Emilyee McGiles

The University of Kentucky women’s golf program has added an additional assistant to its coaching staff in Emilyee McGiles, it was announced by head coach Golda Borst on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.

“We’re excited to add Emilyee to our coaching staff,” Borst said. “She loves the game of golf and has a passion for coaching. She has recently played professionally, and I think her experience and knowledge will be valuable for our players. She aligns with the values we uphold as an athletics department and a program, and she’ll be a great asset to our team!”

McGiles, an Orland Park, Illinois, native, has spent the last two years on the professional tours, including the Women’s All-Pro Tour and the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour. In 2023, she also worked at Shadow Wood Country Club in Bonita Springs, Florida.

“I would like to thank Coach Borst and Coach (Will) Sallee for this incredible opportunity to work with them, the team and the University of Kentucky Athletics Department. I am looking forward to joining this amazing golf program and helping the team, both on and off the course, achieve their full potential. I am so proud to be a Wildcat!”

Before her career, McGiles was a standout golfer at Southern Illinois (2017-21).

While in Carbondale, she averaged a 77.56 scoring average over 103 career rounds, which ranks third all-time in program history. She also made 159 birdies during that timeframe, which ranks seventh all-time in program history. The Salukis heavily relied on McGiles all four seasons, and that is evident by the program using 86.4 percent of her 103 career rounds. She also helped Southern Illinois claim the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Championship title, finishing in a tie for eighth place at 11-over-par 227.

McGiles made a pair of MVC Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete Teams (2019, 2020), before earning a degree in exercise science from Southern Illinois in 2021.