAC Championship. It was a runaway win for Braun and the Hawks, as they posted the top score in each of the tournament's three rounds to finish 13 strokes better than second place West Chester. Freshman Shaun Fedor became the program's 16th all-time PSAC medalist.
That year, which was set to be Braun's first full season, was interupted in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It did, however, come with a fair share of accolades that spring.
For the second straight year IUP finished as the No. 1 team in Golfstat's Atlantic Region rankings. Braun was named the Atlantic Region and PSAC Coach of the Year, while Fedor swept PSAC Golfer and Freshman of the Year honors. In total, three golfers earned All-PSAC and all-region honors.
Braun and the Crimson Hawks returned to the course in the spring of 2021, a second straight PSAC Championship at Hershey Country Club in April while finishing second in two more events.
IUP made its 24th straight appearance in the NCAA Atlantic/East Region Championships at Lake View Country Club in North East, Pennsylvania. Playing with just four players, a short-handed IUP squad put together a late surge but fell just five strokes off the cut to finish in a tie for sixth place out of 16 teams.
Three players earned all-region and All-PSAC honors while Braun saw a program-record five Hawks earn GCAA Scholar All-America honors.
Braun stepped into his new position after serving as the team's volunteer assistant coach since 2012 (seven years). He was also the head golf professional at the Indiana Country Club for 27 years.
Braun was part of the top men's golf program in the Atlantic Region since joining the staff as he helped the Crimson Hawks to three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships (2012, 2016, 2017), two regional titles (2013, 2014), and the program's first ever match play berth at the NCAA Division II Championships (2014).
As the assistant, Braun organized team and individual practice sessions, developed the offseason fitness program, created team development programs, and introduced a game planning program for improved preparation for tournament play.
Braun served as a key recruiter for the 2018 freshman signing class that helped the Crimson Hawks finish second at the 2018 PSAC Championships, as two of those newcomers finished in the top five individually at Hershey. He's also served as the lead recruiter for the 2019 class.
Braun served as the head professional at the Indiana Country Club since 1992, successfully managing golf operation at the private club during that time. He has more than 30 years of instruction experience, including a swing/game coach for many NCAA Division I, II, and III golfers.
He has been elected to four different terms on the Tri-State Section PGA Board of Directors since 2004, including his current term as Tournament Committee Chair and Secretary. Braun has been a Titleist Leadership Advisory staff member since 2011, is a BioMech Golf Certified Instructor, and served on the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Championship committee from 2006-15.
Braun played collegiately at Penn State University, where he served as the team captain in 1988-89. He was an All-Atlantic 10 honoree in 1987-88 and one of two Nittany Lions to qualify for the 1989 NCAA East Region Championships.
He graduated from Penn State in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Health and Human Development.
Dan is married to Vicky (Dalessio) Braun and has two stepdaughters, Emily and Olivia.
Updated August 1, 2023
