Brent Jensen joined the Bulls' men's golf staff in August 2014 after completing four seasons at the helm of the FGCU men’s golf program, and six overall with the university.
Jensen helped USF Head Coach Steve Bradley guide the Bulls to their second-ever NCAA Championships berth in 2014-15, and assisted in leading the team to the best finish in school history, reaching the Match Play Quarterfinals. Jensen was part of the staff that garnered five All-Conference members and three PING All-Region honorees, marking a strong start with the Bulls.
During the 2013-14 season, Jensen guided FGCU to two more team victories, bringing his career win total to nine. It also marked the third time in four years that his team has won multiple tournaments. FGCU’s first victory of the season came at the Cobra PUMA Invitational in late October as the Eagle put together three straight sub-par rounds of 282 (-6), 286 (-2) and 287 (-1) to easily claim the 13-team tournament by 13 shots. Thanks in large part to that triumph, Jensen guided FGCU to a national ranking as high as No. 88 following the fall season. The spring season started equally as well as the Eagles took home the Harmony Preserve Intercollegiate in early March, once again firing three straight par-or-better rounds: 288 (E), 285 (-3) and 281 (-7).
Jensen’s team rolled in birdies at a near-prolific rate during the year as three golfers – Jake Sherwin, Matt Cote and Jack Hernandez – all had 85 or more birdies, representing just the second time in program history that three team members have posted 85+ birdies in the same season. In total, FGCU golfers converted 442 birdies – the third-most in single-season program history – and added 11 eagles – also the third-most in single-season program history, and just one shy of the record of 12 set in 2008-09 and 2011-12.
For the year, Jensen’s squad improved its scoring average from 2012-13, finishing at 297.91 compared with 300.82 the year prior. Jensen also coached his team to seven par-or-better rounds throughout the year, representing the fifth-highest total in the 14-year history of the program. Much of that work was done on par-5 holes as the Eagles finished with their fourth-lowest par-5 scoring average in program history at 4.90. Over his four-year tenure, Jensen’s teams now occupy three of the top-four par-5 single-season scoring averages in program history.
In the 2012-13 season, Jensen coached Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year and A-Sun Second Team member Edward Figueroa. He also led the Eagles to a championship at the 15-team Cobra/PUMA Invitational in October 2012, and followed that up with a 2nd-place showing at the Stetson/CFSC Invitational in November. In the spring, Jensen guided the Green and Blue to a tied for 2nd at the 16-team FAU Spring Break Championship.
The ’12-’13 campaign was one of the best yet as the Eagles set a 54-hole record low of -27 (837) at the Cobra/PUMA Invitational. On the year they recorded 375 birdies, which is the fourth-highest total in a single season in program history.
Positioning players to compete at the national level has been an emphasis of focus for Jensen since taking over the program, and for each of the past two years an FGCU golfer has competed in the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. In 2012, Brandon Pena capped his illustrious career at the Athens Region, and in 2013 Figueroa closed his initial year in the Green and Blue at the Tallahassee Region.
Overall, Jensen navigated FGCU to its highest team national ranking in the Division-I era as in 2011-12 it closed the year No. 88 and in 2012-13 it was ranked No. 146. Additionally, in just three years, Jensen has had six players garner Atlantic Sun Conference postseason accolades.
In the 2011-12 season, Jensen led FGCU to four team tournament victories and six top-5 finishes. At the end of the year, three different Eagles were named to A-Sun all-conference teams.
Team and individual records fell in Jensen’s first season as head coach in 2010-11, leading the Eagles to a pair of team titles at the Stetson Invitational and the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate that helped the Blue and Green climb to as high as No. 72 in the Golf Week Top 100 rankings. Along with the two wins, FGCU also had a pair of runner-ups and finished in the top 5 of eight of 11 tournaments. Along the way, the Eagles set a single-season team scoring average with a 290.8 over 33 rounds, breaking the record for par or better rounds (15).
Jensen’s tutelage also saw three players earn postseason honors from the Atlantic Sun, as Mazziotta was named to the All-Conference first team, junior Brandon Pena snagged second team accolades and Matt Cote was deemed the Freshman of the Year. Five players posted scoring averages below 74, led by Mazziotta’s 71.6 average that was the second-best in program history and ranked third in the A-Sun.
