Emilee Klein   Head Women's Golf Coach   Hiring Release - 07/23/09

Emilee Klein, who won the 1996 Women's British Open and starred on the LPGA Tour for 11 seasons, was named head women's golf coach at San Diego State on July 23, 2009.  Klein came to SDSU after serving as head coach at the University of Central Florida since 2005.
 
In her first year with the Aztecs in 2009-10, Klein helped the Aztecs to their first NCAA regional bid in six years and a final No. 44 national ranking. SDSU won a pair of team tournament titles and Christine Wong became the first Aztec to win two 54-hole tournaments in the same season in the MWC era, finishing first at the Price's Give `Em Five Invite and at the Hurricane Invitational. Wong was later named the MWC Freshman of the Year, an all-league honoree and was the No. 2 amateur at the Women's U.S. Open.
 
Klein played on the LPGA Tour from 1995 to 2005, competing in over 300 events and earning more than $3.1 million in prize money.  She won three events during her professional career, including the 1996 Weetabix Women's British Open, the 1996 Ping Welch's Championship and the 2001 Michelob Light Classic.  The Sherman Oaks, Calif., native placed in the top 10 on 46 occasions and ended the 1996 campaign with a No. 9 ranking.
 
Klein was named the LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1995 by Golf Digest after posting a pair of runner-up finishes at the State Farm Rail Classic and the SAFECO Classic. In 2002, she recorded an impressive 3-1-0 record as a member of the victorious United States squad at the Solheim Cup in Edina, Minn.
 
After retiring from the LPGA Tour in 2005, Klein took over as head women's golf coach at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla.  Under her direction, she led the Knights to back-to-back NCAA regional appearances in 2008 and 2009 and this past season, helped Stephanie Connelly finish 11^th at the NCAA championships in Maryland. 
 
Klein guided UCF to its' best-ever finish at the Conference USA championships in 2009, placing second overall.  During her tenure, the Knights claimed all-conference honors on 10 occasions and jumped in the national rankings from 114^th to as high as 35^th.
 
As a collegian, Klein spent two seasons at Arizona State University under coach Linda Vollstedt from 1992-94.  Klein led the Sun Devils to a pair of national team titles and was the NCAA Division I individual champion in 1994. The two-time first-team All-American was named Golfweek Magazine's Collegiate Player of the Year in 1994 and that same year, was tabbed to the U.S. Curtis Cup team.

A 1992 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., Klein became the youngest winner of the California Women's Amateur Championship at the age of 14 in 1988. She also claimed the USGA Junior Girls Championship and was named the AJGA Junior Player of the Year in 1991.
 
Klein served as a golf analyst for The Golf Channel from 2002-06, and earned her bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in legal studies from Central Florida in 2008.