CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Announced by Women's Golf Coaches Association, Chris Oetinger, assistant women's golf coach for Cal State East Bay, was named 2022-23 Golf Pride WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year.

"I am so proud of Chris and all that he has done for this program," said Cal State East Bay head coach Alan Sue. "[Cal State East Bay] golf is so fortunate to have a quality coach who helps me in improving the team on a daily basis. I can't stress enough how important it is that Chris, as an [alumnus], is back here where he belongs. I hope we can keep him here for a long time."
 
Oetinger was on staff for a Pioneers team that reached the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships. Not only did the Pioneers as a team reach the championship tournament for the first time, they advanced to medal match play as a team that placed eighth in stroke play.
 
Throughout 2022-23, Cal State East Bay won three women's golf tournaments and did not finish any lower in team scoring than 10^th in a single tournament. There were 20 top-10 individual finishes amongst the Pioneers during the season.
 
In some tournaments during the season that were simultaneous with CSUEB men's golf action, Oetinger had complete direction on site for the women's golf program.  
 
Thursday's award was not the first major award of Oetinger's coaching career. In 2018, he was named GCAA Division II West Region Coach of the Year while serving as head coach for the golf programs at Holy Names University.
 
Oetinger rejoined the CSUEB coaching staff in 2021 for his second term with the Pioneers. He was previously a volunteer coach.
 
Before coaching at Cal State East Bay, Oetinger was an outstanding Pioneer student-athlete for men's golf. During his time golfing for the Pioneers, Oetinger received many awards including CSUEB Male Athlete of the Year, All-American Scholar Athlete twice, Dr. Hal Charnofsky Award twice from the CCAA, as well as All-CCAA and All-West Region selection.