In his nine years at Saint Mary’s, Scott Hardy has been named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year five times, including four of the last six years. He has led the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament twice, the first in the history of the program in 2005 and once again in 2008. The 2008 NCAA Tournament was a special year, as he guided the Gaels to the NCAA Championships. Additionally, Mike McRae became the school’s first All-American as he garnered 2008 All-American honors by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

Hardy has produced 15 First Team All-WCC honorees, one GCAA All-American, five GCAA Academic All-Americans, one WCC Player of the Year, and one WCC Freshman of the Year. He currently has four players playing professionally, and in five of the last six years, he’s had at least one player make the NCAA Tournament field. Joe Lanza became the first SMC golfer to make the NCAA Tournament as an individual in 2004, which was followed by the school’s first NCAA Tournament team selection in 2005.

In 2008, Hardy guided the team to a seventh place finish in the NCAA Western Regional at Gold Mountain Golf Course, which advanced the team to the 111th NCAA National Championship, for the first time in school history. Two players from the 2005 NCAA Tournament team, Joe Lanza and Liam Kendregan, were full members of the Canadian Tour, and 2008 NCAA Tournament team members Mike McRae and Chadd Cocco turned pro following their senior seasons.

Under Hardy, the Gaels have had seven players win medalist honors at collegiate tournaments, while the team has won nine tournaments, including the Del Walker Intercollegiate and the USF Triumph at Pauma Valley during the 2006-07 season and the prestigious Western Intercollegiate in 2008. In the WCC, Hardy led the Gaels to a fourth place finish, or better, the in seven of the last eight years, including second place finishes in 2004, 2005, and 2008. The runner-up finishes in the conference championships marked the best result by the Saint Mary’s golf team in the 39-year history of the WCC Championship.

In five of the last six seasons, at least one SMC golfer has advanced into the NCAA Tournament field. Under Hardy’s leadership, Joe Lanza became the first Saint Mary’s golfer to make the NCAA Tournament field, when he was selected as an individual in 2004. With Lanza as a senior in 2004-05, Hardy guided the team to a 2005 NCAA Western Regional selection, marking the first team appearance for Saint Mary’s in school history. Chadd Cocco made it three straight years, after being selected as an individual for the 2006 Western Regional, and Mike McRae extended it to four years with his individual selection in 2007. Both Cocco and McRae were on the 2007-08 team that made the school’s second NCAA Tournament appearance, and after finishing seventh in the West Regional, the Gaels advanced to the school’s first ever NCAA National Championship in 2008, finishing 30th in the country. SMC won the prestigious Western Intercollegiate the same season, giving Hardy his ninth career coaching victory, and SMC finished in the top-10 in 11 of 12 events and had eight top-5 finishes.

In 2006-07, Saint Mary’s captured two team titles, the first at the Del Walker Intercollegiate and then the USF Triumph at Pauma Valley. Under Hardy, SMC has collected eight team titles in seven seasons. Mike McRae won medalist honors at the USF Triumph, marking the seventh individual title by a SMC golfer under Hardy’s leadership. In 2005-06, Hardy coached Chadd Cocco and Mike McRae to First Team All-WCC honors, while guiding the Gaels to three top-5 team finishes and eight of 10 top-10 finishes. Cocco posted 10 top-20, seven top-10 and one medalist individual finishes. McRae finished in the top-20 six times, top-10 three times and in the top-five once. As a team, Saint Mary’s posted a 296.2 stroke average with its best tournament, a 12-under score of 852 at the Mid Pines Intercollegiate in September.

The 2004-05 men’s golf season stands as arguably the best in the history of the golf program. Saint Mary’s finished in the top-10 in 11 of 12 tournaments, which included two first place finishes. Hardy guided the Gaels to a school record 845 (-19) score at the Country Wide Intercollegiate and a team championship. Two weeks later, SMC won the inaugural Lexus Naples Intercollegiate, after posting a school record low round of 272 (-16) in the third round to win the tournament by two strokes and Liam Kendregan won the individual title.

Hardy was instrumental in helping Joe Lanza capture the WCC individual title and lead the Gaels to back-to-back second place finishes in the conference tournament. In addition to Lanza, Cocco and Kendregan were First Team All-WCC selections. At the 2005 NCAA West Regional, the Gaels posted a 14th place finish, missing the cut by six strokes.

In 2003-04, Saint Mary’s posted 10 top-5 tournament finishes, including a second place finish in the WCC Championships, the highest finish in school history to date. Three players earned all-conference honors, one individual player tournament title, and the WCC Freshman of the Year. Hardy guided the Gaels to a record-setting victory in their first tournament, winning the Vandal Fall Classic by five shots, when the team set a then school record by going 9-under par as a team. In the second half of the schedule the team had two tournament victories and set a school record by finishing with an individual stroke average of 73.66. Individually, senior John Chirila posted the lowest single round in Saint Mary’s history with a 63 at the Vandal Fall Classic. Joe Lanza (No. 66) and Liam Kendregan (No. 176) became the first pair of Gael golfers to achieve national rankings in the same year. By the end of the season, the Gaels’ set another school record by winning three team tournaments in one year, and Hardy’s guidance allowed the Gaels to lead the WCC with a total of 10 top-5 team tournament finishes. Highlighting the 2002-03 season was the Gaels’ team and individual victories at the Santa Clara Men’s Invitational. Consistency was the key for a team that finished in the top-10 in six of their nine tournaments, including a fourth place team finish at the 2003 WCC Championship.

Hardy continues to be one of the top ranked amateurs in California. Some of Hardy’s amateur accomplishments include; winning the 2007 NCGA Public Links, advancing to the semifinals of the 2006 and 2007 US Mid-Am, winning the 2005 NCGA Valley Amateur, winning the NCGA stroke play championship and a runner-up finish in the Alameda Commuters in 2004, and in 2003, he captured the U.S. Two-Man championship. He has collected numerous amateur victories, has made 10 straight NCGA Cup teams, has been on three Seaver Cup teams, and has participated in numerous USGA events.

Hardy is a 1998 graduate of SMC with a bachelor of science degree in Economics and Business Administration, while playing for the golf team for four seasons, and was a Honorable Mention All-WCC selection in 1999. He also served as the team captain for the Gaels during his junior and senior seasons. He prepped at De La Salle High School in Concord, CA, where he graduated in 1994. He is married to Lori Hardy (also a Saint Mary’s graduate), and the couple currently lives in Pleasant Hill with their son William Scott (3).