Now in her second year on the Campbell Women’s Golf staff, Valeria Patino was promoted to Associate Head Coach on July 1, 2025.
A former five-time Big Sky all-conference performer, Patino was named assistant coach at Campbell in August 2024.
During her first season in Buies Creek, she helped guide the Camels to a No. 51 national ranking, and an at-large berth in the NCAA Lubbock Regional. In addition, she helped lead Campbell to a win at the Golfweek Fall Challenge, plus runner-up finishes at the Tiger Classic, The Southern, Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate and City of Oaks Collegiate.
In three trips to tournaments hosted by “power conference” programs, Patino helped the Camels finish 2-0-1 combined against Clemson, Tennessee and NC State.
Patino helped develop the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association co-golfer of the year Alicia Olsson and fellow first-team all-conference performer Mira Berglund. She also coached the 2025 CAA rookie of the year Fanni Gronlund.
Off the course, the Camels posted a 3.562 team grade-point average while six Camels earned a place on the CAA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Patino is a part of a program that has advanced to 26 NCAA regional championships in the last 32 seasons and won seven of its last nine conference titles.
“Serving as the assistant coach for this team has been a privilege,” said Patino. “I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to take on this new role. I look forward to continuing to grow with our team and coaches and look forward to all the amazing things we will accomplish this year.”
Patino joined the Fighting Camel program in August 2024 after spending the previous two years as graduate assistant coach at Ball State.
“Val's calm demeanor and her exceptional golf experience helped our women's team regain our place among the top teams in the nation,” said head coach John Crooks, a WGCA and Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame member who ranks second among all Division I women’s coaches with 100 tournament coaching titles. “Her guiding hand and her commitment to the ladies' team helped Campbell receive an at large NCAA bid last year.”
In two seasons at Ball State, Patino helped the Cardinals win two team tournament titles and improve their national ranking by 50 places. During her tenure, Ball State golfers set 18- and 54-hole program records and improved their scoring averages by seven strokes over 18 holes and 27 shots over 54 holes.
Born in Florida and raised in Panama, Patino earned Big Sky first-team all-conference recognition three times (2019-21) and was twice selected second-team all-league (2018, 2022) during her playing career at the University of Idaho. She helped the Vandals win the 2018 Big Sky Championship and earn a place in the NCAA Madison Regional.
Patino tied for 12th in the 2018 Big Sky Championship and posted top-10 finishes in each of her next three conference tournaments.
Patino earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Idaho in 2022 and a master’s degree in sport administration from Ball State in 2024. While at Ball State, she completed a marketing internship in the athletics department. As an undergraduate, she interned with the Vandals’ sports marketing program as well.
She represented Panama in numerous junior events, including the Junior Open. Patino was also ranked first on the Texas junior tour in 2017 while spending her final two prep years at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas.
