PLAINVIEW, TX – Wayland Baptist Men's Golf became a prominent program amongst the NAIA beginning in the mid-2000s, and one of the biggest catalysts in the program's success was Jeff Dagg. His incredible development over his four years at Wayland Baptist helped the team achieve great success, and it has earned Dagg an induction into the WBU Athletics Hall of Honor as a member of the Class of 2025.
"Going into the Hall of Honor is a great achievement and feel proud to have this Honor. To be honest it is not something I ever would think about or knew was possible," Dagg said when expressing his shock of being inducted into the WBU Athletics Hall of Honor.
"To go in as an individual feels different when being at Wayland was always competing more so as a team and the accomplishments we had along the way. During the 4 years I played there were many great teammates and friendships that were developed. We had a great Coach and school support system that made it easier for myself being from Canada to feel comfortable to at Wayland and to have the success I did," said Dagg.
A native of Surrey, B.C., Dagg joined the Pioneer Men's Golf team before the start of the 2005 season, just two years removed from Wayland Baptist's first NAIA Men's Golf Championship appearance in program history. Dagg joined a program that was loaded with upperclassmen, but that didn't deter Dagg from becoming a Pioneer. Being one of two true freshmen on a team, Dagg was able to learn from the veterans and quickly develop his game.
Dagg was skeptical of Wayland Baptist at the beginning of his recruitment process, because being a native Canadian, he didn't know much about West Texas or Wayland Baptist. However, when he came on his visit to campus, he knew where he was destined to be.
"I spent a total of 4.5 years at Wayland to graduate (4 of them playing). When I came down for a college recruit I knew about Texas but not much about Plainview- other than my dad had travelled to the area and had done business a # of years ago. Right away on that recruit I was able to join the team after a tournament and saw the way the team interacted with each other and seemed like a close group. This made the decision easy to go to Wayland. The people at the school, from students, athletes and professors were all very welcoming and enjoyed my time of course. In my opinion Texans are some of the best people on the world."
During Dagg's tenure as a Pioneer, he helped guide the team to four straight NAIA Men's Golf Championship appearances, including a 2
nd place finish at the 2007 NAIA National Championships. The 2
nd place finish for the Pioneers was their best showing at the National Championships in program history.
Before that historic 2007 season, Dagg was working his way into being a consistent factor in the main lineup. Dagg became a household name in 2006 after capturing the 2006 Peaks Classic Individual Championship where he obliterated his opposition to win the event by an astounding 13 shots after scoring 69-67-75-211 for 5-under Par.
After winning his first individual championship, Dagg finally began receiving the national recognition he deserved in 2007 when he was named NAIA First Team All-American and All-Tournament Team.
Dagg built off that incredible 2007 season with another strong campaign in 2008, earning NAIA Second Team All-American and lifting the Pioneers to three straight Peak Championship victories.
Dagg experienced an abundance of success during his four years as a Pioneer, helping his team to 10 tournament championships while winning one individual title.
Dagg reflected on his time at WBU and what made the experience very memorable, "On our teams we had a good mix of Local Texans and internationals for us all to come together and always root and pull to achieve a goal was exciting to be a part of. I can't remember how many tournaments we won but I remember the team feeling of winning was better than a good place or a finish I may have had personally. The bus trips/ plane rides home would be some of the best memories of being with the guys. I could list teammates that had a big influence, but it would be too long."
Dagg graduated from Wayland Baptist in the Spring of 2008 and went on to play professionally. He has won three PGA of BC Tournament of Champions titles with teammate Dave Zibrik, which is the record for most victories in the event in history. The duo won three straight from 2021-2023, which also marked the most consecutive victories in the event in history.
When talking about how Wayland Baptist prepared him for his professional career and life, Dagg said, "I arrived at Wayland when I was 17 and coming from Western Canada it was certainly different being in West Texas. Being on my own it made me grow up and become disciplined for who I am today in the business world and personal life, going to a faith-based school does teach you different values as well that I had growing up and continue to this day."
Dagg will be formally inducted into the Wayland Baptist Athletics Hall of Honor Class of 2025 on Saturday, October 4
th, at 9:00 AM in the McClung Center on the campus of Wayland Baptist University. Dagg will join Kydia Echols, Daniel Martinez, and Amy Smith Hancock as the Class of 2025.
