Founders Federal Credit Union is proud to support women's sports programs at USC Upstate; please enjoy the latest feature on USC Upstate Women's Golf presented by Founders FCU. 

When USC Upstate senior golfer Rylie Kosney talks about home, she doesn’t point to the place where she spent the first 18 years of her life. Sacramento will always matter — but Spartanburg is where her story changed, where golf became a future instead of a hobby, and where her entire family found a new beginning on the other side of the country.

Kosney didn’t grow up planning to play college golf. In fact, she found the game late, trading in her softball cleats for a set of clubs only after years of traveling the country playing competitive travel ball. Her younger brother, Casey, was the first golfer in the family and sibling rivalry pushed her into the game. “I remember thinking, I can beat him at this,” she laughed. “That’s really how it started — just wanting to get better than him.”

It worked.

By her senior year of high school, her game took off, drawing the attention of Dalton State head coach Jim McGrew. Competing in NAIA, Kosney quickly became a standout — SSAC Freshman of the Year, a tournament champion, the owner of a women’s course record 66 (-6) at RTJ Cambrian Ridge and the No. 21-ranked golfer in the nation according to Golfstat. As a freshman, she posted a 76.16 scoring average with one win, two top-fives, three top-ten and a postseason résumé.

But while her golf future was blossoming in Georgia, her family was packing boxes in California.

“My parents had always wanted to move to the Carolinas,” she said. “When I decided I wanted to play out East, they were like, why not just go now?” They landed in Spartanburg during her freshman year at Dalton State. One year later, Kosney wanted to follow. She missed her family, missed her black lab Asher, and missed the feeling of being anchored somewhere surrounded by family.

So the plan to get to Upstate for Kosney became a reality.

A friend reached out to USC Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. Lawton listened, watched film, and saw something instantly: maturity, upside and a work ethic uncommon for someone who hadn’t grown up in golf academies. “Coach took a chance on me,” she said. “I’ll always be grateful for that.”

She committed to the Spartans and made an impact from day one, quickly becoming a reliable contributor in the lineup. At Upstate, she has helped the Spartans climb to new competitive heights, including a historic 2023–24 season: a runner-up finish at the Big South Championship, match-play drama and the program’s first-ever postseason appearance at the National Golf Invitational.

For Kosney, that sophomore year run — especially their upset match-play win over No. 1-seed High Point — still sits at the top of her list.

“We were not expected to compete,” she remembered. “But we absolutely did. Watching my teammate sink her putt to clinch her match, then winning mine — it was the happiest we’ve ever been as a team.”

And individually, she has continued to stack strong finishes, including 7th at the 90-player Golfweek Spring Challenge, 4th at the 100+ player Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate, and runner-up at the 2024 Fripp Island Intercollegiate. Her competitiveness never left — she just traded a softball in for a 7-iron.

But her most demanding challenge comes off the course.

Kosney is one of the few Division I golfers in the country majoring in nursing — a rigorous academic track and a daily balancing act. Most programs discourage athletes from pursuing it. Upstate didn’t.

“Coach Lawton has been incredible,” she said. “Most schools won’t let golfers be nursing majors, but he works with my schedule and believes in me.”

Her days are exhausting marathons: 6:30 a.m. workouts; clinicals lasting full days in Spartanburg or Greenville; classes from 9 to 4; then golf practice until dark; then studying late into the night. Her teammates practice together far more than she’s able to, but they’ve never made her feel separate.

“They trust me. They know I’m out there getting the work done,” she said. “And we have two freshmen who are nursing majors too, so we kind of go through it together.”

That shared grind creates its own quiet bond — “trauma bonding,” she joked — between athletes fighting to keep up with labs, exams and competitions.

Kosney didn’t always plan to go into nursing. At Dalton State she was a biology major considering her options. “I just wanted to help people,” she said. “Nursing became the way to do that.” After transferring to Upstate, she switched majors and never looked back. The program, she says, has been “fantastic,” with instructors who have shaped not just her professional goals, but her outlook on people. Kosney was also quick to thank Mrs. Portch and Mrs. Coates in the program who were “incredibly supportive and helpful,” in navigating her academic path.

She’ll graduate in December 2026, one semester after her golf career ends. And she hopes to stay in the Upstate region — close to her family, close to Asher, close to the community that has become hers.

Head coach Todd Lawton recognizes Kosney’s leadership and competitiveness and believes they make everyone better. “Rylie is a true competitor. Her game is athletic and she approaches scoring at golf as a great challenge she doesn’t shy away from,” Lawton said. “She wants every shot to matter and has a great personality on and off the course to be successful. I’m fortunate to coach her.”

Looking back at her winding path — from Sacramento softball athlete, to Dalton State standout, to a leader for a program chasing a breakthrough — she wouldn’t change a step.

“Every part of the journey taught me something,” she said. “It made me who I am.”

And when asked what she’d tell a future Spartan considering USC Upstate, her answer came easily:

“It’s a family here. You don’t get lost. You matter,” she said. “The athletes support each other. The academics are amazing. And it just feels like home. That’s what Upstate is for me.”