College of Charleston Athletics

With Futrell at the helm, the Cougars have made 11 NCAA Regional appearances in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025 and have won conference championships in 2006 (Southern Conference) and 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2023, and 2025 (Coastal Athletic Association).

He claimed his 41th career victory when CofC won the CAA Championship in 2025, moving him into a tie for seventh among active Division I head coaches and 20th all-time. 

Futrell his sixth CAA Coach of the Year honor after guiding the program to its third CAA crown in the last four seasons in 2025. The Cougars finished in tenth place at the NCAA Charlottesville Regional. The Cougars won three tournament titles in the fall for the first time in program history.

The 2022-23 season was the best season in the history of the Charleston program.  The Cougars won their second consecutive CAA Championship. Futrell won his fifth CAA Coach of the Year Award with Emma Schimpf being named CAA Player of the Year.  In addition, Schimpf, Viktoria Hund and Adrian Anderson were named to the CAA first team with Othilie Lied being named to the second team.  The team’s NCAA appearance was its 10th in history as the team earned 34 wins against Power 5 opponents.  The team achieved its highest ranking in history after winning the Evie Odom Invitational in the fall.  The team was ranked 15th in the fall Coaches Poll by Golfweek.  Emma Schimpf was also named by the WGCA as an Honorable Mention All-American.

The 2021-22 season was a special one for the Cougars as CofC swept the major CAA awards with Futrell winning Coach of the Year, Viktoria Hund Golfer of the Year and Emma Schimpf Rookie of the Year. Schimpf (1st team), Hund (1st team), Mary Kathryn Talledo (1st team) and Jodee Tindal (second team) all earned All-CAA honors, the most Cougars in a single year in program history. Under Futrell's tutelage, CofC won three tournaments during the 2021-22 campaign, nabbed seven Top-5 finishes, won the CAA Championship for a fourth time and clinched a spot at an NCAA Regional for the ninth time. Three different Cougars won at least co-medalist honors during the historic campaign that ended with a 10th-place finish at the Tallahassee Regional. Five Cougars who played in at least 27 rounds in 2021-22 will return for the 2022-23 campaign as Futrell welcomes back a talented, veteran bunch. 

In 2020-21, the Cougars returned to NCAA postseason action for the first time in three years when they earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Louisville Regional, marking the first at-large bid for a CAA women's golf program since 2008. The win at the Briar's Creek Invitational, in which CofC defeated eight teams ranked in the Top 20, played a large role in the committee selecting the Cougars.

It also marked the seventh straight year the Cougars were represented either as a team or by an individual in NCAA postseason competition. Individually, Viktoria Hund was named the CAA Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the all-conference first team, and Victoria Huskey was chosen to the second team. CofC has had a first team all-conference selection in all seven years as a member of the CAA (the 2020 spring season was canceled due to Covid-19).

During the 2014-15 season, CofC dominated in postseason tournament play, capturing back-to-back CAA Championship titles with an 18-stroke victory over runner-up Elon. It marked the second time in school history to make back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances. The Cougars made five Top-5 finishes throughout the year including a win at the 40-team Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic in March. Laura Fuenfstueck, Mary Chandler Bryan and Louise Olsson were named to the CAA All-Tournament Team, while C.C. Buford and Morgan Webber also contributed to the team’s finish at the CAA tourney.

In the program's inaugural year as a member of the Colonial, the Cougars hoisted the 2014 CAA Championship trophy in its inaugural campaign. It marked the Cougars’ second-ever conference title in school history as they put together a record-setting fall and spring winning a school-record four tournaments against the nation’s best.

CofC earned a program-best No. 26 national ranking in the fall in the Division I Coaches Poll and were led by four-time CAA Golfer of the Week Laura Fuenfstueck, who won a school single-season record three tournaments including individual medalist honors at the CAA Championship. The Cougars would go on to place 22nd overall at the NCAA East Regional Championship hosted by Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla.

The three-time CAA Coach of the Year (2014, 2015 and 2018) and 2001 SoCon Coach of the Year, Futrell has coached seven conference Player of the Year honorees in Angie Hill (2006), Steffi Kirchmayr (2007 and 2008), Laura Fuenfstueck (2014, 2015 and 2017) and Huskey (2019) along with 26 All-Southern Conference selections and 20 All-CAA selections. CofC saw the program’s first LPGA Tour professional in former player Joanna Klatten in 2013.

In 2010-11, Leigh Whittaker qualified as an individual for the NCAA Regional held at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. CofC has now had four NCAA Regional Individual qualifiers under Futrell including Laura Fuenfstueck in 2016 and Victoria Huskey in 2019.

During the 2009-10 season, the Cougars received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They finished in the top 10 in seven of 12 tournaments including a win at the Pinehurst Challenge and runner-up at the Wendy's Intercollegiate and SoCon Championship. Vanessa Koechli led the Cougars at Pinehurst with a second-place finish.

In 2008-09, CofC participated in its third NCAA Tournament in four years. The Cougars took home five Top 6 finishes out of eight tournaments during the regular season winning the Stono Cup and finishing tied for fourth at the Palmetto Intercollegiate and Challenge at Wolfdancer. Steffi Kirchmayr and Fiona Puyo tied for individual medalist honors at the Stono Cup, while Kirchmayr tied for third at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic, the largest women's golf tournament in the country with 43 teams.  Kirchmayr and Puyo earned All-SoCon honors.

Charleston had a successful 2007-08 season. The Cougars competed in four tournaments placing seventh at the Myrtle Beach Invitational for their highest finish of the fall season. Steffi Kirchmayr finished tied for fourth with a three-round score of 143, firing a 1-under par 71 in the first round. Other notable finishes included an eighth-place finish by Fiona Puyo at the Cougar Classic and Top 30 finishes by Fiona Puyo and Steffi Kirchmayr in the Edwin Watts Palmetto Intercollegiate.

Highlighting the Cougars’ spring season was a win at the Cuthbert Cup. Kirchmayr and Courtney Brink tied for individual medalist honors at that tournament. Kirchmayr followed it up with a win at the Pinehurst Challenge and tied for third at the Bryan Park Collegiate. The only two players to defeat her in the tournament were the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the country.

Charleston rounded out the 2008 regular season with a sixth-place finish at the Canes and Cardinal Classic. Kirchmayr continued her dominance of the spring with a tie for second at the tournament. Kirchmayr, SoCon Player of the Year for the second straight year, earned an spot in the NCAA Tournament as an individual.

In 2006-07, Futrell led the Cougars to six Top 10 finishes in 10 tournaments. They won the Myrtle Beach Classic by shooting a school-record 890. Steffi Kurchmeyer won the Palmetto Intercollegiate in October and finished second at the SoCon Championships held at Patriots Point. Kirchmayr was named the SoCon’s Player of the Year, while Kirchmayr and Megan Miller earned All-SoCon honors. Futrell and his team earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and became the first CofC women's team to receive and NCAA at-large bid for any sport.

Futrell enjoyed one of his most successful seasons as a coach in 2005-06, taking his Cougars to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the history of the program after winning the Southern Conference Tournament title. Former player Angie Hill broke a CofC record with a tournament-low 67 in the third round at NCAA Regionals.

At the age of 24, Futrell became the youngest NCAA Division I head baseball coach in the country when he took that position at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University. He was baseball coach for four years, before taking over the men's and women's golf programs at the school in 1993. He also served as the school’s sports information director. Futrell was the head of those programs until he was hired on at the College of Charleston in 1997.

On the golf course, he has played in several amateur events in the Carolinas and plays to a one handicap. Among Futrell’s amateur credits is winning the Santee Amateur Championship in 1997. He has also served on the NCAA Women’s Golf East Regional Selection Committee.

Futrell is a 1987 graduate of Charleston Southern (formerly Baptist College), where he is a member of the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in baseball. Futrell still holds the school’s single-season batting mark (.450) and career fielding-percentage for a shortstop (.965).

Futrell is married to the former Michelle Groves, who is the Executive Director of Continuing and Professional Education in the school of Business at CofC. They have two children: Tyler and Kylie Grace. Tyler graduated with honors from The College in May 2021 with a degree in history while also serving as a manager for the Cougars' men's basketball team. Kylie Grace is currently a member of the cross country and track & field program at North Greenville University.