Ken Badylak joined the Kentucky Wesleyan College Department of Athletics in July 2017 as the Head Coach of the Men’s and Women’s Golf teams. Badylak will also serve as the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications. Badylak holds a 100% graduation rate in his career for all players exhausting their eligibility as members of the men's and women's golf programs. Since 1992 the men's program's top five team single season scoring averages in Wesleyan history have occurred since 2017. In addition to his golf duties, in January of 2024 Badylak was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director of Sport Administration, Student-Athlete Initiatives, and Communications. His expanded role allows for sport oversight as well as being the SAAC Advisor.
The 2023-24 season was one to remember as both programs continued to make significant strides. The men's golf team finished second three times on the year, earned a statistical win at the G-MAC Championship, and lost the Championship match in a playoff. The mens team produced a program best 295 scoring average on the year. Tyler Nickol won twice, including medalist honors at the G-MAC Championship. Nickol and Evan Beery were both named to the All-Conference Team. Nickol, Jonah Graham, and Ayden Gillilan were all named to the GCAA All-America Scholars Team. The men's team finished with a 3.5 GPA, earning their seventh honor on the GCAA Outstanding Academic Team List. Proudly the men ranked fourth in the nation in community service hours. On the women's side the Panthers dropped ther scoring average to 340, 15 shots better from the previous year. Avery Shacklette, Audrey Koetter, and Megan Bryan were all named to the WGCA All-Scholar Team. The women's team finished the year ranked third in the nation in community service hours and eighth in team GPA (3.814).
In 2022-23, the Panthers held one of the nation's best Team GPAs as recognized by the Golf Coaches Association of America. The women's team ranked 25th in the nation in Team GPA as awarded by the Women's Golf Coaches Association. The women's and men's team ranked 5th and 6th nationally in community service hours. Tyler Nickol became the first player since 2018 to received All-Conference honors while Jonah Graham was selected by GCAA on the All-Scholars Team.
The 2021-22 season saw a youth movement in the Panthers men's golf program. Every Tournament roster featured four freshman and one sophomore. The team saw its scoring average improve by three shots from a senior heavy 2020-21 team. Over the past 30 years in the program's history, Badylak has coached the four lowest team season ending scoring averages. Individually, Badylak helped Tyler Nickol earn his first career win as well as runner-up honors over the season. The women's program continues to gain success improving its scoring average, seeing tournament score dipping into the 330s.
In 2020-21 a senior heavy team produced a 310 scoring average in a rigorous CoVID19 season. The men's team continued to showcase a nationally recognized team GPA, earning the Presidents Special Recognition of the Outstanding Team Academic Award from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Wesleyan's team GPA of 3.663 ranked inside the top-13 in all of Division II.
During the 2019-20 season the Panthers continued to show great success in the classroom. The men's golf team received Presidents Special Recognition by the Golf Coaches Association of America for finishing the year with a 3.518 team GPA. Wesleyan's team GPA ranks in the NCAA Division II top-15 in the nation. The women's team continue its climb toward success by improving 31 shots from the previous season. The Panthers finished with a tournament scoring average of 349, earning the prestigious Mark Laesch Award, given to one program in each Division for the most improved adjusted scoring average.
The 2018-19 season saw the Panthers maintain its excellence in the classroom as the men's team retained the Mark Hedges trophy with a GPA of 3.486. For the second consecutive year the men's team earned All-Academic Team honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). The women's team led the Kentucky Wesleyan Athletic Department with 238 volunteer hours, a total that ranked eighth nationally of all Division II women's golf programs. The men's team produced a scoring average of 304 in the 18-19 season while the women's team posted a average of 383.
In his first season at Kentucky Wesleyan, Badylak helped guide the Panthers to a remarkable turnaround. The 2017-18 men's team earned the Athletic Department's Mark Hedges Award, given to the highest male sport team GPA. They also finished the academic year with a 3.489 Team GPA, the highest in the entire Athletic Department.
The Panthers' regional ranking went from second to last in 2016-17 to 20th out of 38 in the Midwest in 2017-18. Wesleyan's tournament scoring average improved from 317 to 303 in one calendar year. The Panthers won their first tournament in over a decade, claiming the Otter Creek Invitational in September with a three over par total of 290-289. For the first time in his career, two players earned All-Conference honors as Christian Tooley and Carter Dodson were each recognized by the Great Midwest Conference. In total Kentucky Wesleyan finished 2017-18 with a 59-66-1 overall record including a 25-15 mark against Great Midwest competition. Since joining Kentucky Wesleyan Badylak's men team holds a record of 90-130-2 with a 39-43 record in the G-MAC.
Prior to Kentucky Wesleyan, Badylak spent nine seasons at Saint Joseph’s College of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Badylak has produced a 100% graduation rate for players exhausting their eligibility in the SJC golf program. Five times, SJC golf has been recognized by the Great Lakes Valley Conference for its academic achievements with the Team Academic Award. The women's team earned the honor with a 3.3 team GPA in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2014-15, and the 2016-17 seasons while the men's team achieved the same feat in 2010-11. Both men and women's team from 2016-17 received the GLVC's Sportsmanship Award for their respective sports.
In 2014, Badylak was elected by his peers to serve as the Great Lakes Valley Conference Chairman for both the men's and women's conference championships. Badylak is the liaison between the GLVC office and the league coaches on matters pertaining to GLVC Golf Championship. Other duties include serving on the Championship Games Committee. In 2015, he served the GLVC Golf Championship as the Past-Chairman.
During the fall of 2012, Badylak served a three year term on the Great Lakes Valley Conference Awards Committee. In the past he has also assisted the GLVC during the baseball championship along with the men's and women's basketball championships. Also, in 2012 Badylak began a three-year appointment to the Men's Soccer Midwest Regional Appointment Committee.
In 2012, Badylak started a five-year term on the NCAA National Golf Committee where he chairs the Midwest and Central Region's Appointment Committees. He serves as the NCAA representative for the Super Regional as well as the National Championships. Badylak concluded his National Committee service as the National Chair for the 2016-17 season. In 2018 he served as the NCAA site representative at the Super Regional in Findlay, Ohio as well as serving in the same capacity at the NCAA Championships in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In 2018-19, Badylak served as the Tournament Director for the NCAA Division II Women's Golf East Regional.
While assisting the Wesleyan Athletic Communications Department, Badylak has served as the primary contact of the volleyball, softball, wrestling, men's and women's soccer teams. He provides additional support to all 19 varsity sports in a number of game-day capacities. Badylak will provide an official statistical record of contests, add content to the website and other social media outlets.
In the summer of 2011 Badylak oversaw the development and redesign of the SJC athletics website. He also initiated the berth of Puma social media which includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube outlets. In the span of one year, athletics.saintjoe.edu has received nearly 100,000 different visitors with over one million page views. In 2014, Badylak oversaw the redesign of the SJC Athletics website and increased the amount of social media traffic on all SJC outlets.
He served Saint Joseph's as the sole Sports Information Director for nine years. During that tenure he assisted the GLVC with the operation and execution of several Conference Championship, including baseball, men's and women's swimming & diving as well as men's and women's basketball. In the summer 2016, Badylak assisted the NCAA in Media Coordination at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. SJC, as a institution, closed on June 30th, 2017.
Prior to his return to SJC, Badylak, in 2006 was a Tournament Operations Assistant with the LPGA's Futures Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA. From 2001 to 2017, Badylak also assisted Merrillville High School with athletic operations.
Badylak is a 2005 graduate of Saint Joseph's College, earning a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He has also been a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) since 2008.
A native of Merrillville, Ind. Badylak currently resides in Owensboro.
