Carly Ludwig enters her third season (2026-27) as the Associate Head Coach of SMU Women’s Golf.
In 2025-26, the Mustangs took another step forward from the previous season, winning the NCAA Waco Regional round and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the first time with Ludwig on staff. Mackenzie Lee and Emily Odwin earned All-ACC honors during the campaign. Ludwig played an instrumental role in helping the Mustangs log eight top-5 finishes as a team during the 2025-26 campaign and coached Lee to a win at the 2026 Huntington Bank Collegiate event in April.
Under the leadership of Ludwing, SMU finished the season ranked No. 18 in the scoreboard rankings. Individually, Lee (#63) and Odwin (#72) each finished in the top 100 of the rankings.
Lee added another program first to her resume as she represented the United States at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup, becoming the first SMU women's golfer to participate in the Palmer Cup. She joined Hank Kuehne (1998, 1999) and Bryson DeChambeau (2015) as Mustang golfers to appear in a Palmer Cup. Lee and Odwin also competed at the August National Women’s Amateur in April of 2026, where Odwin finished tied for 27th at the event.
During 2025, Ludwig was a key piece in Mackenzie Lee making the Augusta National Women’s Amateur where she finished in the top 11 with a hole-in-one. Emily Odwin won her US Open Qualifier and earned a bid to the US Women’s Open with Ludwig on the bag. Grace Jin, just joining SMU in the summer of 2025, won the Texas Women’s Amateur Championship for back-to-back victories at the tournament. Both Jin and Lee earned spots at the US Women’s Amateur in Bandon Dunes taking place in August of 2025. Carrying on the SMU legacy of victories at Pinehurst No. 2 (Payne Stewart-1999 US Open & Bryson DeChambeau-2024 US Open) Mackenzie Lee won the North & South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2. She also recorded her third hole-in-one of the calendar year during the tournament. As of July of 2025, four returning Mustangs are ranked in the top 400 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings: Mackenzie Lee (No. 32), Emily Odwin (No.156), Grace Jin (No. 259) and Celine Chen (No. 374).
Ludwig joined SMU from Baylor, where she spent six successful seasons as Associate Head Coach of the Bears. Under her leadership, Baylor recently finished 21st at the NCAA Championship. During her tenure, Baylor appeared in the Championship four times in the last five seasons.
In her first season at SMU, Ludwig and the Mustangs made the NCAA Regional for the third straight season. Mackenzie Lee was named an honorable-mention All-American in the season. Lee was also named all-conference in the program's first year in the ACC. Lee and Emily Odwin posted the first and third best scoring season in SMU history under Ludwig. Ludwig also helped Odwin make an appearance at the US Women's Open and Lee a start at the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
During 2025, Ludwig helped Mackenzie Lee in making the Augusta National Women’s Amateur where she finished in the top 11 with a hole in one. Emily Odwin won her US Open Qualifier and earned a bid to the US Women’s Open. Ludwig caddied for Odwin during the prestigous tournament. Grace Jin, who joined the SMU roster in the summer of 2025, won the Texas Women’s Amateur Championship for back-to-back victories at the tournament. Both Jin and Lee earned spots at the US Women’s Amateur in Bandon Dunes taking place in August of 2025. Carrying on the SMU legacy of victories at Pinehurst No. 2 (Payne Stewart-1999 US Open & Bryson DeChambeau-2024 US Open) Mackenzie Lee won the North & South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2. She also recorded her third hole in one of the calendar year during the tournament. As of July of 2025, four returning Mustangs are ranked in the top 400 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings: Mackenzie Lee (No. 32), Emily Odwin (No.156), Grace Jin (No. 259) and Celine Chen (No. 374).
Ludwig was a 2023-24 Arnold Palmer Assistant Coach Finalist. She is a current member of the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Board as the Assistant Coach representative. She has coached an individual champion in each of the last five seasons and has helped the Bears land six All-American honors.
The Bears secured 14 team titles over the past six seasons and broke nine of 13 program records. While Ludwig was on staff, the Bears had six All-Big 12 selections and seven different players named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team.
In the 2020-21 season, the Bears set a Big 12 record with five consecutive team titles to open their season, achieving the No. 1 national ranking for the first time in program history.
Prior to her six-year stint at Baylor, Ludwig was part of the staff at San Diego State. During her time there, the Aztecs experienced their most successful run in program history, narrowly missing their first-ever NCAA Championship appearance by one stroke in 2018. SDSU appeared in the NCAA Regional in all three seasons with Ludwig on staff.
Before SDSU, Ludwig led Central Connecticut State, where she was named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year. In the 2014-15 season, she also served as the acting head coach for the CCSU men's team.
As a collegiate athlete, Ludwig was a three-year letterwinner at Cal State San Marcos. She earned First Team All-American honors as a senior after placing sixth at the 2008 NAIA Championship. She was a two-time team captain and earned NAIA Region II Player of the Year after winning the regional tournament title.
Ludwig graduated with a degree in Kinesiology from Cal State San Marcos in 2008. She spent three years on staff at Santaluz Club in San Diego, gaining experience as a golf instructor for both adult and junior players, and managing the course’s tournament operations. Ludwig also competed professionally for two years on the Symetra Tour from 2009 through 2011.
