Brian Terlesky, a Mahoning Valley native who spent five seasons as a golfer in Tony Joy's program from 2019-23, will be in his third season as a member of the Youngstown State men’s golf coaching staff in 2026-27.
Terlesky, a native of nearby Boardman, Ohio, has served as an assistant under his former head coach for the past two seasons. He spent five seasons as a member of Joy’s program from 2019-23 after a standout golf career at both the junior and high school levels. Terlesky earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from YSU in 2023.
Most recently in 2025-26, Terlesky helped Joy guide Youngstown State to a tournament victory and four additional top five team performances. The Penguins claimed the tournament title at the Bucknell Invitational while earning runner-up finishes at the Mercyhurst Laker Fall Invitational and South Dakota State’s Jackrabbit Invitational. YSU also finished fourth at the Xavier Invitational and fifth at the 2026 Horizon League Championship.
Terlesky also helped senior Ryan Sam earn a spot on the All-Horizon League Second Team in 2025-26. Sam averaged a team and career best 73.2 strokes per round with a low round of 67 while earning two top 10 finishes and seven top 25 performances over 12 tournaments. He was one of three Penguins to set a new single-season school record with 36 rounds played in 2025-26. Sam's 73.2 strokes per round average ranks as the sixth-lowest single-season mark in program history.
Sam was named the Under Armour Horizon League Men's Golfer of the Week on March 12, 2026, after leading the Penguins to a runner-up team finish at the Jackrabbit Invitational hosted by South Dakota State in Boulder City, Nev. The senior finished tied for second on the individual leaderboard with a career-best, six-under-par three-round score of 210 (70-67-73) to earn the best individual finish of his career. Sam fired a career-low, five-under-par round of 67 in the second round of the Jackrabbit Invitational.
Following the 2025-26 season, Sam was one of five student-athletes voted to the 2026 Valeo Horizon League Men's Golf All-Academic Team for their combined performance on the course and in the classroom.
Terlesky participated in 12 tournaments and 33 rounds during his career as a Penguin. As a redshirt senior in 2022-23, he competed in five tournaments and 15 rounds while averaging 78.8 strokes per round and recording a low round of 74.
Terlesky competed in two tournaments and five rounds as a redshirt junior in 2021-22, averaging a career-best 78.6 strokes per round. He participated in two tournaments and four rounds in 2020-21 after redshirting during the 2019-20 campaign. Terlesky competed in three tournaments and nine rounds as a freshman in 2018-19, averaging 78.9 strokes per round with a low round of 74.
Terlesky was a four-time state qualifier at Boardman High School, and he was named second-team all-state after his junior season. He was a three-time All-Northeast Ohio selection, three-time All-American Conference Player of the Year and three-time First-Team All-AAC honoree. Terlesky earned invitational medalist honors 11 times and was a two-time sectional medalist during his high school career. He also set Boardman's nine-hole scoring record at 31 and the 18-hole record at 67.
