Men's Golf
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- wesleybernt@creighton.edu
Wes Bernt enters his fourth season as head coach of Creighton Men's Golf in 2025-26 after helping to turn around the program from the outset. In his first three years on The Hilltop, Bernt has helped the Bluejays climb into the upper echelon of the BIG EAST standings while improving CU's status on a national level as well.
Creighton matched its best BIG EAST Championships finish ever when it placed third in 2024-25. The 867 was CU's best 54-hole total in a league championship ever. Freshman Gavin Gerch finished third at the BIG EAST Championships to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
Brock Kuhlman and Owen Price earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District laurels in 2024-25. Grant Feldman was CU's top performer, averaging 72.30 strokes per round, while shooting par or lower in 15-of-27 loops. Feldman (73.30) and Owen Price (73.29) moved into CU's top four career scoring averages in program history.
The program also took a major long-term step forward with the addition of the McGraw Family Indoor Golf Facility, which opened in February of 2025.
In 2023-24 Creighton won back-to-back tournaments for the first time in more than 20 years when it earned the title at the Big O Classic on Oct. 2-3, followed by the Throwdown Up Top at Landmand eight days later. CU's season culminated with a third-place showing at the BIG EAST Championships, Creighton's third-place showing was its best team finish at a league championship since also taking third at the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Individually, Shaun Campbell's runner-up finish at the BIG EAST Championship was CU's best performance at a league championship since 2007. It helped Campbell earn All-BIG EAST acclaim.
Creighton's 289.07 scoring average was its best mark this century, and a nearly eight-shot improvement over the previous campaign. The Bluejays sported 60 rounds of par or better in 2023-24, and Campbell (73.01), Charlie Zielinski (73.16) and Grant Feldman (73.80) moved their career scoring averages into the top three spots in program history. Both Zielinski and Jackson Thompson picked up their second consecutive Academic All-District accolade from College Sports Communicators.
CU also continued to achieve in the classroom in 2024-25, as it was recognized by the NCAA for having a perfect Multi-Year APR score, and also picked up the NCAA Public Recognition Award.
Hired Sept. 6, 2022 less than a week before the fall season started, Bernt's first team at CU averaged 296.8 strokes per round. Zielinski landed a spot on the All-Tournament Team and tied for fourth place at the BIG EAST Championships, where the Bluejay team finished seventh overall. Creighton's top individual performance of the season came at the Big O Classic (Oct. 3-4), where Campbell topped a field of 93 competitors with a 6-under 210.
Bernt came to Creighton from Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Neb., where he took over the men’s golf program in the spring of 2021 and spent parts of three seasons leading the Hawks.
“I’m very pleased to be able to announce Wes Bernt as our new head men’s golf coach,” said Creighton AD Marcus Blossom at the time of Bernt's hiring. “Wes has had a highly successful career coaching college golf in the state of Nebraska. I look forward to working with Wes in our quest to advance Creighton men’s golf. I’m sure the young men in our program will develop on and off the course under Wes’s teaching and leadership.“
In his lone full season at Northeast (2021-22), Bernt coached the Hawks to their first NJCAA DII Men's Golf Championship tournament in 19 years, where his team finished in ninth place and Santiago Valdes earned All-America recognition.
“I am excited to get the opportunity to coach in the BIG EAST with the incredibly talented squad that Coach Cornell has assembled,” said Bernt at the time of his hiring. “Thank you to Marcus Blossom and Jason Baum for providing me this opportunity to lead the men’s golf program at Creighton. It is a blessing to get to be a part of such a prestigious university that has a strong history of creating successful, world and community contributing individuals. I look forward to continuing to build on the many accomplishments Creighton has already seen.”
Bernt was previously the head men’s golf coach for eight years at Nebraska-Kearney from 2010-18. After his program was eliminated as part of University-wide budget cuts, he served as an assistant with the Lopers’ women’s golf program in 2019-20.
A native of Stratton, Neb., Bernt led the Lopers to the NCAA Super Regional on four different occasions from 2010-2014. His men's golf team also ranked No. 1 in the NCAA DII poll twice throughout his tenure at UNK. He ultimately guided the Lopers to the NCAA DII National Championship tournament for the first time in program history in 2014.
At UNK, Bernt coached four All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association picks, five All- Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference choices, four All-Region selections and two All-American recipients. Overall during his time as a head coach, his teams have combined for 14 tournament team titles and 11 individual tournament medalist honors.
Prior to beginning his coaching career, Bernt served as the assistant professional at Eagle Hills and Tara Hills in the Omaha suburb of Papillion from 2007-09.
Bernt played golf at McCook Community College before transferring to Nebraska-Kearney, where he received his bachelor's degree. He has remained active as an amateur golfer in the state, winning the York Amateur Golf Championship in 2018 and taking second at the Nebraska State Match Play Championship in 2014.
