Former Cru Golfer Reflects on the Coaches Who Helped Shape Him and Why He's Paying It Forward

TWO COACHES WHO CHANGED EVERYTHING

Even though Riley described himself in high school as a “terrible golfer,” he still had the spirit of a champion and gave the sport his all, which is something his coach at Ellison High School, Aaron Rodeffer '14, recognized in him. So, when it came time for college, Rodeffer introduced him to his friend, longtime UMHB golf coach Randy Mann. Riley remembers Mann’s first words to him, “I'll give you a shot, because I like your attitude.”

That chance turned into four years on the Cru men's golf team and helped define him as the man he is today.

“Randy Mann is a massive role model in my life, the figurehead of what he is and who he is, and how he treated people, good, bad or indifferent, how he lost, how he won, taught me a ton about how to be a man,” Riley said.

Rodeffer’s influence was just as significant.

“He was a great role model. My father was an amazing man, nothing negative there, but being mentored by someone other than a family member gave me more insight into the man I wanted to be. I liked how Coach Mann and Coach Rodeffer carried themselves, and I liked how they treated people, and I wanted to learn how to do that.”

Those lessons deepened during Riley’s time on campus.

“Golf was very special to me here at that time, when I played,” he said. “UMHB was a perfect environment for me, in the classroom and on the golf course. If I put in my best effort, I had a chance to win or highly succeed, depending on the task. If I didn't, I wouldn't even come close. It was a very good springboard for me into my career.”

After graduating, Riley spent more than a decade working with Adidas Golf before joining Puma, where he served as the national sales manager for its golf division. Even then, he stayed connected to UMHB, helping with uniforms, supplying shirts for the bookstore and cheering on the program. With years of industry experience under his belt, he had seen his fair share of college golf courses over the years (even the Division I courses). When he first laid eyes on the new UMHB course, he was stunned.

“Your golf facility is better than any facility I have seen,” he said. “Easily up there with the best.”

A PIVOTAL MOMENT

Riley’s transformation at UMHB wasn’t only athletic. Growing up Catholic, he said the transition to a Protestant environment “was actually a shock.” But Coach Mann created a space where faith was lived daily. “Thank goodness for Randy Mann, because he's one who welcomed us and made sure we started each day with a team Bible study in the mornings,” Riley said. “That environment was amazing.”

A moment he'll never forget came after his vehicle was broken into before midterms and an important tournament. His clubs were gone. His backpack was gone. Everything. Stolen. Furious, he stormed into Mann’s office and started ranting.

“I hope they get arrested. I hope they get thrown in the worst jail ever,” he recalled telling his coach. Mann met his anger with scripture.

“He looked at me, dead in my eyes, and said, ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’”

“It was a very pivotal moment in my life,” Riley said. “He didn't tear me down; he opened my eyes. That's who he is. That's what my time at UMHB was.”

Professors shaped him, too. “I also had fantastic professors. They were the type of people who kind of nudged me to get me on my path and to do what I was called to do.”

A FAMILY COMMITMENT TO GIVE BACK

Today, Riley and Charlotte run a financial planning business in Georgetown and are raising a blended family of five with their three kids all in middle school. Charlotte, a Texas State graduate, didn’t attend UMHB herself, but she sees clearly what the university gave her husband.

“I knew how much this golf program meant to him, not just to be able to play golf, but to help shape him as a person and his work ethic and his attitude,” she said. So when the opportunity arose to support the new facility, she was behind her husband 100 percent.

Seeing the finished facility brought emotion she didn’t expect.

“I didn't think I realized how big of a deal, like how much he was really involved, and I was super proud. It makes me very happy that he's kind of left a little, tiny mark on a big space,” she said.

That “tiny mark” includes the Bulldog Baumann Trophy that was created to reflect the spirit of “never giving up” that he left behind. His nickname, “Bulldog,” was given to him by Coach Mann because Riley often struggled on the front nine but fought fiercely on the back nine to post a strong overall score.

“It was an attitude thing,” Riley said. “It was something that you have to start believing.”

Charlotte sees that persistence as life-defining. Bulldogs, she said, “don't give up. They're going to keep fighting,” and Riley has let that motto help guide him through all of life’s challenges.

EXACTLY WHERE HE WAS MEANT TO BE

Looking back, Riley is certain he landed in the right place.

“I'm glad I didn't go anywhere else. UMHB was exactly where I was supposed to be,” he said.

And now, through the facility that future Cru golfers will use for generations to come, Riley and Charlotte hope other students will find the same life-shaping mentors, moments and faith-built foundation.

“As I matured, as I got out of school, I got to see what all the university does and the amazing impact it has,” Riley said. “So being able to, as I get older, see what UMHB does for kids, just like it did for me, it's a very big deal.”