Nancy McDaniel, longtime women’s golf coach at Cal died on Wednesday from cancer. She was 57. Her former player and current Stanford women’s golf coach Anne Walker confirmed her death.
A Portland, Oregon, native and former star golfer at University of Washington, McDaniel retired from her position at Cal earlier this year after 29 seasons as the founding head coach of the women’s golf program. Since answering an ad she read in a golf magazine to be the first women’s golf coach at Cal, McDaniel helped turn the team, which debuted in 1995-96, into one of the most nationally regarded programs. Under her leadership, Cal has consistently been ranked in the top 25 nationally as she led the Golden Bears to 10 NCAA Championship appearances, 22 NCAA regional appearances, the 2003 Pac-10 Championship and the 2012 Pac-12 Championship.
“We have a saying at Cal that team stands for Together Everyone Achieves More,” McDaniel routinely would say.
McDaniel had a post-playing career defined by excellence and was showered with numerous accolades. She was named National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Coach of the Year, the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Coach of the Year and Golfweek magazine’s Coach of the Year.
“I am forever thankful that Cal took a chance on me 29 years ago as it led to a dream career. Having the ability to use golf, a sport that I absolutely love, as a vehicle in mentoring young women both competitively and personally has been profound,” McDaniel said when she stepped down from her post. “The joy comes from watching them step into greatness in all parts of their life and creating relationships with them that last a lifetime. I want to thank my associate head coach and dear friend Bev Terry for always handling our players with positivity, care and compassion, and for supporting me through these last eight years together.”
Beginning at age eight, McDaniel’s parents began dropping her off at Waverley Country Club, and she went on to Washington from 1984-88 where she was team captain, an All American and earned Pac-10 All-Decade Team honors. She played professionally for five years before becoming the founding coach of Cal’s women’s golf team. Her husband, Jay, is the head golf professional at Claremont Country Club and served as the team’s longtime volunteer assistant coach. “I volunteered him for the last 29 years,” Nancy told NCGA Golf Magazine.
After garnering back-to-back Pac-10 and West Regional Coach of the Year awards in 2001 and 2002, McDaniel led the Bears to a nation-best seven first-place tournament finishes in 2002-03, their highest-ever national ranking at No. 2 and their first of two conference championships.
She was inducted into the WGCA Hall of Fame in 2016 in the later years of a 20-season consecutive run to NCAA Regionals. She coached 17 All Americans, 31 NGCA/WGCA All-American Scholars and 43 All-Pac 10/12 golfers.
One of those players was Walker, head coach of the Stanford women’s golf team since 2012 — a native Scot, and a former Golden Bear player who was McDaniel’s first-ever international recruit way back in 1997, then McDaniel’s assistant coach for six years.
When McDaniel was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, Walker was by McDaniel’s side. And when doctors told McDaniel the cancer returned in the summer of 2023 and had moved to her stomach, Walker moved even closer.
“She’s my first responder,” McDaniel told NCGA Golf earlier this year. “When I went to the hospital in June (2023) and found out things were happening again with the cancer, she was the person there. She was my eyes and ears when things were getting emotional. She was there asking the questions.”
Last fall, Walker created the Player for Her campaign to support breast cancer research.
“My best friend has cancer, and I looked myself in the mirror and said: ‘What the hell are you doing, Anne?” Walker told NCGA Golf. “You’re hosting a tournament in the middle of October, no women’s golf tournament had any presence on the topic . . . we need to model the way and bring awareness.”
And so the Stanford Intercollegiate tournament, which is held in October during Breast Cancer Awareness month, became a platform for making a difference. McDaniel came out to watch and smiled at all the golfers dressed in pink.
“It felt like we were all on the same team,” McDaniel said of the magical weekend in October at Stanford. “We were all playing for something bigger, and playing on a team called golf.”
In 2018, McDaniel received the Kim Moore Spirit Award for her great spirit and positive attitude within the game of golf and her success as a role model by demonstrating great mental toughness in the face of challenges. McDaniel was inducted into the Northern California Golf Association’s Hall of Fame on Oct. 16 as one of four members of the Class of 2024. Husband Jay accepted the honor in the Lifetime Achievement category on her behalf during a ceremony held at Silverado Resort in Napa.
“The impact Nancy has made on Cal and collegiate golf is immeasurable. She is truly a pioneer whose legacy will be felt for a long time,” Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. “Not only was Nancy a terrific golf coach, she was a role model to the countless women that came through our program for the past 29 years.”
