Former Nittany Lion standout Mark Leon will enter his fourth season as the head coach of the Penn State men’s golf team in 2026-27. A Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-American, GCAA All-Region and All-Big Ten selection as a Penn State student-athlete from 2001-05, Leon was announced as the head coach at his alma mater on June 9, 2023.
Leon has mentored five GCAA All-Region picks during his first three seasons as the head coach of the Nittany Lions including Alex Creamean who earned back-to-back nods in 2025 and 2026.
This past season, Leon led the Nittany Lions to the Rutherford Intercollegiate Championship as the lone team in red figures after failing to capture the title during the 2024-25 campaign. It marked their 32nd Rutherford title and the 10th since 2015.
Senior Andres Barraza also secured individual medalist honors with a 5-under, 208, while each of the Nittany Lions in the starting lineup finished inside the top-18. Barraza became Penn State’s 22nd individual champion in tournament history.
Leon also saw Penn State finish tied for sixth at the B1G Championships, the best finish for the Nittany Lions since 2018. Sophomore Will Preston finished the week tied for 20th while Creamean and Barraza finished T-23.
Individually, Creamean shaved over two shots off his stroke average finishing the season with a team-best 70.97 mark over 10 tournaments and moved from No. 502 to No. 278 in the Clippd golf rankings while Barraza went from No. 999 to No. 624.
As a team, Penn State had the third highest jump in the Big Ten going from No. 146 in the nation to No. 109 by years end.
Leon guided Penn State to its ninth-straight Rutherford Intercollegiate title in the spring of 2024.
Leon returned to Happy Valley after serving as the head coach at Florida Atlantic for the previous two seasons. In addition to his time as the head coach of the Owls, Leon’s coaching career has also seen him make assistant coaching stops at Florida (2017-21) and Penn State (2011-17).
Leon was named the head men’s golf coach at Florida Atlantic in August 2021. He mentored five All-Conference USA selections during his two seasons with the Owls. Leon’s 2021-22 FAU team won the stroke play portion of the Conference USA Championship, in addition to the Bayou City Collegiate tournament title.
Leon spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Florida prior to his appointment as head coach at FAU. While with the Gators, Leon helped guide Florida to three-straight NCAA Regional appearances (2020 NCAA Championship events were canceled due to COVID-19) and a berth in the 2021 NCAA Finals. Leon helped mentor five GCAA All-Americans, the 2020 Phil Mickelson Award winner, the 2020 and 2021 SEC Freshmen of the Year, six All-SEC honorees and three SEC All-Freshman team members throughout his four seasons in Gainesville.
Prior to his time at Florida, Leon served under long-time head coach Greg Nye as an assistant coach at Penn State from 2011-17. He helped the Nittany Lions advance to NCAA Regionals in four-straight seasons, including Penn State’s most recent trip to the NCAA Finals in 2017. Leon coached a pair of GCAA All-Americans in Cole Miller and Charles Huntzinger in addition to 19 GCAA All-Region selections during his first coaching stint in Happy Valley.
Leon spent four years on the Canadian Tour before getting into the coaching ranks. He had two top-10 finishes, placing fourth in the 2008 Players Cup and tied for sixth in 2009.
One of the most accomplished players in Penn State history, Leon earned 2004 GCAA All-America honors, three GCAA All-Region nods and All-Big Ten honors. Leon led the Nittany Lions to the 2004 NCAA Finals, finishing tied for sixth as an individual, which still stands as the best individual finish in Penn State history.
Leon graduated from Penn State with a degree in history in 2005. He is married to the former Jaime Stitch, who was a member of the Penn State women’s soccer team from 2001-04. The couple has two children, Cameron and AJ.