Mizzou Athletics extends contract of women’s golf coach

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After leading the Tigers to their best finish in program history, the leader of Mizzou women's golf is sticking around for the long haul.

On Wednesday, MU Athletics announced that it has extended the contract of head coach Caroline Westrup Gaeta through the 2030-31 season. That news comes after she led her squad from a 120th overall finish in the 2025 season to a historic 12th-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Championships.

"One of the biggest reasons why I wanted this job was because of the university, who works here, we're all about being a big family and helping each other and that's something that I really value," Westrup Gaeta said. "I'm just excited that I get the opportunity to be here. I had one more year on my original contract and then four new ones to continue building the team and building the standards here and make sure that we are competitive every single year."

You can watch the full press conference with Coach Westrup Gaeta at MU's fan event in Columbia, on Wednesday night, in the video player below.

Westrup Gaeta is at the helm of one the fastest-ascending programs in the nation and, as a result, was one of just 20 coaches to be named to the WGCA National Coach of the Year watchlist in the 2026 season.

"What we've seen from her is performance, right? It's always fun and good to be able to reward a coach for performance and her success this year competitively, her team's success and how far she's come," Athletic Director Laird Veatch said. "You know, one of the things we talk about with our coaches all the time is it's not just where you are, but it's about trajectory...are we showing progress towards further success? She's really come in as a fairly young and inexperienced coach and taught herself and grown a lot."