Marcelo Huarte was named head coach of the University of South Alabama women’s golf program on May 3, 2023, and will enter his third season leading the Jaguars in 2025–26. In just his second season, Huarte orchestrated one of the most dramatic turnarounds in collegiate golf. After a challenging 2023–24 campaign, South Alabama posted a 93-29-1 record in 2024–25 and improved its national ranking by 171 spots, finishing 85th nationally. The Jaguars placed inside the top five in nine of 10 events, including four top-three finishes, and set a program-record scoring average of 293.5 strokes per round. The team also excelled academically, posting the highest cumulative GPA in program history during the spring semester.
Huarte’s impact was highlighted by the emergence of standout freshmen Katharina Schroll and Mercedes Aldana. Schroll earned Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference honors after setting a freshman scoring record and recording multiple sub-70 rounds. Aldana added second-team all-conference recognition and consistently placed among the top competitors in tournament play. Prior to South Alabama, Huarte served as assistant coach at Miami (Fla.) and previously held head coaching roles at Lynn University, where he guided teams to national championship appearances, coached multiple All-Americans, and earned regional and conference Coach of the Year honors. He began his collegiate coaching career at Barry University and also competed professionally in European and Latin American Tour qualifying events.
