University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Andy Mead
GoHeels Exclusive: Seamless Transition
March 29, 2019 | Women's Golf, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
When Leah Buchmann stepped down as North Carolina's associate head women's golf coach in May 2017, Kristen Simpson was among the first people who Jan Mann considered for the position.
At the time, Simpson was fresh off her third season as Maryland's assistant women's golf coach. She'd gained six total years of coaching experience since completing her collegiate career at Virginia, where she played three seasons under Mann. She also had about three years of professional golfing experience to rely on.
All of that made her an ideal candidate. Around the same time as Buchmann's decision, though, Simpson accepted a job working with youth golfers. And out of respect for her new role, Mann chose not to contact her.
Instead, the Tar Heels hired Aimee Neff, who helped them earn five top-5 finishes during the 2017-18 season. But when Neff took the head-coaching job at Florida Atlantic last summer, Mann made the call that's reunited her and Simpson in Chapel Hill.
"She gave me the opportunity, and I was like, 'You're kidding,'" said Simpson, who had since returned to Maryland. "Just to be able to come back and work for her and work for a school like Carolina is a dream come true. It's just such a cool place and I've learned so much from her.
"For me, I was over the moon to be able to reconnect and work with her, but also just to be able to learn from her and coach."
In many ways, it feels like old times.
Growing up in Norfolk, Va., Simpson said she always wanted to attend Virginia. That didn't change once she reached high school or even after she received opportunities to continue her golfing career at a few smaller schools. She ultimately applied to UVA for early decision.
Shortly after learning of her acceptance, Simpson said she began talking with Mann, then in her first season as the Cavaliers' first-ever head coach, about walking on. Mann said she couldn't promise Simpson a scholarship. But she assured her that she'd be treated like any other member of the team. That's all Simpson could ask for.
"Had she not given me that opportunity," Simpson said, "I probably wouldn't have played golf in college and would've been a normal student."
Under Mann, Simpson, who called herself a late bloomer in golfing terms, steadily improved. She eventually earned a scholarship and was a team captain during her junior and senior seasons.
"The thing that I loved about Kristen was she had played a lot of different sports growing up so she was extremely coachable," Mann said. "She was a team player because she had played team sports. She fit right into the program and she was an absolutely fantastic member of our team."
She continued to be even when Mann was gone.
After turning Virginia into a national power in just 3 1/2 years, Mann announced in February 2007 that she was retiring at the end of the season. Then in her third year in the program, Simpson said she and her teammates were devastated. But they understood her decision.
Mann chose to leave coaching so she could spend more time with her grandsons and other family members who lived in North Carolina. Simpson said that resonated with her.
"For someone that we all looked up to as a mentor, to see her be able to step away and put family first was huge," Simpson said. "I think sometimes we get caught up in golf and all of this stuff, in playing well, and I think it puts everything in perspective, that we're playing a game. While we want to do really well and work hard and be super successful, there are other things in life."
In July 2009, Mann was named the fifth head coach in UNC history. Simpson, the 2008 Virginia Stroke Play Champion and two-time Virginia State Amateur runner-up, started her professional career that same year.
After playing for Mann and Kim Lewellen (née Byham), Mann's successor at UVA and a two-time All-ACC performer for the Tar Heels, Simpson realized she wanted to coach. And in 2011, she took her first job, serving as the assistant men's and women's golf coach at Old Dominion.
Simpson held that position until 2014. She then became the assistant coach for the women's team at Maryland. Along the way, she stayed in touch with Mann.
"I'd still call Jan to say hey, just to check in," Simpson said. "But also to say, 'This is going on, what would you do?' We definitely stayed really close."
Simpson also assisted with Mann's Tar Heel Golf Camp, held each summer at Finley Golf Course. In fact, when Mann called Simpson last summer to ask her about her interest in the open associate head coaching job, Simpson was preparing for her trip to Chapel Hill.
She ultimately accepted the position in July. And since then, she's made a seamless transition.
Previously, Simpson had predominantly coached alongside first-time head coaches. So working with Mann has taught her numerous lessons. Among them has been the importance of patience.
Mann said she's "kind of the softy" and Simpson is "much more apt to, in a good way, get in a kid's face." But they alternate between good and bad cop. Mann said Simpson's honesty and caring personality are among the traits that make her a good coach.
"I've just really seen Kristen come into her own with her confidence and her knowledge," Mann said. "She really, really is very knowledgeable about the game, and she is so good with doing our statistical analysis, and I hate that kind of stuff. She's much better at it.
"I don't even have to ask her to do something; she's already done it. That's certainly a quality that all head coaches are looking for."
It surely helps that Simpson had an understanding of what Mann wants her program to be before arriving at UNC. She said the team's culture is "very similar" to what Mann built at UVA.
It also helps that Mann and Simpson have such a close relationship.
When Simpson moved to Chapel Hill, she initially lived with Mann and her husband, John. Although she's found her own place since then, she still eats dinner at their house three or four times each week. Simpson said Mann makes a bone-in pork chop that's "out of this world." But no matter what she cooks, they always enjoy their time together.
"We love having her there," Mann said. "We laugh a lot."
Mann knows not all former players are suited for coaching. But she was fortunate to have a good one assist her in Buchmann, the first recruit who signed with Mann at Virginia. And Simpson has given Mann plenty of reasons to be optimistic about her future.
"In time, I hope not right away, she'll be a head coach," Mann said. "And wherever she is a head coach, I think they are going to be extremely lucky to have her. She is certainly groomed and ready to take on that position and I'd love to see it here in some point in time after she kicks me out."
But no matter what Simpson accomplishes or where she does it, she'll always have Mann to thank.
"If she'd never given me a chance (to walk on at UVA), I don't think I'd be here today …" Simpson said. "When I was in college to now when I'm in coaching, I've definitely always looked up to her. She does it the right way and I want to be like her.
"I feel like I owe her so much. She's given me two huge opportunities, one in college and one now, and I don't think I could say thank you enough"
When Leah Buchmann stepped down as North Carolina's associate head women's golf coach in May 2017, Kristen Simpson was among the first people who Jan Mann considered for the position.
At the time, Simpson was fresh off her third season as Maryland's assistant women's golf coach. She'd gained six total years of coaching experience since completing her collegiate career at Virginia, where she played three seasons under Mann. She also had about three years of professional golfing experience to rely on.
All of that made her an ideal candidate. Around the same time as Buchmann's decision, though, Simpson accepted a job working with youth golfers. And out of respect for her new role, Mann chose not to contact her.
Instead, the Tar Heels hired Aimee Neff, who helped them earn five top-5 finishes during the 2017-18 season. But when Neff took the head-coaching job at Florida Atlantic last summer, Mann made the call that's reunited her and Simpson in Chapel Hill.
"She gave me the opportunity, and I was like, 'You're kidding,'" said Simpson, who had since returned to Maryland. "Just to be able to come back and work for her and work for a school like Carolina is a dream come true. It's just such a cool place and I've learned so much from her.
"For me, I was over the moon to be able to reconnect and work with her, but also just to be able to learn from her and coach."
In many ways, it feels like old times.
Growing up in Norfolk, Va., Simpson said she always wanted to attend Virginia. That didn't change once she reached high school or even after she received opportunities to continue her golfing career at a few smaller schools. She ultimately applied to UVA for early decision.
Shortly after learning of her acceptance, Simpson said she began talking with Mann, then in her first season as the Cavaliers' first-ever head coach, about walking on. Mann said she couldn't promise Simpson a scholarship. But she assured her that she'd be treated like any other member of the team. That's all Simpson could ask for.
"Had she not given me that opportunity," Simpson said, "I probably wouldn't have played golf in college and would've been a normal student."
Under Mann, Simpson, who called herself a late bloomer in golfing terms, steadily improved. She eventually earned a scholarship and was a team captain during her junior and senior seasons.
"The thing that I loved about Kristen was she had played a lot of different sports growing up so she was extremely coachable," Mann said. "She was a team player because she had played team sports. She fit right into the program and she was an absolutely fantastic member of our team."
She continued to be even when Mann was gone.
After turning Virginia into a national power in just 3 1/2 years, Mann announced in February 2007 that she was retiring at the end of the season. Then in her third year in the program, Simpson said she and her teammates were devastated. But they understood her decision.
Mann chose to leave coaching so she could spend more time with her grandsons and other family members who lived in North Carolina. Simpson said that resonated with her.
"For someone that we all looked up to as a mentor, to see her be able to step away and put family first was huge," Simpson said. "I think sometimes we get caught up in golf and all of this stuff, in playing well, and I think it puts everything in perspective, that we're playing a game. While we want to do really well and work hard and be super successful, there are other things in life."
In July 2009, Mann was named the fifth head coach in UNC history. Simpson, the 2008 Virginia Stroke Play Champion and two-time Virginia State Amateur runner-up, started her professional career that same year.
After playing for Mann and Kim Lewellen (née Byham), Mann's successor at UVA and a two-time All-ACC performer for the Tar Heels, Simpson realized she wanted to coach. And in 2011, she took her first job, serving as the assistant men's and women's golf coach at Old Dominion.
Simpson held that position until 2014. She then became the assistant coach for the women's team at Maryland. Along the way, she stayed in touch with Mann.
"I'd still call Jan to say hey, just to check in," Simpson said. "But also to say, 'This is going on, what would you do?' We definitely stayed really close."
Simpson also assisted with Mann's Tar Heel Golf Camp, held each summer at Finley Golf Course. In fact, when Mann called Simpson last summer to ask her about her interest in the open associate head coaching job, Simpson was preparing for her trip to Chapel Hill.
She ultimately accepted the position in July. And since then, she's made a seamless transition.
Previously, Simpson had predominantly coached alongside first-time head coaches. So working with Mann has taught her numerous lessons. Among them has been the importance of patience.
Mann said she's "kind of the softy" and Simpson is "much more apt to, in a good way, get in a kid's face." But they alternate between good and bad cop. Mann said Simpson's honesty and caring personality are among the traits that make her a good coach.
"I've just really seen Kristen come into her own with her confidence and her knowledge," Mann said. "She really, really is very knowledgeable about the game, and she is so good with doing our statistical analysis, and I hate that kind of stuff. She's much better at it.
"I don't even have to ask her to do something; she's already done it. That's certainly a quality that all head coaches are looking for."
It surely helps that Simpson had an understanding of what Mann wants her program to be before arriving at UNC. She said the team's culture is "very similar" to what Mann built at UVA.
It also helps that Mann and Simpson have such a close relationship.
When Simpson moved to Chapel Hill, she initially lived with Mann and her husband, John. Although she's found her own place since then, she still eats dinner at their house three or four times each week. Simpson said Mann makes a bone-in pork chop that's "out of this world." But no matter what she cooks, they always enjoy their time together.
"We love having her there," Mann said. "We laugh a lot."
Mann knows not all former players are suited for coaching. But she was fortunate to have a good one assist her in Buchmann, the first recruit who signed with Mann at Virginia. And Simpson has given Mann plenty of reasons to be optimistic about her future.
"In time, I hope not right away, she'll be a head coach," Mann said. "And wherever she is a head coach, I think they are going to be extremely lucky to have her. She is certainly groomed and ready to take on that position and I'd love to see it here in some point in time after she kicks me out."
But no matter what Simpson accomplishes or where she does it, she'll always have Mann to thank.
"If she'd never given me a chance (to walk on at UVA), I don't think I'd be here today …" Simpson said. "When I was in college to now when I'm in coaching, I've definitely always looked up to her. She does it the right way and I want to be like her.
"I feel like I owe her so much. She's given me two huge opportunities, one in college and one now, and I don't think I could say thank you enough"
![Images from the first round of the 2026 Gators Invitational on Friday, March 6, 2026 at Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. [Photo by Matt Pendleton Photography for North Carolina Tar Heels Athletics]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Func.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F3%2F7%2F260306-NCAAWGOLF-UNC-GatorsInvitational-0828-MattPendleton_copy.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
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