Matt Jordan has played competitive golf on Kentucky soil, though never on a consistent basis.
This will soon change.
On June 29, Jordan, previously part of the Franklin Community High School and Vincennes University golf programs, announced he would be transferring to Eastern Kentucky University where he will continue majoring in fire science in his pursuit of one day becoming a firefighter.
The left-hander’s arrival is expected to benefit a men’s golf program about to experience new league affiliation under coach Mike Whitson, a former EKU standout. Previously a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, all 16 of the school’s athletic teams will be part of the Atlantic Sun Conference effective at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.
Jordan will be the first EKU men’s golfer to hail from an Indiana high school since the 2010-11 school year. The Eastern Kentucky campus is in Richmond, located 25 miles southeast of Lexington.
“One of the things I’m most excited about is that I’m going to get my bachelor’s degree in fire science, and they do have a really solid golf program,” said Jordan, who mostly played No. 1 in the Vincennes lineup this past spring. “Coach has told me I’m coming in with an opportunity to play just like the other players.”
Among Jordan’s individual highlights this past year were winning both the fall and spring versions of the VU Invitational. He also placed fourth at the Mid-West Athletic Conference tournament in Champaign, Illinois, to earn a spot on the all-conference team.
In May, Jordan shot 77-71-77—225 at the Region 24 Championships in Springfield, Illinois, missing qualifying for nationals by a stroke.
Jordan enjoyed being part of the Trailblazers program.
“It was a good place to get some exposure golf-wise. You had to go in with an open mind and be prepared to work,” said Jordan, who also liked the smaller class sizes of between 12 to 15 students when it came to courses pertaining to his major.
“It was just nice having professors who knew you.”
As a Vincennes freshman, Jordan averaged around a 77 per 18 holes; he played in the 3 or 4 position in the fall and was the Blazers No. 2 golfer that spring before ascending to the top of the lineup this year.
Having coached VU men’s golf since 2003, Dennis Chattin, who guided the program to NJCAA national titles in 2013, 2016 and 2018, is accustomed to watching his players use the experience as a springboard to become part of a Division I program.
Jordan, he says, maximized his time there.
“We have really enjoyed having Matt as part of our program,” Chattin said. “He has always been a hard worker on his game, and continued to improve throughout his career for that very reason.
“I have no doubt he’ll be a strong contributor to the EKU program.”
