ROLLA, Mo. – Connor Benjamin, an All-America performer for Missouri S&T's golf team during his career with the Miners, has been selected as the team's new head coach.

Benjamin was named to the PING All-America team as an honorable mention selection following the Miners' 2024-25 season that saw S&T win its first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship, earn its third straight berth to the NCAA Division II regional tournament and reach match play at the NCAA Division II Championships for the first time in program history.

"I'm incredibly honored and excited to join the Missouri S&T family as the head men's golf coach," Benjamin said.  "I want to thank Melissa Ringhausen for her unwavering support in me throughout this transition and for giving me this incredible opportunity.

"My goal is to build a competitive and resilient team culture that allows our student-athletes to dig deeper to fully represent the values of this institution and bring pride to our community," Benjamin added.  "I am looking forward to working with our student-athletes to help them grow as players, students and individuals.  I am proud to be a Miner and can't wait to get started."

"We're excited to welcome Connor back to lead Miner Golf," said Missouri S&T Director of Athletics Melissa Ringhausen.  "As a recent alum who excelled both on the course and in the classroom and as a key part of the program during its historic success, he understands the academic rigors of S&T and what it takes to achieve at the highest level.  His passion and experience will serve our student-athletes well."

Benjamin played for two seasons with the Miners and during the 2024-25 campaign, he averaged a team-best 71.2 strokes per round over 37 rounds of play.  He won medalist honors at the Findlay Invitational with a school record score of 198 over 54 holes and recorded top-five finishes in four other events during the season.  He was also victorious in both of his match play contests during the GLVC Championships – where he finished in a tie for 12^th in stroke play – to help lead S&T to the conference title.

In the 2023-24 season, he had an average of 72.8 shots per round over 24 rounds of action, with his highest finish being a third place showing at the Findlay Invitational.  Benjamiin had six top-five finishes over the course of that season as the Miners finished second in the GLVC match play event and sixth at the NCAA Division II Central/Midwest Regional.

In addition to his performance on the course, Benjamin was also selected to the College Sports Communicators' Academic All-America squad as a second-team member and was among four members of the team to earn the Cobalt All-America Scholar award from the Golf Coaches Association of America.  He received his bachelor's degree from Missouri S&T in nuclear engineering.

"The Miner golf program has a rich tradition and history of success, and I'm eager to build on that foundation with hard work, integrity and unwavering commitment to excellence both on and off the golf course," Benjamin said.

Benjamin is taking over for Anthony Monaco, who stepped down earlier this summer to take the head coaching position at Palm Beach Atlantic University.  The Miners opened their season by placing in a tie for fifth place at the The Mule, hosted by the University of Central Missouri, on Monday and Tuesday.