- Six-time American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
- Has led the Bulls to six American Conference Championship victories.
- Guided Bulls to five AAC Individual titles, four AAC Player of the Year honors and two to AAC Freshman of the Year
- Guided USF to seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances and three NCAA Championship appearances, including reaching the NCAA match play finals and finishing sixth nationally in 2015.
- Nine Bulls have earned All-America recognition under Bradley at USF and 13 have earned All-Region honors.
- Bradley coached teams hold the top five season win totals in USF program history
- Has led the Bulls to 20 tournament titles (entering 2022-23 season) in nine seasons.
- Teams have twice won five tournaments in a season (2014-15 & 2017-18)
On July 4, 2014, USF named Steve Bradley as head coach of the USF men’s golf program. Less than a year later, the Bulls recorded the best season in program history and the tremendous success has continued as Bradley has become the most successful coach in program history, leading the Bulls to five American Athletic Conference titles, earning five AAC Coach of the Year honors and leading USF to nine straight NCAA Regional appearances and three NCAA Championship appearances, including reaching NCAA Championship match-play and finishing a program-best sixth in 2015.
The winningest coach in USF men's golf history with 20 tournament victories (entering 2022-23), Bradley has guided Bulls to four AAC Individual titles, three AAC Player of the Year honors and two to AAC Freshman of the Year awards. Under his guidance, nine Bulls have earned All-America recognition and 13 have earned All-Region honors. Bradley coached teams hold the top five season win totals in USF program history and his teams have twice won a program-record five tournaments in a season (2014-15 & 2017-18). USF has captured at least one title seven seasons under Bradley – 2014-15 (5), 2015-16 (4), 2016-17 (2), 2017-18 (5), 2018-19 (2), 2019-20 (1), 2020-21 (1).
Bradley won his first tournament as head coach at USF, leading the Bulls to a victory at The Invitational at the Ocean Course, and steering USF to four more wins throughout his inaugural season. USF was ranked inside the top 20 for the entirety of the 2014-15 season, and Bradley helped coach the Bulls to an American Athletic Conference Championship, as well as the second berth into the NCAA Championships in program history.
Reaching the NCAA Championships was just the start as Bradley coached the Bulls to sixth place during stroke play, sending USF to the NCAA Championship match play quarterfinals. Five Bulls earned all-conference honors – including American Conference Freshman of the Year Claudio Correa – and Bradley was named the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year as three Bulls were named to the PING All-Region Team.
Bradley guided the Bulls to another program first during the 2015-16 season, with a return to the NCAA Championships after the team placed fourth at the Albuquerque, N.M., Regional. Prior to NCAA action, Bradley's Bulls defended their title at the American Athletic Conference Championship, one of four tournament victories for the program on the year. Four of his players earned all-conference honors, including American Player of the Year Aksel Olsen, and Bradley was named Conference Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Three all-conference picks - Olsen, Chase Koepka and Correa - were also named to the PING All-Southeast Region team.
Bradley brought the Bulls back to the NCAA postseason yet again in 2017. USF made the program's fifth consecutive NCAA trip at the Baton Rouge Regional, tying for 10th place after another memorable run at the American Athletic Conference Championship. USF posted its third straight wire-to-wire victory at the AAC Championship, topping Cincinnati and Houston by 15 strokes. Bradley was named The American's Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season, while Cristian DiMarco (unanimous selection), Jimmy Jones and Rigel Fernandes all made the all-conference team.
Two events before the 2017 conference championship, all five Bulls in the lineup finished in the top 20 to help USF run away with a six-shot victory at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. USF won at least two titles in each of Bradley's first three seasons with the program.
Excellence under Bradley continued during the 2017-18 season that saw the Bulls post their fourth straight wire-to-wire victory at the American Athletic Conference Championship. USF won the tournament by 20 strokes, which matched The American's largest margin of victory set by Bradley's 2015-16 team. Bradley's Bulls also made the program's sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA postseason, placing eighth in the Kissimmee Regional. USF captured five tournament titles during the season, which matched the program record set in 2014-15 under Bradley.
The 2018-19 season saw the new-look Bulls continue their success under Bradley. Using a lineup of three freshmen and two juniors, USF won consecutive tournaments in wire-to-wire fashion at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate and USF Invitational.
Bradley's 2018-19 freshman class ranked second nationally on Golfstat's Top Frosh list and was led by record-breaking Albin Bergstrom. The Ljunghusen, Sweden native set new program season records for scoring average (70.0) and rounds of par or better (24). He also set USF's new 54-hole scoring record for a par-72 tournament with a 15-under 201 in his individual title victory at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate. Bergstrom was rewarded for his stellar season by being named AAC Freshman of the Year and to the all-conference team in unanimous fashion. Bergstrom earned spots on the Division I PING All-Southeast Region Team and Division I All-Freshmen Team. Bradley also helped guide junior Kyle Flexsenhar during his first all-conference season with the Bulls.
Before the 2019-20 season was cut short for precautionary reasons due to the COVID-19 virus, Bradley increased his USF career title total to 19, as the co-host Bulls posted a 13-shot, wire-to-wire victory at The Challenge at Concession on March 10 in Bradenton. The 2019-20 Bulls ended the season on a streak of five straight top-three finishes and placed fourth or better in each of the final seven tournaments. On top of team success, Albin Bergstrom and Luke Gifford were co-medalists at the Windon Memorial Classic and Marquette Intercollegiate, respectively.
Bergstrom earned a share of the Windon Memorial Classic title by finishing with a 6-under 207. The sophomore also made more USF history by setting the school record for low round vs. par and matching the lowest round in school history with a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the Quail Valley Intercollegiate. Gifford secured the first win of his USF career at the Marquette Intercollegiate with a 7-under 209. The sophomore finished the season as the team leader in scoring average (71.04), rounds of par or better (15), top-10 finishes (6) and tied for the lead with seven top-25 performances in eight events.
The 2020-21 campaign saw USF record a top-10 finish in seven of its nine tournaments, highlighted by the Bulls claiming the American Athletic Conference Championship for the fifth time in the past six seasons under Bradley, who was named the AAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time. The Bulls set a new AAC tournament record by shooting 18-under-par 270 in the opening round and led wire-to-wire, ultimately winning the tournament title by a five-stroke margin with a score of 17-under-par 847 – the third-lowest tally in tournament history.
Bergstrom entered the final round of the AAC Championship three shots off the lead and prevailed with a three-stroke victory to claim medalist honors (the fourth in program history). The exclamation point of his final round 6-under-par 66 came on the 18th hole where he sank a 50-foot birdie putt from the fringe to ignite the celebration with his teammates and coaches watching it fall in the cup. A unanimous 2021 All-Conference selection, Bergstrom led the Bulls on the season with a 70.52 scoring average. Luke Gifford, another unanimous All-Conference honoree, tied for eighth at the American Championship.
USF posted a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Noblesville Regional played at The Sagamore Club. Sophomore Bergstrom led the Bulls at 2-over-par 218 in the program’s eighth consecutive NCAA regional appearance. Bergstrom was named USF Athletics Male Athlete-of-the-Year and earned his second PING honorable mention All-American and All-Southeast Region honors.
The 2021-22 campaign saw USF record 10 top-10 finishes and six top-five, including a fourth place finish in the NCAA Palm Beach Regional that saw the Bulls advance to their fourth-ever NCAA Championship and third under Bradley, competing at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Bulls finished second in the AAC Tournament and saw sophomore Run Youprayong finish second individually. Youprayong and standout Albin Bergstrom earned all-conference honors, the third for Bergstrom.
Bergstrom was named the AAC Golfer of the Year after posting eight top-10 finishes on the year and ranking as high as No. 4 in the GolfStat rankings. Bergstrom would finish at No. 16 in the national scoring ratings and set USF records for rounds under par (30) on the season and for his career (86). He earned NCAA Division I PING All-America honorable-mention honors for the third time and All-Region honors for the fourth as he finished his USF career holding 13 program records, including career scoring average (70.49). He was also selected to compete for the International Team in the Arnold Palmer Cup.
Prior to USF
Named the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year, Bradley is a former University of Florida player and assistant coach with roots in the state. He came to USF after having served as head coach for the Mercer University golf program since 2011. In three seasons leading the Bears, he oversaw a program rise in the Golfweek/Sagarin College team rankings from No. 103 in 2011 to No. 30 in 2014. Bradley guided the program to a conference championship and first-ever qualification for the NCAA postseason in 2013-14 and coached six Atlantic Sun All-Conference players during his tenure.
Bradley guided three Bears players to qualification in the NCAA postseason regional tournament in the 2011 and 2012 seasons after the program had previously had one qualifier in its history. His 2013-14 team won three tournaments, including the conference championship, and defeated such teams as Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Florida State. The Bears had two players named to the Conference All-Freshman Team and Trey Rule was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year.
Prior to his tenure at Mercer, Bradley served as an assistant coach for three years at the University of Florida as the Gators advanced to three NCAA National Championships, finishing 19th, 23rd and 11th from 2009-2011. He was part of a program that won the 2011 SEC championship, had three golfers ranked in the top 25 in collegiate golf, and was consistently ranked in the top 10, finishing the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons ranked No. 6 in the final Sagarin rankings.
A 1999 graduate of the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business with a bachelor's degree in finance, Bradley began his professional career working as an account executive and sales manager for CDW Corporation, Inc., a Chicago-based Fortune 500 company.
Bradley was a two-year member of the Florida golf team, garnering All-SEC second-team honors in his junior season, his first in Gainesville, and finishing third in the 1998 NCAA East Regional. Bradley assumed the role of team captain in his senior campaign and led Florida to the 1999 SEC Conference Championship.
Before transferring to Florida in the fall of 1997, Bradley spent two seasons competing for Florida State, leading the Seminoles with five top-20 finishes during his sophomore season.
As an amateur, Bradley won the 1996 Florida State Amateur title and also qualified for the 1994 U.S. Amateur.
Bradley is married to his wife, Jen. The couple have two daughters, Campbell and Collins.
