Jake Harrington
Athletic Specialist/ Men’s Golf Coach
Phone: 602.243.8240
Cell: 602.750.8272
E-Mail: jake.harrington@smcmail.maricopa.edu
In just under two seasons as the head coach at South Mountain Community College, Jake Harrington has already left his mark on one of the nation’s proudest junior college programs.
In the fall of 2008, he has guided the Cougars to a #1 ranking in the December polls, with a 4th place showing at the High Country Shootout in Ruidoso, NM, and a 1st place finish in Gulfport, MS, at the Miss. Gulf Coast Community College Invitational where 8 of the top 16 teams in the nation participated.
In 2007-08, he guided the Cougars through the season with no finish lower than 3rd place in all their events, including a 1st place finish in the Paradise Valley Invitational, rallying the team from a 10-shot deficit going into the final day of competition. Harrington was also named the GCAA Western Region Coach of the Year in 2008 in his first year of coaching the Cougars and now serves as the Secretary for the NJCAA Division II.
After taking command of a talented squad that returned two starters from the National Runner-Up team during the 2006-07 season, Harrington began his first year with lofty expectations, taking over for Travis Brown, who lead the team to 6 region championships, two national runner-up titles in 2003 and 2007, and 1 national championship in 2004.
“It feels really good to be back home at South Mountain Community College and be able to continue a tradition of excellence left by Coach Brown both academically and athletically,” Harrington said. Harrington played under Brown in 2002, where he helped lead a young team to the schools second appearance at the NJCAA Division II National Championships, where they finished in 5th place after being ranked as high as #1 in the nation on Golfstat. Harrington finished the season at South Mountain Community College with Academic All-American, All-Region, and All-Conference Honors.
In 2002 he left SMCC with a golf scholarship to Holy Names University in Oakland, California with teammate Will Schoenfeld. At HNU, Harrington earned All-Conference and All-Region honors while helping the Hawks to be ranked as high as #1 in the NAIA both seasons according to Golfstat. In 2004, Harrington graduated with honors with his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from HNU and then returned to Arizona to be close to family and pursue his dream of getting a Master’s Degree.
In 2006, Harrington graduated with a 3.7 GPA from the University of Phoenix with his Master’s Degree in Global Management. Now Harrington is looking forward to the challenge of being a college golf coach for one of the most successful junior college programs in the country. “My goal is to continue to bring in the most talented golfers from around the world, help them develop both academically and athletically, while competing in the national spotlight, and help them fulfill their dreams of playing golf at a four-year college while earning their degrees,” Harrington said.
Coach Harrington currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
Degrees:
- University of Phoenix – Masters Degree in Global Management
- Holy Names University – Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management
- South Mountain Community College – Associates Degree in General Studies