Koo unanimously voted Freshman of the Year; Radley named Coach of the Year
ROSEMONT, Illinois – University of Oregon sophomore Kiara Romero has been named the 2025 Big Ten Women’s Golfer of the Year, headlining the conference’s annual postseason honors announced Monday. USC’s Jasmine Koo was unanimously voted the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, while Ducks coach Derek Radley earned Coach of the Year honors.
Romero led the high-flying Ducks to the 2025 Big Ten Championship at Bulle Rock Golf Course earlier this month, earning medalist honors by three strokes as the only player in the field to go under-par all three days in Maryland. It was her first win of a campaign that featured four runner-up finishes, including in three-of-four tournaments heading into the conference championships. The San Jose, California, native also claimed the 2025 Mary Fossum Award with the Big Ten’s lowest adjusted scoring average (68.6) during the season. Last year’s WGCA Co-Freshman of the Year is ranked No. 3 in the nation and considered one of the top contenders for the ANNIKA Award given annually to the top female Division 1 collegiate golfer.
Koo burst onto the college golf scene with four wins during her debut season with victories at the Windy City Collegiate Classic, Stanford Intercollegiate, Juli Inkster Invitational and the stroke play portion of the prestigious East Lake Cup. Currently the No. 7 ranked player in the country, she ranked second in the Big Ten this year in average score, and third in adjusted scoring average. The Cerritos, California, native was voted the Big Ten Freshman of the Year unanimously by the conference’s 18 head coaches, and is on the ANNIKA Award Postseason Watch List.
Radley guided Oregon to the Big Ten title in their first year in the conference, tying a conference championships scoring record with a dazzling final day at Bulle Rock to win by 14 strokes. Now in his seventh season at the helm in Eugene, his lineup currently features three of the Top-6 ranked golfers in the Big Ten. The Ducks finished first or second in four of their final five events of the year heading into the NCAA postseason.
Nine different Big Ten institutions were featured on the All-Big Ten First and Second Teams, with Oregon and Northwestern leading the way with four honorees each. Additionally, each team selected a Sportsmanship Award winner who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
2025 Big Ten Women’s Golf Postseason Honors
Player of the Year: Kiara Romero, Oregon
Freshman of the Year: Jasmine Koo, USC (unanimous)
Coach of the Year: Derek Radley, Oregon
First Team All-Big Ten:
Brooke Biermann, Michigan State
Kary Hollenbaugh, Ohio State
Jasmine Koo, USC
Vivian Lu, Washington
Lauryn Nguyen, Northwestern
Catherine Park, USC
Kiara Romero, Oregon
Karen Tsuru, Oregon
Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, Oregon
Ashley Yun, Northwestern
Second Team All-Big Ten:
Tong An, Oregon
Faith Choi, Ohio State
Francesca Fiorellini, UCLA
Taylor Kehoe, Michigan State
Natasha Kiel, Purdue
Dianna Lee, Northwestern
Elise Lee, Northwestern
Isabella McCauley, Minnesota
Nellie Ong, Ohio State
Bailey Shoemaker, USC
Sportsmanship Awards:
Illinois: Lexanne Halama
Indiana: Caroline Smith
Iowa: Lily Huether
Maryland: Karla Elena Vazquez Setzer
Michigan: Lauren Sung
Minnesota: Madison Le
Michigan State: Katie Lu
Nebraska: Miu Takahashi
Northwestern: Hsin Tai Lin
Ohio State: Marina Joyce-Romero
Oregon: Karen Tsuru
Penn State: Drew Nienhaus
Purdue: Jasmine Kahler
Rutgers: Lucrezia Rossetin
UCLA: Tiffany Le
USC: Catherine Park
Washington: Vivian Lu
Wisconsin: Chloe Chan
Eight Big Ten teams and six individuals were selected to participate in the regionals (May 5-7) of the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships, competing to earn a coveted spot in the national championships to be played May 16-21 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Big Ten champion Oregon is the No. 3 ranked team in the nation and earned the top seed at the Gold Canyon (Arizona) Regional, a field that also will feature Washington sophomore Vivian Lu. USC is the No. 2 seed in the Lexington (Kentucky) Regional, where Indiana teammates Caroline Smith and Madison Dabagia earned individual invitations to represent the Hoosiers. Northwestern is the No. 2 seed in the Norman (Oklahoma) Regional where Big Ten runner-up Michigan State earned the No. 4 seed.
Ohio State is the No. 3 seed and host of the Columbus (Ohio) Regional, a site that also includes No. 8 seed Illinois, Michigan’s Mara Janess and Minnesota’s Isabella McCauley. UCLA is the No. 5 seed at the Charlottesville (Virginia) Regional, joined by Maryland’s Nicha Kanpai, while Purdue is the No. 7 seed in the Lubbock (Texas) Regional.
