Abilene Christian University announced the hiring of Chance Cain as head coach of the men’s golf program on Friday following four seasons at Tarleton State.

Cain guided Tarleton State to the 2026 Western Athletic Conference championship and the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance during the 2025 to 2026 season. The Texans also earned two tournament victories and finished the year with 10 consecutive top 10 finishes.

Cain was named the 2026 WAC Coach of the Year after leading Tarleton State to the most successful season in program history. The Texans captured the FAU Invitational at 18 under par and posted a team score of 36 under 828 at the Golden Nugget Invitational.

Under Cain’s leadership, Alvaro Pastor earned WAC Player of the Year and WAC Freshman of the Year honors. Pastor collected two individual victories, three WAC Golfer of the Week awards, and seven top 10 finishes during the season. Pastor also finished fifth at the NCAA Marana Regional at 12 under par.

Tarleton State golfers earned six combined WAC Golfer of the Week and Month honors during the 2025 to 2026 campaign, while the program finished as the conference’s highest ranked team according to Clippd rankings.

Before taking over at Tarleton State, Cain spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Utah from 2016 through 2021. During his time with the Utes, the program earned its first tournament victory since 2009 and recorded its best Pac 12 Championship finish since joining the conference.

Cain also worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas Tech for two seasons beginning in 2012. During that span, the Red Raiders qualified for the NCAA Championship in 2013 and advanced to NCAA Regional play again in 2014.

A West Texas native, Cain played collegiately at Midland College before completing his bachelor’s degree in general business and master’s degree in sport management at Texas Tech.

Source: ACU Men’s Golf