DALLAS – Lauren Mason sees the future.

She sees trophies and championships, NCAA appearances and All-Americans. She sees what SMU women’s golf could be. That’s why she’s here.

When the Queensland, Australia native arrived in America to play collegiately at Texas Tech, she had no idea her journey would ultimately remain in the Lone Star state. The people, the environment, the hospitality all led to her decision to stay.

“Texas is home for me. My home away from home. Always will be for me,” Mason said. “This is a prestigious university. It was something that I had aspired to be a part of. I want to be working with the best and the brightest and that’s certainly what I’m doing now.”

Following two NCAA appearances as a player with the Red Raiders, Mason worked as an assistant and eventually head coach with the Texas A&M-Commerce men’s and women’s golf teams, helping both programs reach new heights. A total of 13 golfers earned all-conference honors under her watch, with three (two women and one man) earning All-American honors at the NCAA Division II level.

That success got her noticed by SMU’s search committee, leading to her hire earlier this year.

What she takes over is a program with resources. Many of the facilities the SMU women use are also the same as the nationally competitive men. With the right players on the roster, Mason sees endless potential.

“There’s no reason why we should be ranked what we currently are and I definitely want to replicate the success on the women’s side just as the men have done and maybe even push it a little bit further with all the opportunities women athletes have and all the scholarships we have,” Mason said. “I want to get the program nationally competitive again. I want recruits tapping on my door saying, ‘Hey, I want to go to SMU because of this,’ not necessarily me saying, ‘Hey, in a couple years’ time, you’ll have to watch out for us. Come be a part and help us build something here.’ That’s kind of my vision for the program.”

Since practice officially got underway just a few weeks ago, Mason has found a roster full of returning players eager to learn and improve. The 10 golfers she inherited have shown a desire to soak up the information Mason and assistant coach Joshua Aguilar are doling out.

At the first team meeting, Mason handed out a team handbook that clearly established her expectations for the players moving forward. Since then, the focus has been on fine tuning swings and approaches.

Mason’s three goals are simple – win the American Athletic Conference, getting an NCAA regional bid and finishing among the top 50 programs nationally. Considering the Mustangs return so many experienced golfers and finished just 10 total strokes back at the AAC Championship last year, these certainly seem attainable.

One thing is certain, Mason is excited for the challenge.

“I presented those three goals as soon as our team meeting started and I think it let the players know I was a new coach coming in and I think I’ve been pretty clear on what the expectation is and how we’re going to get there,” Mason said. “I’m just so excited. They’ve been really, really receptive to us. They’re really high energy at the moment and each of them are unique in their own way. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better. I’m looking forward to creating memories with them.”