PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Houston junior Leonie Harm was named the American Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Player of the Year, the conference announced on Friday.
 
Houston head coach Gerrod Chadwell was voted The American’s Coach of the Year, while ECU freshman Kathryn Carson was tabbed the Freshman of the Year in the conference. ECU was also honored with the Team Academic Award after compiling a 3.839 grade-point average.
 
Harm is the highest-ranked player in the conference, entering the postseason at No. 37 in the NCAA. The junior is among the possible selections for the International Team for the Arnold Palmer Cup, where four selections remain to be filled for the competition.
 
This season, Harm has finished inside the top 20 in all but one tournament, recording a scoring average of 72.90 to lead The American. Harm has posted 14 rounds of par or better, including four in the 60s. Her fourth-place finish at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championship was her third straight top-10 finish at the league’s postseason tournament.
 
Carson is the first player in ECU history to collect American Freshman of the Year accolades and is the highest-ranked freshman in the conference. In 11 tournaments this year, Carson has posted six top 20 finishes, including three top 10 results. Carson held the first-round lead at the American Athletic Conference Championship, firing an opening-round 69 before finishing in a tie for 14^th.
 
The only coach in Houston’s women’s golf history, Chadwell was selected by his peers as The American Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons. This year, Chadwell has helped lead Houston to a No. 23 national ranking and to the 2018 American Athletic Conference championship. The Cougars’ closing round of 11-under par (277) at the conference championship is the lowest round shot in The American’s five years.
 
Under Chadwell’s leadership, Houston will compete in NCAA Regional play for the fourth straight season, or every year in which the team has been eligible to play in the postseason.
 
The Pirates earned the Team Academic Award in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons, as well. The award goes to the team in each conference sport with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year.
 
American Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Honors
Player of the Year: Leonie Harm, Houston
Freshman of the Year: Kathryn Carson, ECU
Coach of the Year: Gerrod Chadwell, Houston
Team Academic Award: ECU (3.839 GPA)