Three years ago Eastern Michigan’s women’s golf team was lost, not really moving in any direction. The Eagles were in the middle of the Mid-American Conference ranked as the 226th best women’s golf team in the nation out of more than the 250 teams that competed.
Two years later that struggling team climbed their way to the top, finishing 3rd in the NCAA championships at the end of the 2025-26 season. Arguably becoming one of the greatest underdog stories in NCAA history, specifically in the period of NIL, the transfer portal, and gaps in skill.
These results can be directly linked to GameAbove, a company that focuses on inspiring greatness through sports. Its purpose is to bridge charitable giving with business initiatives that build a symbiotic relationship between social impact and commercial growth.
Thanks to EMU alumni that are a part of the GameAbove company they chose to invest into the athletics programs at Eastern Michigan specifically pledging almost $20 million to specifically be used for the Eagles golf programs starting with a $3.5 million in 2019 that continued to grow.
This partnership is a direct cause and effect relationship between the two sides with the women’s golf team climbing to new heights in direct correlation to the money that was invested into the program allowing the team to make some massive changes and developments to better support golf at Eastern Michigan.
The investment started with building a new training facility allowing for golfers to practice indoors when weather is not favorable for the regular Michigan conditions. With the 13,000 ft facility opening in 2024 it includes a practice range, chipping and putting areas, and golf simulators allowing for constant practice.
Prior to the building of the GameAbove performance center the golf teams would play outside and didn’t have a dedicated indoor facility they could use.
After the completion of the training facility Eastern Michigan made a change in leadership due to the lack of success with the previous coach. Now backed by GameAbove resources the Eagles went out and hired Josh Brewer, former coach of Georgia who led the Bulldogs to 16 NCAA wins, qualifying for the NCAA regionals 10 times and making it to the championships on four separate occasions. Brewer is known for consistent success and is an experienced leader in building programs.
Brewer also brought with him a talented up and comer from Belgium, Savannah de Bock, as part of his first transfer class as the head coach of the Eagles.
Thanks to the top tier budget GameAbove allocated to the program for NIL and travel budgets Eastern Michigan was soon recruiting some of the best up and coming players.
In the team’s first season since opening the training facility, hiring Brewer as head coach, and bringing in two transfer students and three freshmen the team jumped from a ranking of 226 to 122nd in just one season, thanks to the leadership and dominance from de Bock and freshman Mariana Vega who were consistently the top golfers for the Eagles throughout the season.
And with proof that the concept works with GameAbove completely funding all things Eastern Michigan golf the Eagles were able to bring in even more talent to build the legacy that the women’s golf team was starting to build.
With a season under his belt Brewer utilized NIL funding to secure twin sisters Janae Leovao and Jasmine Leovao as senior transfers adding veterans to help bolster an already experienced rotation.
Then the team ripped off one of the greatest athletic feats Eastern Michigan University has ever seen. The team got second in the MAC but their most impressive feat is what they accomplished at the NCAA championships.
- Janae Leovao was the leader of the team becoming the first player in EMU history to win back-to-back individual tournament titles early in the season and capped her year off by tying for 7th place individually at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, earning Golfweek and WGCA All-American honors.
- Jasmine Leovao maintained elite consistency, earning All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) First Team honors and three MAC Golfer of the Week awards. She tied for 26th at the NCAA Regionals and was critical in securing the team's match-play victories.
- Baiyok Sukterm Had a phenomenal breakout season, earning First-Team All-MAC honors. She finished 9th individually at the NCAA Regional with a 2-under 214 and went on to place in the top 15 individually at the NCAA Championships.
- Rounding out the team’s top four was de Bock who played her absolute best golf when the lights were brightest in the postseason. She earned Second-Team All-MAC honors, tied for 26th at the Regionals, and matched Sukterm with a spectacular top-15 individual finish at the NCAA Championships.
The team competed for four days in Carlsbad, California against some of the best collegiate level golfers in the country slowly climbing the leaderboards to get into the top eight meaning they would compete in match play going head to head against some of the premier golf programs in the NCAA.
From there the Eagles would upset the number four seed Texas Longhorns before falling in the semifinals to the eventual national champion Stanford Cardinals.
The Eagles finished tied for 3rd nationally after achieving its first-ever NCAA Regional appearance and subsequent first-ever NCAA Championship appearance. Unprecedented Rankings Jump: EMU executed the largest turnaround in collegiate golf history, rising from a national rank of 226th to the NCAA match play quarterfinals and semifinals in a two season turnaround.
Coach Josh Brewer became the first EMU coach to ever win the Golfweek National Women's Coach of the Year award. He was also the first in program history named the WGCA East Region Coach of the Year.
Before Josh Brewer arrived, the program had shot a round of 290 or lower just five times in its history. In the 2025–26 season alone, they shattered this mark by posting 26 rounds of 290 or lower.
And while the Eagles fell short of the ultimate prize, the program with the backing of GameAbove is chasing more than just one Cinderella season but instead consistency as they attempt to become a premier powerhouse in the golfing world continuing to take on the historical programs that stand in their way.
With Brewer at the helm and GameAbove’s resources you can only question just how high this Eagle team really can soar.
