Grant Spencer is entering his 13th season as the women’s golf coach at UT Tyler, having built one of the top teams in NCAA Division III women’s golf. He is now building a similar program at the NCAA Division II level.
In 2021-22, the Patriots finished the season ranked No. 12 in the final NCAA Division II regional poll in the program’s second season at the NCAA Division II level. The Patriots finished tied for fourth at the Lone Star Conference championship tournament in 2023 and reached the NCAA Division II West Region Tournament for the first time. Freshman Martha Laremark played in the NCAA Division II national tournament, the first UT Tyler player to compete at the Division II national tournament.
Laremark – an honorable mention All-LSC selection in 2023-24 – competed in the regional tournament as a sophomore in 2024. The Patriots had their best season at the NCAA Division II level in 2024-25, finishing fifth at the LSC Tournament and appearing in the West Region Tournament. Arnie Taguines finished 13th at the NCAA Division II national tournament, earning Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) first team All-America honors.
Taguines and Emmerson Doyle were selected WGCA All-West Region, and Doyle was selected Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year, while Taguines was selected All-LSC first team.
At the NCAA Division III level, Spencer was a six-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, having earned three straight honors as the UT Tyler women's golf coach and three consecutive titles as the women's cross country coach. Spencer has led the Patriots to ASC Championships in golf (2014, 2015, 2016).
The 2015-16 year was his third straight successful season as the cross country team won the ASC Championship and advanced to the regional meet for the third consecutive season, while the women's golf team was the NCAA Division III National Runner-Up after winning its third straight ASC Championship. Spencer helped guide Morgan Loth to the ASC individual golf championship.
Spencer has been the UT Tyler Women's Golf head coach since the 2013 season and has helped lead the ladies to new heights. The team finished as the NCAA DIII National Runner-Up in 2016 with Stephanie Tutt and Laura Lindsey both earning All-America honors. The season included winning the American Southwest Conference Championship for the third straight season and Morgan Loth winning the ASC individual title.
Spencer was tabbed the ASC Coach of the Year for the third straight season. 2015 was another historic season for the Patriots, who finished the season in fourth place at the NCAA Division. III Championship. UT Tyler spent most of the season as the top-ranked team in Division. III, led by four All-American selections.
Laura Lindsey, Jordan Sloane, Marina Rhodes, and Taylor Sloane all garnered All-American honors, while Spencer was named the 2015 WGCA Div. III National Coach of the Year after leading the Patriots to eight wins in two tournaments played.
The 2014 season was another special one for the women’s golf team, as the ladies won the 2014 ASC Championship, their second all-time, qualifying for the NCAA Division III national tournament. The Patriots finished fourth at the tournament, one year after finishing as the national runner-up.
Spencer was named the UT Tyler women's golf head coach in June of 2013, the first full-time head coach for the women's program.
He joined the UT Tyler athletics staff in November of 2008 as the assistant golf coach in July of 2010. Since 2004, the UT-Tyler men's and women's golf teams have been shared by one coach, most recently by King Campbell, who retired in 2013. Spencer helped coach the 2012-13 women's team to a national runner-up finish at the 2013 NCAA Division III national championship tournament. He also helped Laura Lindsey win the Individual national title as a freshman.
Spencer, a native of Canada, spent his freshman season at Midland College playing golf, earning all-region and Freshman of the Year honors. He later graduated from McNeese State University on a golf scholarship, earning team MVP and All-Southland Conference honors his senior season.
He continued to play competitive amateur golf in events such as the Texas State Amateur and the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Spencer would not discover his love of running until shortly before moving to Tyler in 2000. Spencer began running marathons in 1998 and has since run the Boston Marathon four times and the New York Marathon once.
