By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech women's golf head coach Amanda Smith announced the addition of one more student-athlete for the 2022-23 athletic season, signing Kaitlyn Rand to a national letter of intent to play for the Golden Eagles.
KAITLYN RAND
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
High School: Cardinal Gibbons High School
Rand was a four-year letterwinner for coaches Brent Burns and Mindy Davisson at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, helping lead her team to top-four finishes at the 4A North Carolina State Championships each year. After a fourth-place showing as a freshman and third-place finishes in her sophomore and junior campaigns, she led CGHS to a runner-up position as a senior.
A team captain as a junior and senior, Rand helped keep CGHS undefeated in 4A conference play all four seasons on the squad and led the program to 4A Regional titles as a junior and senior, as well as runner-up showings as a freshman and sophomore. A three-time All-Conference selection, she was also named All-State twice.
As a sophomore, she paced CGHS in the 4A State Championship, placing 13th individually. Rand followed it up by helping her team set two state records as a junior, including the lowest nine-hole and 18-hole tournament scores. That season, she held the lowest nine-hole average score for the entire state of North Carolina with a mark of 34.2. She topped off her prep career by tying for 11th individually at the 4A State Championship as a senior.
A 10-year participant in the First Tee organization, Rand was one of 24 girls nationally selected to play in the inaugural First Tee National Championship. She also competed in the 2021 Pure Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee at Pebble Beach. In 2021 alone, she took part in two national championships, won five tournaments, and secured a new tournament career-low score of 69 at the Carolinas Junior Girls PGA Championship.
COACH SMITH'S TAKE
"Kaitlyn has everything you would want in a player coming into our program. Her passion and love for the game really impressed us. I am excited to watch her work and push herself to the highest level when she arrives in the fall."
