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Brett Balak is in his 14th season as head coach of the Nebraska Wesleyan University men’s golf team. Under Balak’s direction, NWU has won 11 conference crowns and has qualified as a team for either the NAIA Championships or the NCAA Division III Championships in all but two seasons.
Balak’s 2007 squad claimed three tournament victories including the team title at the prestigious Fred B. Kravetz Invitational in Rochester, N.Y. For his career, Balak has coached his teams to 55 tournament victories.
In 2006, Balak led Nebraska Wesleyan to its first national team title in any sport, as the Prairie Wolves won the NCAA Div. III National Championships held at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln. As a result of his efforts, Balak earned the Eaton/Golf Pride National Coach of the Year Award, as presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). He also received the Omaha World-Herald Midlands College Coach of the Year Award for men’s sports.
The Prairie Wolves have earned three of their top four national finishes in team history under Balak, including the 2006 national championship, a fifth-place finish in 2005 and a sixth-place showing in 2002. Overall, Balak has led his teams to seven top 10 finishes at the national meet.
Nebraska Wesleyan won its fourth consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) title in 2007 and 11th in 13 years under Balak. NWU has now captured 22 of the last 26 league titles. Following Nebraska Wesleyan’s win at the 2004 conference meet, Balak was honored with the SCHEELS/GPAC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year award.
While at the helm, Balak has coached 11 All-Americans (Kelly Karmazin, 1997; Bob Wellman, 1998-99; Brandon Urban, 2000; Ryan Vlasin, 2001; David Easley, 2002; Jon Deines, 2004 and 2006; Travis Davis, 2004-06; Aaron Stockton, 2005-07; Jeff Holm, 2006; Tyler Lawson, 2006; and Nate Jaeger, 2007) and 10 All-America Scholars (Easley, David Honnens, Karmazin, Judd Knispel, Ryan Lanzen, Jason McDonald, Travis Minzel, Matt Simpson, Vlasin and Joel Wisdom). Karmazin was also named the GCAA’s Academic Player-of-the-Year in 1997. This award goes to the player with the lowest stroke average (74.3) and highest grade point average (3.97).
Elected by his peers, Balak is currently serving a three-year term as the lone Division III representative on the GCAA National Advisory Board.
Balak was a member of the NWU men’s golf team himself from 1987 to 1991. He served as an assistant coach before being named the head coach following the 1994 fall golf season. The Schuyler, Neb., native graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1991 and is currently the associate director of admissions at NWU. Balak has a daughter Isabella.
 David Easley
Assistant Coach
David Easley is entering his fifth season as assistant men’s golf coach at Nebraska Wesleyan. Easley was a member of the team from 1998 to 2002 and helped the NWU capture multiple conference championships.
During his senior season, Easley placed tied for 13th at the NCAA Div. III Championships hosted by NWU and Firethorn Golf Club, giving him All-America Third Team status. Easley was also named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar in 2002, as awarded by the GCAA.
Easley graduated from NWU in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. |
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