McLean County Times

Following three consecutive MVC Coach of the Year honors, Illinois State head men's golf coach Ray Kralis has signed a three-year contract extension. This extension will allow him to continue his tenure with the Redbirds.

"With the tremendous support from our administration, generous alumni, and program friends, Redbird Golf is on the right trajectory and momentum is on our side," said Kralis. "I have been fortunate to coach and learn from so many talented student-athletes who have left Redbird Golf better than they found it, and we continue to build on their successes. With a great team of people around and behind me, I am confident we'll continue to rise and the best is yet to come."

Kralis took over as head coach of the men's golf program before the 2005 spring season. Since then, he has led ISU to four MVC Tournament titles in 2005, 2007, 2023, and 2025. He has also earned MVC Coach of the Year honors in 2007, 2019, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Previously, he served as head women's golf coach at ISU from 2000 through the 2007 season.

"Ray Kralis has been the face of men's golf at Illinois State for over 20 years," said Illinois State Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs. "From his time as a student-athlete to serving as head coach for the past 21 seasons, Ray's commitment to our men's golf program has been incredible. The accomplishments of the team and the relationships Ray has built with our biggest supporters have made men's golf a model for how to build a successful program. I'm thrilled to announce that we have extended his contract for three more years and I'm eager to see how far we can take men's golf in the future."

In addition to six MVC titles under his leadership, Kralis's teams have achieved nine runner-up finishes and five third-place finishes at conference championships. Four male golfers and two female golfers under his coaching won MVC individual medalist honors.

Kralis successfully recruited players who reached national recognition such as Samantha Richdale and Trent Wallace playing at NCAA National Championships along with David Perkins becoming an All-American from a current MVC school.

His teams have recorded victories against power conference schools including notable wins over Big Ten schools. In recent years, he guided teams or individuals through NCAA Regionals multiple times including team participation in both 2023 and 2025 seasons while individual appearances occurred across various other years.

Academically strong achievements accompany athletic success: thirty golfers earned All-America Scholar honors from GCAA alongside thirteen women honored by WGCA; last year’s squad posted impressive academic performance boasting an overall GPA averaging around approximately three-point-five throughout fall semester reaching record highs during late-2024 term.