Clay Homan
MGA Hall of Fame 2023
Clay Homan was born in Fulton, MS on February 24, 1972. He was a graduate of Itawamba Agricultural High School in 1990 and enrolled at Mississippi State University in the fall following graduation. A member of the Bulldogs golf team, Clay lettered four years from 1992-1995. He was voted co-captain in 1994-1995 and was named MSU’s Most Valuable Player that season. While enrolled at Mississippi State, Clay won his first of five (5) Mississippi State Amateur titles in 1994 as well as qualified for the U.S. Match Play Championship, and in 1995 was named to the 2nd Team All-SEC Honors. In his senior season, Clay finished with a stroke average of 73.44 and had three (3) Top-Five finishes including a victory at the Kroger Intercollegiate. He individually qualified for the 1995 NCAA Regional and was the recipient of the Carroll and Frances Newsome Award in 1994 and 1995, given annually to the top male and female athlete in each MSU sport. His performances during his senior campaign, both on the course and in the classroom, garnered him a spot on the All-SEC 2nd Team and the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1995. In 2000, following his collegiate playing career, Clay became the Head Golf Coach at Rice University where he coached three individual tournament champions and three Academic All-Americans. Following his success at Rice, Clay became the Head Golf Coach at Mississippi State University in 2004, a position he held until 2017. (14 Seasons) His list of accomplishments coaching at MSU includes thirteen (13) tournament championships, four (4) NCAA Regionals, one (1) NCAA Championship, fifty-two (52) Top-Five finishes, seventy-nine (79) SEC Academic Honor Roll athletes and eight (8) Academic All-Americans. As Clay found success on the course as a coach he also was establishing himself as one of the best amateur players in the country. His list of accolades includes being a five-time Mississippi State Amateur Champion (’94, ’05, ’11, ’12, ’16), a four-time Mississippi Mid-Amateur Champion which included three back-to-back titles from 2010-2012, a 2017 Lupton Invitational title, and a Mississippi Senior Amateur title in 2022. Clay was also a huge part of representing Mississippi in the USGA State Team Championship as he was selected to be part of the team in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2012. Clay and his family now reside in his hometown of Fulton, MS where he is working for his family’s lumber business.