From 'Out Wayne' to Shawnee State: Sophomore women's golfer Wellman providing crucial leadership components to growing women's golf program

To build a program, it takes culture-changing individuals who are not only talented on and off of the field of play, but have a positive attitude to go along with their respective games.

Shawnee State sophomore women's golf Aly Wellman is certainly a person who could very well fit into that mold.

A top-two golfer throughout the early portion of her women's golf career at Shawnee State, Wellman has fit in like a glove at Shawnee State, as evidenced by her GPA that stands above a 3.7 off of the links and a golf game that has already led to a tournament victory and a River States Conference Golfer of the Week Award.

Having the opportunity to simply play golf as a collegiate athlete, however, is more than enough for the charismatic and upbeat personality.

"Playing for the women's golf program at Shawnee State has been amazing," Wellman said. "This is a dream that high school me never imagined would come true, and I am truly grateful for this experience that I have been given. I have been blessed to have such wonderful teammates and coaches to be my second family, and they have pushed me to become better this year."

Wellman, who began playing golf at seven years of age, started taking a heavier approach into the game of golf as Wellman reached the latter stages of adolescense.

From the time that Wellman began picking the sport up, it was love at first sight -- and between playing at Creekside Golf Course in her native Wayne County as well as hitting golf balls in a family golf simulator at her home, it was a love that also allowed Wellman's relationship with her father to blossom as well.

"I started playing golf when I was around seven years old, and then I got into the competitive side around eleven or twelve years old," Wellman said. "I think the biggest encourager in the sport was my Dad. Everyone expected me to pick up basketball like my Mom, but it was a sport I never enjoyed playing. I was never pushed to play golf, it was just something that revolved around my family, and Dad always allowed me to go to the range or the course with him. I play three times a week with my Dad in the summer and we have a simulator downstairs we hit into, so I feel like golf has brought us closer together."

The pride that Wellman ultimately developed in her family, as well as in her community as a whole, trickled down to her overall approach. Unlike the common path of many who take up a sport, Wellman tended to lean on, and follow, the people that she actually knew personally as she learned the game of golf.

"Actually, there was never a professional male or female golfer that I admired," Wellman said. "As I have gotten older, I have loved watching players such as Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Scottie Scheffler, and Bryson Dechambeau. However, there has never been anything special about them that has stood out to me. Instead, I have some people who are not only close to home but like family to me. Since my sophomore year, I have played with a group of guys that my Dad plays with and they have always enjoyed having an extra golfer in their group. I have also been invited into three leagues, my favorite being the ladies league. Even though they are all like grandmothers to me, they truly make me love playing golf more than I already do. I love getting to laugh and grow with them. I shot my best nine-hole round of one under this year in our league, and they were all so proud of me."

A town that has traditionally been known for its hard-hitting and gritty football programs, Wellman represented the sport of golf well within her community, and gave it more prominence within the Pioneer hallways as a result. As a junior, Wellman finished 28th in the 2021 West Virginia High School Girls State Championship Player Leaderboard, then stepped it up drastically to finish sixth overall in the 2022 version of the event in a field that featured more than 50 female golfers from around the state. Wellman then qualified again as an individual for the 2023 WVSSAC Class AA Boys Golf State Championship, and finished ahead of 10 male competitors in a field that consisted of 38 male and two female golfers by finishing in 29th.

"Growing up in Wayne, learning the game of golf was not what everyone expected a child to do," Wellman said. "I was self-taught, so I learned a lot about the sport from my family and by practicing independently. Playing on the high school team was different as well. We were a mixed team of boys and girls, that ranged from four to six players, and not many of our opponents had girls on their teams. I was always put with the boys, which made me push myself to become a better golfer. I showed that during my senior year when I placed in the Conference tournament and the Girls State Invitational. I also qualified for the state tournament as an individual. I was the first girl to qualify for all three, and the second girl in back-to-back years to sign and play collegiate golf."

Her competitiveness at those levels ultimately bought Shawnee State men's golf coach Dave Hopkins into the picture. While Davis and Elkins College also came calling for Wellman's golf services, the distance from Wayne County to the Shawnee State University campus -- a reasonable 75-minute drive from home -- was closer than the three hours it would take to get to D&E. Additionally, the campus size, as well as the atmosphere, also attracted Wellman to SSU.

"When I toured Shawnee, I enjoyed the small campus and the atmosphere of the school," Wellman said. "I was also given a full ride to Marshall University, however I would have had to attempt to be a walk-on for the golf team. It took me a couple of weeks to make the decision, but golf was a big factor for me and I wanted to be seen as a student. Home is about an hour and fifteen minutes from campus for me, so I feel like I also have some freedom. Since being here, I have made some great friends, not only in my degree field but others who are athletes like me. I have my boyfriend and his family close to campus as well, so I always have another place close full of welcoming arms."

Last spring, former Shawnee State women's golfer Holley Hart took the reins of the program -- with Wellman's former teammate, Erika Martin, joining alongside Hart this past fall as an assistant. Wellman, who was already thriving with a tournament victory at the Ohio Christian University Spring Invitational back in late March, didn't win an invitational under Hart in the fall as she did under Hart in the spring, but did post three finishes inside the top half of a tournament field during the fall portion of the 2024-25 schedule alone -- which is already more than the two finishes inside the top half of tournament fields that Wellman had during her entire freshman season.

"I got to have Holley as my coach last spring, and I think she was a great choice for our program," Wellman said. "Even though this will be her first full year of coaching, she has done great. Holley has made my teammates and I feel loved and accomplished throughout every tournament we play. I played golf with Erika during my freshman year, so having her stay and coach has been different. I have never had a teammate stay to help coach, and I think it was kind of her to do so. Having a second coach is not only helpful to Holley but also helpful to us in case of certain situations. As a team all together, I feel as if we are growing, not only for ourselves but for the sport we love most."

Along with Sidnea Belville, the Shawnee State women's golf team has as promising of a young duo as there is in the River States Conference women's golf scene -- as each have the potential to generate major noise when the River States Conference Tournament commences in the spring.

Wellman credits her own improvement to learning different types of shots from pure repetition.

"I am absolutely pleased with the direction that we as a team are heading, along with my own golf game," Wellman said. "We gained five girls this year and I have watched them all play to the best of their abilities. We are all like sisters and we are there for one another when one needs help. After my spring season in 2024, I felt like I pushed myself to play a lot of golf and become better both physically and mentally. I played four times a week and worked at my home course two of my days off from golf. I gave myself opportunities to learn new skills like flop shots and putting spin on the ball, in addition to trying to hit a pipe in a pond during my post-work practice. I shot some of my lowest scores this summer including one under for a 35 on nine, and four over for a 74 on eighteen. This summer was successful and so was our fall semester for the golf program."

Despite her work academically and athletically, the high-achiever feels like she can be better -- and that, truly, could mean scary hours for the rest of the River States Conference.

"I hope to accomplish quite a few things in my upcoming seasons," Wellman said. "One of my biggest things is my mental game. I took 18 credit hours, which were all put toward difficult classes, and it brought me down. I struggled to perform at my best and felt very off. I hated seeing myself like that, so that is something I have pushed myself to work on in the offseason. Another thing is bringing home a lot of hardware to Shawnee State. We play at Crown Hill (Ohio Christian Spring Invitational) this spring, which is the tournament that I won last year. I would love to go back-to-back if I could and show them that I am back and ready for what the following years throw at me. We are strong as a team, and I feel as if we can do so much better than what others believe. Therefore, I want us to come out strong this spring and show everyone that we girls at Shawnee State are coming back better than ever and ready to win."