Former Buccaneer All-American Carlos Velez returned to take the helm of the men’s golf program in the fall of 2022.

Velez takes over one of the premier men’s golf programs in NCAA Division II. The Bucs have three NCAA Division II national championships, two NCAA South Region titles and five Sunshine State Conference tournament championships. Since 2004, the Bucs have had 49 Golf Coaches Association of America PING All-Americans and 23 All-American Scholars.

Velez was a member of Barry’s first men’s golf championship team in 2007 as a freshman. He went on to earn GCAA All-America honors in 2009 and 2010, added Scholar All-America awards those seasons as well. A three-time All-SSC golfer, he won the individual medal at the 2010 SSC Tournament. A remarkably consistent player, he saw his score counted for the team score 118 times in 134 career rounds, which is still the second-most in program history.

Mark Leon was named head men’s golf coach at Florida Atlantic University in August of 2021.

“We’re very excited to have Coach Leon join us in Paradise,” said Brian White, FAU Vice President and Director of Athletics. “He really stood out throughout the interview process. We believe he will do a great job connecting with our current student-athletes, as well as having success in recruiting future Owls. Mark’s track record in coaching is outstanding and we’re looking forward to him continuing the upward trajectory of the FAU men’s golf program.”

Leon comes to FAU after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Florida for the past four seasons. At UF, Leon helped lead the Gators to three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances (the 2020 NCAA Championship events were canceled due to COVID-19), and a berth in the 2021 NCAA Championship event. With Leon on staff, he helped coach numerous Gators to All-Southeastern Conference, all-region and All-America honors.