Former Carolinas Amateur champion Ashley (Sloup) Sease is in her fourth year with the Campbell golf program in 2023-24 and first as Associate Head Coach of the women’s team. She joined the Fighting Camels in March 2021 as assistant men’s coach after serving as assistant women’s coach at Furman University since 2019.
In August 2022, she added assistant women’s coach responsibilities to her duties on head coach John Crooks’ staff. In June 2023, she was promoted to Associate Head Coach of the women’s team.
“I am beyond grateful to Coach John Crooks, Director of Athletics Hannah Bazemore, Senior Associate AD Wanda Watkins and Campbell University for the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Sease. “I dreamed of becoming a head coach since I was in college. To be named Associate Head Coach of Campbell Women’s Golf and further assist legendary coach John Crooks in building on the winning and elite culture and foundation he has created is ultimately a dream come true. By John Crooks’ side, we will lead our talented Camels to all new heights as we enter a new era in the CAA. This is truly a dream come true. Go Camels!”
During the 2022-23 season, she helped lead Campbell to the program’s seventh-consecutive Big South women’s title and an 11th-consecutive NCAA postseason appearance.
“Ashley arrived on campus in a whirlwind,” said Crooks, who is entering his 33rd year in charge of the Campbell women’s program. “Her energy, her positivity, and her vision to help each of our players is extraordinary. She works at her craft daily and asks what else can she do. She may be the best recruiter with which I have ever worked. I am so fortunate to have Ashley’s loyalty and dedication. I believe I’m a good coach but Ashley has the qualities necessary to raise our program to new heights.”
Campbell won the Golfweek Fall Challenge in school record-tying fashion as the CU women finished at 18-under par 834 on the par-71 Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawley’s Island, S.C. The Camels also won the Sea Best Intercollegiate at San Jose.
She helped develop the 2023 Big South women’s freshman of the year Isabella Hahne and scholar-athlete of the year Sanna Lundmark and mentored five golfers who earned league honors.
In the 2021-22 season, Sloup helped develop Big South men’s golfer of the year Henrik Lilja and freshman of the year Henric Bjelke. Lilja earned an individual berth to the NCAA Palm Beach Regional and along with Claude Churchward, claimed Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar from the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Lilja and Churchward were joined on the Big South Presidential Honor Roll by Bjelke, Edwin Blomander, Alejandro Cogollo, Petter Hagberg, Rasmus Jonasson, Garnet Manley III and Jump Winwon. The 2021-22 Campbell men also earned the Golf Coaches Association of America Presidents special recognition for achieving a 3.51 team GPA.
She helped guide the Camels to a pair of runner-up finishes in her first three tournaments with the men’s program, then helped lead the team to the 2021 Big South Conference title. Campbell finished in a tie for the 2021 Big South stroke play title, then won the match play segment over Gardner-Webb (3-0) and Radford (3-1). Pontus Nyholm was named Big South golfer of the year and joined on the all-conference team by Edwin Blomander, Josh Hetherington and Henrik Lilja. Romain Lanteri was named to the all-freshman team.
Nyholm was ranked as high as No. 13 by Golfstat, No. 15 by PGA TOUR University and in the top 50 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He won three times in 2021 – the Southern Invitational, Golfweek Spring Invitational and Stitch Intercollegiate. In the final round of the Stitch, Nyholm shot a 10-under-par 62, one stroke off the school mark, and set a school 54-hole record for most strokes below par (-17).
Lilja and Nyholm were named All-America Scholar by the GCAA and six Camels earned places on the Big South Presidential Honor Roll.
Nyholm capped his career by setting school records for lowest stroke average (71.17) and top 10 finishes (21) in addition to earning honorable mention All-America status and a place on Team International in the Arnold Palmer Cup.
A three-time All-Big South Conference performer and 2015 all-freshman team member at Winthrop, she is still one of only 34 players in Big South women’s golf history to earn all-league recognition at least three times.
Sease was a four-time member of the Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team and was a three-time Big South All-Academic team honoree. A three-time top-10 finisher in the Big South Championship, including an all-championship team honoree as a freshman, Sease helped lead Winthrop to a runner-up finish in her senior season when she placed sixth individually. She won four tournaments in her collegiate career and helped the Eagles claim four team titles.
Following graduation, Sease served one year as assistant coach at Northwood University in Midland, Mich., where she coached the team’s second-ever NCAA National Championship qualifier.
During her tenure at Furman, Sease coached Natalie Srinivasan, the No.-1 ranked player in the country who earned the Annika and Juli Inkster awards.
A native of Southport, N.C., Sease earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a minor in human resource management from Winthrop in 2018. She and her husband, Christian, were married in November 2022.
(6/29/23)
