Pepperdine University Athletics

Katie Mitchell, a former standout for the Louisville women’s golf team, was named Pepperdine’s assistant coach in August 2016 and she remained in that role for three seasons.
 
“We are excited to have Katie join our women’s golf program,” said Pepperdine Coach Laurie Gibbs at the time of Mitchell’s hiring. “Katie’s combination of college golf experience and her energetic personality will help our players to continue to improve all aspects of their game in competition.”
 
Mitchell had an excellent debut season with the Waves, as Pepperdine advanced to the 2017 NCAA Championships and came in 23rd place. The Waves won the WCC title in 2019, her last season with the program.
 
“I am excited for the opportunity to work with such a knowledgeable coach in Laurie Gibbs and learn from her many years of success and experience,” said Mitchell at her hiring. “I fell in love with Pepperdine the moment I visited. The people I will be working with already seem like family. I love the team atmosphere of college golf and I am thrilled to be able to use my collegiate experiences to help the program and to have an impactful influence on the players. The principles that Pepperdine’s Athletic Department is built on captured me. Beginning my coaching career with Pepperdine and Laurie is a dream come true.”
 
Mitchell graduated from Louisville in the spring of 2016 with a degree in communications. She played two seasons with the Cardinals and earned Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic honors both seasons.
 
As a 2015-16 senior, she had a scoring average of 73.97, second-best on the team and sixth-best in program history. Mitchell recorded four top-10 finishes. She had a team-best 13th-place finish at the ACC Championships, and then tied for 42nd place at the NCAA Bryan Regional Championship. She won the 2015 Fall Kickoff tournament at the Atlanta Athletic Club. As a 2014-15 junior, Mitchell led the team with a 74.18 stroke average, had five top-10 results, tied for 17th at the ACC Championships and tied for 14th at the NCAA South Bend Regional.
 
Mitchell also spent two years at Florida (where she had a 74.30 scoring average in 2013-14) and had her first year of college at Central Florida (where she was the 2012 Conference USA Freshman of the Year and an All-C-USA second team selection).
 
During all four of her collegiate seasons, Mitchell never missed a tournament.
 
In amateur golf, Mitchell won First Coast Women’s Amateur titles in both 2014 and 2015. In 2015, she placed 15th in stroke play at the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship and tied for 10th at the North & South Amateur Championship, advancing to match play in both. In 2014, she led Florida’s team to a first-place finish at the Southeast Challenge, and she also competed at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
 
Mitchell has previous coaching experience working with the First Tee program in California and Kentucky and assisting at various camps and clinics throughout her college career.
 
Mitchell is a native of Jacksonville, Florida, and attended Fernandina Beach High School, where she was a three-time all-state selection.