Tennessee women’s golf coach Diana Cantú signed a one-year contract extension through 2031 after a historic season for the program.
Cantú led Tennessee to its first SEC title in program history in April, upsetting Auburn in the SEC final at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
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The Lady Vols tied for 18th at the NCAA championships, while Kyra Van Kan tied for fifth place in the individual competition, which was the second-best individual finish by a Lady Vols golfer at the NCAA championships.
Tennessee has now posted top-20 finishes at the NCAA championships in consecutive seasons after finishing 13th in 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the University of Tennessee for its continued trust and support of our women’s golf program,” Cantú said in a school release. “Tennessee is a special place, and it is an honor to work with such outstanding student-athletes, coaches, and staff. Not to mention the best fans in the country! I am excited to continue building on the foundation we’ve established, competing at the highest level, and helping our student-athletes succeed both on the course and in the classroom.”
Cantú earned the first contract extension of her tenure last summer, which raised her base salary to $250,000. Her original five-year contract, which paid $200,000 annually, ran through the 2026 season. Tennessee did not release details of the new extension.
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Cantú signed a four-year extension through 2030 after the 2025 season, which ended with Tennessee making its first appearances in the NCAA championships since 2019. Cantú was hired to lead her alma mater in 2021, replacing Judi Pavon, whose contract was not extended after leading the program for 21 years.
“The transformation of our women’s golf program under Diana’s leadership has been extraordinary, highlighted by our first SEC championship last spring,” said athletic director Danny White. “She has elevated our program to national prominence and we are excited to continue pursuing championships on Rocky Top.”
Tennessee also set a new program record for most wins in a season with four tournament victories in 2026. Madison Messimer become Tennessee’s first SEC Freshman of the Year since 2003 and its first All-SEC first team selection since 2016.
Van Kan was named to the All-SEC second team, making it the first season since 2015 that Tennessee had multiple all-conference selections. She was also named a third-team All-American by Golfweek. Van Kan and Messimer are the first Lady Vols to earn All-American honors since 2016.
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Cantú played golf at Tennessee from 2006-10, and she was part of three teams that advanced to NCAA championships. She began her coaching career as an assistant at Baylor in 2011 before spending seven seasons as the head coach at Maryland from 2014-21.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Diana Cantu gets contract extension after Tennessee women’s golf win SEC title
