As he heads into his 17th season as the head coach for UConn men’s golf in 2023-24, Dave Pezzino has added another achievement to an already-impressive list of accomplishments. Besides another team tournament victory and six Top Five finishes during the 2022-23 season, the UConn coach guided UConn’s first-ever BIG EAST Conference men’s golf Player of the Year in grad student Jared Nelson.
Nelson’s recognition from the league symbolizes how Pezzino has raised the standards for all aspects of UConn golf since he took over the program on Aug. 24, 2007 – not only the talent level of the student-athletes, but also the academics, level of competition, scheduling and expectation of success. Under Pezzino, Top 5 finishes have all but become the norm and Top 10s almost taken for granted for the Huskies, as have academic excellence, play on top-level courses and facing some of the best teams in college golf.
In 2022-23, the Huskies played 11 regular-season events, winning BIG EAST Match Play for the second straight year, the 16th team tournament victory during Pezzino’s tenure. He has also coached 13 all-conference selections, 19 PING All-Northeast Region picks and 14 All-New England selections. The five players who were named to the 2022 BIG EAST All-Academic Team brings Pezzino’s total in that category to a remarkable 77 student-athletes, with the 2023 awards still to be announced.
In the previous 2021-22 season, Pezzino’s Huskies finished among the Top 5 in 10 of 12 events and in three of those events, a UConn player took home medalist honors.
The 2020-21 season was extremely challenging – given the uncertainty of the season and the hurdles to overcome due to the global pandemic – but still Pezzino managed to make it one of his most successful. Not only did the Huskies record six Top 5 finishes during the shortened season, but they made a triumphant return to the BIG EAST Conference after a seven-year absence, winning the conference championship and earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament, all with three freshmen in the UConn lineup. Pezzino captured the league’s Coaching Staff of the Year award, to go with his two previous New England Coach of the Year awards.
The 2018-19 season was also a banner year for UConn golf, featuring six Top 5 finishes, including the UConn Invitational team championship. The Huskies were named Team of the Year and senior Jimmy Hervol earned Player of the Year by the New England Division I golf coaches. In addition, the 2018-19 squad produced three PING All-Northeast Region selections and three All-New England picks.
Academically, under Pezzino, UConn has been honored twice as a National All-Academic Team, has had players cited as Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars and the team earned 15 consecutive NCAA Public Recognition Awards, signifying an APR in the top 10 percent of its sport in the country.
Pezzino has taken the Huskies off the U.S. mainland, keeping the Ka’anapali Classic in Maui, Hawaii, an annual event on the UConn schedule.
Pezzino came to UConn after spending one year as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois and 11 previous seasons as a head coach at the collegiate level. Pezzino spent seven years, from August of 1999 to May of 2006, at Florida International as the head coach of the women’s golf program. He led FIU to four tournament victories and 10 individual titles during his tenure and coached 10 All-Sun Belt Conference selections. He had three student-athletes earn Academic All-American recognition.
During his time at Florida International, Pezzino also worked at the Jim McLean Golf School at Doral Golf Resort, one of the premier golf teaching facilities in the world. He earned the status of master instructor, one of few instructors in the country to reach that level for McLean.
Pezzino played his collegiate golf at St. Thomas University in Miami, where he became a student-head coach during his senior year of 1996-97. Upon graduation, he continued to serve as the head men’s coach at St. Thomas until August, 1999. He led St. Thomas to consecutive NAIA National Championship appearances in 1998 and 1999, and was named Florida Sun Conference Coach of the Year in ’98, leading the squad to the conference title. He coached six individuals to all-conference honors during his tenure.
Pezzino was born on 3/22/72 in North Haven, Conn. He attended Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, N.J., while living in Mahwah, N.J. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports administration from St. Thomas in 1997.
Dave and his wife, Kristy, are the parents of two sets of twins -- Joseph and Matthew, and Daniel and Kaitlin.
