Natalie Desjardins - Women's Golf Coach - Seton Hall University Athletics

Natalie Desjardins

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
natalie.desjardins@shu.edu
Phone:
(973) 275-2925

In 2017, Natalie Desjardins became the second head coach of Seton Hall's women's golf program, making the short trip to South Orange after spending the prior six years as the head coach at LIU-Brooklyn.

Before the Coronavirus prematurely ended the 2019-20 year, Desjardins had Seton Hall positioned as the undisputed favorite to win the BIG EAST Championship. With a Golfstat ranking that reached as low as 54, the season ended with the Pirates owning three of the four lowest scoring averages in the conference, and six of the nine lowest averages. The Hall won the Princeton Invitational and didn't place worse than a fourth place finish at any of its seven tournaments. Their 296.15 scoring average for the year shattered the program record set only a year ago.

During the 2018-19 academic year, Seton Hall achieved its best-ever Golfstat ranking (75), and recorded a then program record-low scoring average (301.04). Additionally, The Hall claimed a pair of team titles during the year, while both Lizzie Win and Carolina Ronchel Salas were named to the All-BIG EAST Team. Win was the runner up for the 2019 BIG EAST Championship.

Desjardins enjoyed a successful first campaign at Seton Hall with the Pirates collecting three tournament titles throughout the year. Under her tutelage, the Pirates averaged 301.92 strokes per round, the top mark in the BIG EAST Conference. In her first BIG EAST Championship, Seton Hall placed second, with a trio of Pirates collecting All-BIG EAST honors.

Academically, both of Desjardins' Seton Hall teams earned perfect 1000 scores and NCAA Academic Progress Rate Public Recognition Awards.

A former Northeast Conference (NEC) champion as a student-athlete for the Blackbirds, she guided her alma mater to three straight NEC titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament from 2012-14. Named NEC Coach of the Year in 2012, Desjardins has coached her teams to 14 tournament victories since taking the helm at LIU in 2011. In that time, she has coached 12 All-NEC players, nine who have won tournament titles as an individual and two NEC Rookies of the Year.

In her final year in Brooklyn, the Blackbirds finished third at the NEC Championship in April, a significant improvement for a young roster that featured only one junior and no seniors. Despite their youth, Desjardins’ Blackbirds notched a trio of top-5 finishes during the 2016-17 academic year.

Prior to arriving in Brooklyn, Desjardins began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach for one year at Monmouth University.

One of the most decorated golfers in LIU history, Desjardins won the Northeast Conference Individual Championship in 2010. She was named to the All-NEC First Team that season for a third time, just one year removed from earning NEC Player of the Year accolades. Desjardins was also named NEC Rookie of the Year in 2006. The Haileybury, Ontario native had eight individual tournament wins under her belt during her time as a Blackbird, including three wins at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational. Desjardins also claimed the top spot at the 2009 Lonnie Barton Invitational, a tournament named in memory of LIU’s former golf coach.

After graduating from Long Island in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Desjardins worked as an instructor at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Lakewood, N.J. In October 2010, she went to qualifying school for the LPGA Futures Tour, and went on to spend the winter of 2011 in Florida playing on the SunCoast Tour.