ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Eight-time GPAC Coach of the Year Aaron Aberson has resigned after 15 seasons as the head men’s golf coach at Northwestern.
Aberson spent 22 total seasons at Northwestern as a player and coach, playing from 2003-06 and starting his coaching journey in 2008 as an assistant coach. Since being hired as head coach in 2010, Aberson has guided Northwestern to eight GPAC titles and eight NAIA Championship appearances. Seven individuals were crowned GPAC champions under his direction, as he also coached three NAIA All-Americans and two GCAA All-Americans.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead the men’s golf program for the past 15 years,” Aberson stated. “The relationships with parents, players and the memories that were made will be something that I will always be thankful for. My hope is that our teams honored our athletic mission in Honoring Christ Through Excellence in Athletics.”
The 2024-25 season was among one of the best in program history. The Raiders set the single-season program record for team average (72.9), and Axton Miller (72.4) and Jackson Laven (73.0) posted season averages that sit in the top three of the record books. Northwestern tied for 16th at the NAIA Championships, marking the program’s second-best NAIA finish.
“Aaron exemplified what a Raider coach is all about throughout the past 15 seasons,” said Vice President for Athletics Tony Hoops. “He lived out our mission each day and modeled the love of Christ for all his athletes each day, impacting hundreds of young men. He gave his heart and soul to our program, department, institution and will be deeply missed.”
In addition to his teams’ work on the course, the men’s golf program excelled academically under Aberson’s leadership, boasting 31 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, three CSC/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and 11 NAIA Scholar Team honors.
On top of his coaching duties, Aberson served as the director of the Van Der Weide Golf Practice Room, housed within the Juffer Fieldhouse, while also overseeing Juffer daily activities.
“Aaron leaves the program in a great place for the next coach,” said Hoops. “I look forward to seeing the program sustain excellence, building upon the foundation laid.”
The search for Northwestern’s new head men’s golf coach is ongoing.
