Mike Hagen is in his 11th season as head men's golf coach at Arkansas State University in 2026 after taking the helm on July 10, 2015. During his tenure, the Red Wolves have experienced a historic resurgence, transforming into one of the nation's premier mid-major programs and establishing themselves as a consistent conference and national contender. Following a historic 2025-26 campaign that included a Sun Belt Conference championship, NCAA Regional qualification and the program's first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, Arkansas State announced a contract extension for Hagen through June 30, 2031.
A highly decorated coach, Hagen was inducted into the NJCAA Golf Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in December 2019. In 2025, he received the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award, recognizing him as one of the winningest coaches in NJCAA history.
Under Hagen's guidance, A-State has won three Sun Belt Conference championships (2018-19, 2023-24, 2025-26), made four NCAA Regional appearances as a team (2019, 2021, 2024, 2026) and secured the program's first NCAA Championships appearance in 2026. A three-time Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Hagen has coached Julien Sale (2020-21) and Thomas Schmidt (2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26) to SBC Golfer of the Year honors. Three players, Zan Luka Stirn (2016-17), Luka Naglic (2018-19) and Jake Wallis (2024-25), have been named the league's Freshman of the Year during Hagen's tenure, while Stirn also earned Newcomer of the Year honors.
In total, Hagen has coached 29 All-Sun Belt Conference selections, second-most in the league since arriving in Jonesboro in 2015. Hagen also helped lead Jack Maxey to the individual conference title in 2025, A-State's second all-time conference individual champion and first since 1997.Â
In the final national rankings in each of Hagen's 11 seasons, A-State has finished among the nation's top 100 programs and among the Sun Belt Conference's top five teams. The Red Wolves have been a top-four seed for the Sun Belt Conference Championship in 10 consecutive seasons, with no championship contested during the COVID-19-affected 2019-20 campaign.
Hagen's teams have rewritten the Arkansas State record book, producing the program's lowest 18-hole, 36-hole and 54-hole team scores. All 11 of his teams own places among the program's top 10 single-season scoring averages, including a school-record 281.58 average during the 2025-26 season. The Red Wolves have won at least one tournament title in each of Hagen's 11 seasons, collecting 31 team championships since 2015-16, including multiple titles in six different campaigns.
A defining chapter in program history was written in 2026 when Hagen guided the Red Wolves to their first NCAA Championships appearance. The 2025-26 Sun Belt Conference champions posted program-record 18-hole (-14), 36-hole (-21) and 54-hole (-24) scores at the NCAA Regional to secure their berth in the national championship field. Jake Lile recorded a program NCAA Regional-record 8-under-par 64, while Cole Kirby shot a 7-under-par 65 and Jake Wallis added a 6-under-par 66 as the Red Wolves rewrote the program's postseason record book.
The 2025-26 squad was among the most accomplished in school history, capturing the Visit Puerto Vallarta Collegiate, Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational and Tiger Intercollegiate before winning the Sun Belt Conference Championship and advancing through NCAA Regionals to the national championship stage. The Red Wolves finished the season ranked among the nation's top programs and cemented their place as the most successful team in school history.
NCAA postseason success under Hagen began long before the 2026 championship run. Zan Luka Stirn's third-place finish at the 2021 Noblesville Regional remains the highest individual NCAA Regional finish in program history. Stirn and Tanner Napier became the program's third and fourth NCAA Regional individual qualifiers in 2017 and 2018, respectively, while Julien Sale recorded the program's first NCAA Regional top-25 finish with a 25th-place showing in Louisville in 2019.
Player development has remained a hallmark of Hagen's leadership. Schmidt and Maxey qualified for NCAA Regional competition as individuals in 2025, and with the team's appearance in 2026, Arkansas State had team or individual representation in NCAA postseason competition in eight of the last nine seasons in which a championship was contested.
Before joining A-State, he spent 10 years as head men’s golf coach and athletics director at Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he led the Warriors to four NJCAA national championships (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015). He also earned NJCAA National Coach of the Year honors each time the Warriors won the national championship.Â
While at IHCC, Hagen’s teams won 62 tournaments—three at the NCAA Division I level—and eight District III Championships. He coached 19 NJCAA All-Americans, 12 Ping All-Americans, five Ping All-Freshman selections, and two Phil Mickelson Award winners. He was a three-time Dave Williams National Coach of the Year selection.
His coaching experience extends to the international stage, having helped lead collegiate Team USA in South Africa (2008) and the Czech Republic (2012). Before Indian Hills, he served as the men’s and women’s golf coach and an admissions representative at Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa.
A native of Davenport, Iowa, Hagen was a two-year letterman at Iowa Lakes Community College, where he helped his team to NJCAA regional appearances in both 1998 and 1999. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education with a coaching emphasis from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in athletic administration from Western Illinois University.
Hagen is a member of the National Golf Coaches Association and has served on numerous committees, including the Golf Coaches Poll, NJCAA All-American Selection Committee, Jack Nicklaus Award Committee, Phil Mickelson Award Committee, and the Jimmy Russell Selection Committee.
He and his wife Anne have one daughter, Marlee.
