Pepperdine University Athletics

Blaine Woodruff helped the Pepperdine men’s golf team reach the pinnacle, as the Waves won the national championship in 2021 and were the nation’s #1-ranked team in 2020. He served as either an assistant coach or the associate head coach for five seasons between 2017-18 and 2021-22.
 
In his first two seasons at Pepperdine, Woodruff helped guide the Waves to the 2018 and 2019 West Coast Conference titles, and to an 11th-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships (at the time the program’s best result since 2004).
 
Although the Waves weren’t given the chance to defend their conference crown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the cancelation of the spring season, the Waves were recognized as the nation’s top team in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll and by Golfstat. He also worked with Pepperdine’s first National Player of the Year in Sahith Theegala, who won the Ben Hogan, Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus awards.
 
Woodruff and the Waves won the NCAA title in 2021, one of a program-record six victories. He was named a finalist for the GCAA’s Jan Strickland Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. The Waves went on to reach the NCAA semifinals in 2022 before Woodruff departed to become head coach at Chattanooga.
 
Over his five seasons, Woodruff was part of 17 tournament victories. The Waves produced 18 individual medalists, eight different All-Americans and 22 All-WCC selections.
 
“I want to thank Coach (Michael) Beard and Pepperdine for giving me this opportunity,” said Woodruff at the time of his hiring in December 2017. “I feel extremely blessed to be part of the Pepperdine family – it is not a position I take lightly. I am very excited to be a part of the successful men’s golf program here at Pepperdine and I am fully committed to the school’s core values. I am eager to invest in our student-athletes to help them reach their fullest potential on and off the course as we compete for the national championship.”
 
Woodruff came to Pepperdine from Wisconsin, where he began his college coaching career in January 2016. In his first full season, he helped the Badgers improve from 14th to seventh at the 2017 Big Ten Championship.
 
He graduated with honors from South Carolina in 2014 with a degree in business administration. He made the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll four times. A four-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks, he earned team MVP accolades as a freshman with a team-best 74.11 scoring average. He played in 25 career college tournaments, earning five top-20 finishes with a career scoring average of 74.79.
 
A native of Acworth, Georgia, Woodruff was a three-time Atlanta Junior Player of the Year and a two-time Georgia PGA Junior Player of the Year. He qualified for match play at the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur. He finished second in the 2009 Georgia PGA Junior Championship. He played in the 2011 and 2012 U.S. Amateur.
 
“Blaine has assisted a great coach and program at Wisconsin the last two years,” said Michael Beard at the time of Woodruff’s hiring. “We feel fortunate to have him join us as our assistant coach and we’re looking forward to the impact he will make on our program. He’ll bring a high level of competitiveness, knowledge of the game and experience to the team. I love Blaine’s passion for coaching and his desire to invest in relationships. He’s a great fit for the University and our men’s golf program.”
 
In summer 2020, he married former Pepperdine women’s golf assistant coach Katie Mitchell, who went on to be an assistant at USC.