TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona head men's golf coach Jim Anderson has named Matt Walton the program's next assistant coach. Walton arrives in Tucson following three seasons as an assistant on the USC Men's Golf coaching staff. The Trojans qualified as a team or individually for NCAA Regionals in each of Walton's three seasons in Los Angeles while leading a handful of USC golfers to All-Pac-12 honors.

"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Matt and Carly to our Wildcat Family," Anderson said. "Matt's values, work ethic and aptitude align perfectly with our culture and his experience structuring performance plans and recruiting elite players across multiple continents will bolster current and future teams.  He has quickly become a very well-respected coach in our industry, and I know we will benefit from his service to our players and leadership in our program."   

Walton helped guide Kaito Onishi Jr. to First Team all-conference honors in 2021 and Jackson Rivera to a second team selection a year later. USC also placed Shane Ffrench on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team in 2021 and Mahanth Chirravuri in 2023. Rivera would also earn co-medalist honors with Arizona's Zach Pollo at this season's Arizona N.I.T., which the Wildcats won as a team for the first time in two decades.

"My wife and I are honored to be joining the Wildcat family," Walton said. "The University of Arizona golf programs are enriched with history and success, and we can't wait to continue that tradition. I am grateful to Coach Anderson for this opportunity, and I am excited to coach alongside him as we continue to develop and recruit elite student-athletes."

Prior to his time at USC, Walton spent one season as an assistant coach at Wichita State during the COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season. During his first season as a college coach, the Shockers won a regular season event, an individual title with two other individual top-10 finishes. The program also set a record with a 3.70 team GPA that season, which garnered the American Athletic Conference's Team Academic Excellence Award.

Walton spent four years as a premier golf instructor before beginning his college coaching career. He was the Lead Golf Coach at Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy in Orlando from 2017 to 2019 after spending the two previous years as the Director of Instruction at Correct2Compete in Zionsville, Indiana.

A decorated college golfer himself, Walton qualified for national postseason competition in four seasons at the NAIA and NJCAA levels. He began his college playing career at Rend Lake College in Illinois where he led his team to a top-10 finish at the NJCAA Division II National Championships. Walton earned Second Team All-American NJCCA honors as a member of the Warriors' golf program. He transferred to University of the Cumberlands where he helped the Patriots win back-to-back Mid-South Conference titles in 2012 and 2013 and a pair of top-10 finishes at the NAIA National Championships.

Walton is originally from Lytham St. Annes, Endland and earned his bachelor's degree in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of the Cumberlands in 2013. He and his wife Carly have been married since 2017.