Editor’s note: This is a column and does not reflect the views or opinions of The Daily Barometer.
In the last four years, the Oregon State women’s golf team has become an emerging powerhouse for Beavers’ athletics.
In 2023, the team made history with their first NCAA National Championship appearance since 1998. They qualified again in 2024.
Now, the Beavers’ 2025-2026 season concludes with a 30th place finish at the 2026 National Championship in Carlsbad, California on Memorial Day weekend.
The Beavers qualified for the National Championship for the fourth time in program history, but the third time under Head Coach Dawn Shockley.
Shockley attributes the success of the team under her tenure to the relationships she cultivates.
“I have to build (the team’s) trust first,” Shockley said. “That’s the most important piece for me … really talking through what they’re feeling and emotions.”
Golf is consistently cited as a sport dependent on mental fortitude and stability, something Shockley emphasizes going into major, postseason tournaments.
“We talk about it a lot, the sport is very mental,” Shockley said. “They say it’s 90% mental and 10% the rest … The mind and the body can work together, but figuring out what’s happening to mind (is very important).”
Only the second All-American female golfer in Oregon State history and the first since 1998, senior Kyra Ly has mastered mental control, finishing her senior season with an impressive legacy. Ly was voted the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and is the only Oregon State golfer to play in the National Championship three times.
Ly finished the tournament tied for 96th place individually, scoring a 7 over 223 strokes. She recorded eight birdies over her 223 strokes.
The championship tournament directly followed the regional tournament at Stanford, which concluded on Wednesday before the national tournament weekend.
The Beavers placed third in the three-day, 54 hole NCAA Stanford Regional to qualify for the National Championship.
“It’s a quick turnaround,” true freshman Kate Nakaoka said ahead of the tournament weekend. “We try to play as much as we can and trust everything we put into it.”
Nakaoka finished the National Championship with 13 over 229, finishing 134th out of the field and third out of the Beavers’ lineup.
Shockley had only good things to say about the future of the program with Nakaoka.
“The poise of a freshman like that is pretty incredible,” Shockley said. “Not only poised in discipline, but she’s super competitive, and she takes on everything we give her.”
Nakaoka is not the only Beaver golfer to make an impact her freshman season.
Raya Nakao, now a junior, has been a standout golfer for the Beavs throughout the last three years, leading the team with a 41st individual place finish in the 2024 National Championship.
This year, she tied for 105th among a tough field, finishing 8 over 224.
