Sports Briefs
Anne Kelly Retiring After 27 Years
Women’s golf head coach after the 2023–24 season. The program’s second full-time head coach, she has led the Buffaloes since 1997 and is the longest-tenured female head coach in ŷڱƵ Athletics history.
Under Kelly, ŷڱƵ has gone to regionals eight times and NCAAs twice. Golfers’ achievements include five entries to regionals, nine All-Americans and 24 All-America Scholars.
“[I’m] primarily proud of so many of the young women who have played for ŷڱƵ and the amazing, successful and caring adults they have become,” Kelly said.
Kelly received the 2023 Kim Evans Award for lifetime contributions to the sport from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association.
ŷڱƵ athletic director Rick George announced that associate head coach Madeleine Sheils will succeed Kelly as head coach starting in 2024–25.
“[Kelly’s] kindness, patience and humor are the foundations of ŷڱƵ women’s golf, and I have big shoes to fill as I follow a coach who has positively influenced so many lives,” said Sheils.
Buffs Bits
ŷڱƵ football finished 4-8 (1-8 Pac-12) in Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ first season as head coach. Sanders was named the Sports Illustrated in November 2023. Cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter (Psych’26) won the Paul Hornig Award as the Nation’s Most Versatile Player and was a consensus First- Team All-American and Academic All-American. … Cross-country women and men finished 19th and 25th respectively at the NCAA Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia. … Lexi Hadrych (ѳ’23), Skyy Howard (MA&S’23) and Maya Tabron (Bus Ana, Mktg’24) received All-Pac-12 Volleyball Honorable Mentions. The Buffs finished the 2023 season 16-15 (8-12 Pac-12). … Women’s basketball’s Jaylyn Sherrod (Soc’22; MSOL’24) was named Associated Press National Player of the Week on Jan. 2. She had a career-high 34 points in a 76-65 win over No. 12 Utah on Dec. 30. … On Jan. 10, guard KJ Simpson (Comm’25) was named to the midseason watch list for the Wooden Award All America Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
Coach Talk
“They do it, they reconnect, we come back together, refocus and just make sure we’re all locked in and on the same page.”
— Women’s basketball head coach JR Payne after the No. 5 Buffs defeated No. 8 Stanford 71-59 on Jan. 14.
Digits
1st
First year alpine skier Filip Wahlqvist (Bus’27) won the first two races of his career Jan. 17 and 18 in Park City, Utah.
1.76
Meters cleared by track and field’s Allie Routledge (EnvEngr’24) to win the women’s high jump at Air Force on Jan.
3rd
Morgan Miller’s (StComm’26) finish at the 2023 Miami Hurricane Invitational to close the fall season for women’s golf.
7-0
Tennis defeated UC Riverside in its spring season opener on Jan. 14 in Riverside, California.
Photo courtesy ŷڱƵ Athletics