University of Minnesota women’s golf coach Rhyll Brinsmead announced she is retiring at the end of the 2024 NCAA Championships. 

After 21 years in coaching, Brinsmead said she wants to devote time to her family. 

“I want to thank the Minnesota golf community for embracing my vision and supporting me wholeheartedly,” Brinsmead said. 

Director of Athletics Mark Coyle said the program is “headed in the right direction,” citing Brinsmead’s passionate leadership.

“We wish Rhyll and her family nothing but the best moving forward,” Coyle said. “We will immediately start a national search for our next head coach.”

Before Brinsmead’s departure, sophomore Isabella McCauley will represent the Gophers in the NCAA Championships for the second time. Under Brinsmead, McCauley won the Big Ten Championship after sitting in 18th place heading into the final day.

Last season, Brinsmead led the Gophers to their best golf round in school history when the team placed second in the Evie Odom Invitational. The Gophers hit seventeen-under-par (263), and for the first time in school history, all five players shot par or better. 

“The athletes are truly the hardest people to leave,” Brinsmead said.

Prior to Minnesota, Brinsmead spent time at Kennesaw State as a head coach for 13 years, and two years at Iowa State as an assistant coach.