ANN ARBOR – Fighting Illini alumni and former assistant coach Zach Barlow was named head coach of the Michigan golf program on Wednesday as announced by the school.

"I'm excited for Zach and his future as a head coach," Illinois head coach Mike Small said. "As with our players, people enter Illinois to chase their dreams, and coaches are no different. We hire assistant coaches with the intent of them becoming head coaches one day. We're excited for Zach and this opportunity and we wish him well."

During his time on the Fighting Illini coaching staff, Barlow helped the squad to five consecutive Big Ten Championship titles, while coaching five consecutive Big Ten Championship individual medalists. The Orange and Blue advanced to five-straight NCAA Championships with Barlow's assistance, advancing to the Semifinals in three of the five appearances. He was selected as a finalist for the Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach award in 2019, while also helping to coach the Illini to their fifth NCAA Regional title. During Barlow's tenure as an assistant coach, four Illini earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors, and three individuals garnered six All-America laurels.

"I could not be more excited for this opportunity to lead the Michigan Golf program," Barlow said in a press release. "I want to express my thanks to Warde Manuel, Lisa Savoury and all the staff for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to guide the current and future stars of Michigan golf. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mike Small and the University of Illinois for the opportunity to serve as an assistant coach over the last five years. I am grateful for the experiences and memories from my time in Urbana-Champaign. With that being said, I cannot wait to get to work in Ann Arbor. I'm looking forward to getting the Block 'M' on my chest and hit the recruiting trail."

As an Illini student-athlete, Barlow was a two-time All-Midwest Region selection, and helped the squad to Big Ten Championship titles in 2009 and 2010. He was an All-Big Ten second team pick in 2010 and was a the Illini Leadership Academy, both in the emerging leaders program as an underclassman and in the veteran leaders program as an upperclassman.

Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois men's golf.