Jessica Steward was named Lamar University Women’s Golf Coach July 2, 2015, and immediately made an impact, leading LU to the 2016 Southland Conference Championship title, and earning Southland Conference Coach of the Year accolades.
In 2017, Steward was again recognized among her peers as the LPGA's Central Section Coach of the Year.
Coach Steward recently completed her fourth season with the Cardinals, and throughout her time at LU, she has coached two Southland Conference Players of the Year (Wenny Chang in 2016 and Elodie Chapelet in 2017), one SLC Student-Athlete of the Year (Taylor Stockton in 2016), one conference Freshman of the Year (Chapelet in 2017), and two conference Newcomers of the Year (Eva Martinez in 2018 and Carson Racich in 2019). In total, Steward has mentored five First-Team All-Southland Conference selections in addition to three Second Team and four Honorable Mentions.
In only four years, Steward has coached the Cardinals to ten team tournament titles and seven runner-up finishes. She has also led individual players to 15 low-medalist honors (including ties). Throughout 40 stroke play events, Steward's golfers have earned 46 top-five finishes.
In addition, the LU Women's Golf team season stroke average has lowered by 7.4 shots since her first year at the helm.
Steward was also instrumental in reviving the Cardinal Challenge Golf Tournament, at the Beaumont Country Club, which saw LU win the title in 2017. Elodie Chapelet captured individual medalist honors in 2019.
Steward came to Beaumont after spending the previous seven seasons as the Women’s Head Coach at Purdue-Fort Wayne (formerly known as IPFW) where she guided the Mastodon program to its most successful run in school history. PFW continued its improvement under Steward’s guidance, culminating in record-setting seasons for both the team and individual season stroke averages during her final two years.
The Mastodons also posted their highest finish at the Summit League Championships in 2014. Steward’s teams accounted for four of the top-five team scores in school history for 18, 36 and 54 holes. During the 2013-14 campaign, Steward coached PFW to its first tournament win in program history at the 2014 Bulldog Florida Invitational, along with the program’s first individual medalist.
A certified Class A LPGA teaching professional, Steward’s athletes have also proven themselves in the classroom. PFW was recognized for posting one of the top-10 team GPAs in the country following the 2012-13 season. Steward has also placed nine players to the WGCA Scholar All-American list during her first three seasons at Lamar, in addition to the 16 honorees she mentored at IPFW.
It has become common for Coach Steward's golfers to receive national recognition. In addition to the numerous academic accolades, Olivia le Roux was named a National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American in 2017 for her attitude and efforts in the weight room.
In addition to Steward's role as golf coach at IPFW, she was also active in the community. She established an annual scholarship donation and increased the program’s presence within the greater Fort Wayne region.
Originally from Mystic, Connecticut, Steward played high school golf on the boys’ team at Fitch Senior High School. She won the New England High School Girls’ Championship and was named All-State and All-New England during her senior season. Steward started her collegiate career at Boston College, where she averaged 79.62 strokes per round, finishing inside of the top-10 in five of her 11 tournaments.
She transferred to Miami after her opening college season and played her final three collegiate seasons with the Hurricanes. During her time in Miami, Steward was ranked 33rd nationally at best according to Golfstat. A former team captain, Steward was named Academic All-ACC while recording the lowest two and three-round tournament scores in program history at 7-under par as a junior.
Coach Steward still enjoys competitive golf as her schedule allows. In December of 2018, she competed alongside former Southern Illinois University Coach Alexis Mihelich in the LPGA National Team Championship in Palm Springs, CA. In 2017, Steward competed in the World Long Drive Tour's Mile High Challenge in Denver. She advanced to the match play portion of the competition as a qualifier inside the top-8 and recorded a best drive of 373 yards.
Steward graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 2008 in Sport Administration with a minor in Business Management. She has since earned a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Higher Education Administration from the University St. Francis (Ind.).
Steward resides in Beaumont with her wife Chelsea and their dogs Rebel and Chikita. She enjoys playing the guitar and boating along the Neches River in her spare time.
