Michael Salazar - Men's Golf Coach - James Madison University Athletics

Michael Salazar

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Salazama@jmu.edu
Phone:
(915) 526-0094

Michael Salazar completed his first full season as an assistant coach for the James Madison mens golf program in 2024-25.

Salazar, who was hired by Head Coach Carter Cheves on Feb, 14, 2024, joined JMU from Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kan., where he served as the head men's and women's golf coach for the program.

During his time as an assistant, he has coached Daniel Cheng and Václav Tichý to Second Team All-Sun Belt honors in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Cheng finished his career in 2025 with the third-lowest scoring average in program history, while Tichý produced the third-lowest single-season average (71.50) by a JMU player in 2024-25.

During his playing career, Salazar was a two-time NJCAA All-American and won five tournament championships during his two seasons in Midland Community College in Texas. After two seasons, he transferred to Grand Canyon University, where he was an All-Western Athletic Conference second-team selection in 2021. He also earned two individual Division-I regular-season NCAA Tournament titles.

"We are all excited to have Coach Salazar join the program," James Madison head coach Carter Cheves said after his hire. "He was a very successful collegiate player and will be a major asset for us moving forward."

Salazar received his bachelor's degree from Grand Canyon in 2020 in justice studies. He also earned a master's degree from GCU in 2022 in legal studies.

"It is a privilege to join the JMU golf program," Salazar said. "I am excited to be a part of a superb program that has been improving year after year. I'm looking forward to working with Coach Cheves and the JMU student-athletes as we climb up the national rankings and aim for a conference championship."