David Shuster became the head men’s and women’s golf coach at HCU in June 2007, resurrecting the great Huskies golf tradition, which had been discontinued in the late 1980s. In 2023, he was named Director of Golf at HCU and remained head coach of the men's golf program.
Now entering his 18th season, Shuster has seen the two programs combine for 28 tournament victories, eight conference championships, three NCAA Championship appearances and an individual NCAA appearance for Preston Stanley in 2014. Shuster was named Great West Conference Coach of the Year five times, once for the men in 2009 and four times for the women from 2010 to 2013. He added America Sky Coach of the Year for the men in 2013 and has twice been named Southland Conference Coach of the Year for the women in 2017 and 2018.
Shuster has seen his student-athletes excel on the course, and in the classroom, throughout his career. He has coached 63 all-conference selections, including three SLC Student-Athlete of the Year honorees and 27 academic all-SLC honorees.
In 2023-24, the HCU men recorded their best finish since 2020-21 with a fourth-place finish at the SLC Championships. Senior Ben Caton earned all-conference and was named SLC Student-Athlete of the Year for the Huskies. The year before, Caton was an academic all-conference selection. On the women's side in 2022-23, Shuster guided Elise Parel and Lou Rousselot to all-conference honors with Parel and Jackie Nguyen earning academic all-SLC recognition as the Huskies placed third at the SLC Championships.
During the shortened 2019-20 season, the women claimed the Huntsville Toyota Bearkat Invitational title and junior Sara Zrnikova was named the Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year, while senior Alisa Chong and sophomores Tiffany Nguyen and Grace Cassity joined her on the All-Academic Team. Four women were named WGCA All-Amercian Scholars. On the men’s side, senior Lucas Coapman was named to the Southland All-Academic Team, while senior Nicko Martinez and sophomore Mathew Chairuangdej were named GCAA Early Wave Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars. Both programs earned NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards.
The women won twice during the 2018-19 season and finished third at the Southland Conference Championship. Seniors Kaity Cummings and Lexi Brooks, along with Chong, were named to the Southland All-Conference Teams. Cummings, Brooks and Zrnikova made the All-Academic Team and five were named WGCA All-America Scholars. The men finished eighth at the conference championship and Martinez was a GCAA All-America Scholar.
Cummings won the individual title in leading the women to their second-straight Southland Conference Championship and automatic berth to the NCAA Championships in 2018. Cummings, Brooks and Zrnikova made the all-conference team and Cummings, Brooks and Chong were named to the All-Academic Team and four were named WGCA All-America Scholars. The men took fifth at the Southland Conference Championship and senior Val Almendarez made the Southland All-Academic Team and was a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar.
The women claimed their first Southland Conference Championship and the first NCAA appearance in program history in 2017. Brooks was the individual champion and Southland Women’s Golf Student-Athlete of the Year. She was joined on the all-conference team by Cummings. Five were named WGCA All-America Scholars. The men finished sixth at the conference championship, with Almendarez finishing as the individual runner-up after a six-hole playoff. Almendarez and junior Carlos Trevino earned all-conference honors and Almendarez was a GCAA All-America Scholar.
In 2015-16, the women’s team finished in the top five in eight of their tournaments which included a third place finish at the Southland Conference Championship. Brooks and Cummings were both named second team All-SLC, while Giorgia Carletti received honorable mention.
In 2014-15, the HCU women posted a third place finish at the Southland Conference Championship, the program’s second season as a member of the conference. Carletti and Rachel Mulkey were each named second-team All-SLC, while Stanley was named to the second team on the men’s side.
The 2013-14 season marked HCU’s first year of Southland competition. Shuster guided Stanley, a first team All-SLC honoree, to an individual bid to the NCAA Championships. Mulkey earned second team all-conference honors for the women, as both teams placed seventh at the SLC Championship.
The 2012-13 season was a banner year for both the men’s and women’s programs, as Shuster was awarded each program’s respective conference Coach of the Year in both the America Sky Conference and Great West Conference. The men captured the ASC championship, earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, the first by any HCU program since returning to Division I competition. Stanley as the individual runner-up to earn first team all-conference honors, while Brandon Wilhide was named to the second team.
In 2012-13, the women claimed their fourth-straight GWC Championship in the final year of the league, with Kelsey Lou-Hing claiming her second GWC Championship individual title. Lou-Hing was joined on the all-conference first team by Katy Kile and Mulkey. Katie Paxton and Jenny Kang earned second team honors.
The men also had a stellar season in 2011-12 with the emergence of freshmen Andy Ariens, Jeffrey Merrell, Stanley and Wilhide, who were the sixth-ranked freshman class nationally, according to Golfstat. The foursome led the Huskies to a runner-up finish at the ASC Championship.
In the 2010-11, Shuster coached the women to their second title in as many years. Lou-Hing captured individual medalist honors at the GWC Championship, Balbina Guajardo was named Player of the Year and Jessica Ngui claimed Newcomer of the Year honors. Guajardo, Lou-Hing, Ngui and Paige Gibson, all earned first team all-conference honors, while Kang, Gaia Olcese and Alexandra Hopson earned second team recognition.
During the 2009-10 season, the women captured the first title since the program was brought back. Olcese won the individual title and league Player of the Year honors, while Guajardo was Newcomer of the Year. Gibson and Lee joined Olcese as first team all-conference honorees, while Guajardo made the second team.
The men’s program transitioned to the America Sky and finished third at the league tournament in 2010, with five all-conference honorees, and 10th in 2011.
During the 2008-09 season, Shuster led both programs in their first season of Great West play. The men won the first-ever GWC championship and the women recorded a runner-up finish.
Shuster produced five All-GWC honorees on the men’s side and four on the women’s side in the 2009-10 season. In addition to those, the women’s team produced two members of the NGCA All-American Scholar Team.
A native of Fort Stockton, Texas, Shuster was an all-state golfer in high school before attending Temple Junior College on a golf scholarship. He finished his collegiate career at Angelo State University.
He spent twenty-four years as a high school coach working with multiple sports. His teams claimed state championships in football and golf. His golf teams and players won multiple district and region championships, as well as having numerous regional and state qualifiers.
In his final year at Aledo High School in 2007, his boys’ team won the state title and the girl’s finished third in only their second-ever appearance at the state tournament. Those finishes landed him NTGCAA Coach of the Year honors. In addition to his coaching and teaching,
Shuster also served as the vice president in a family corporation in Fort Stockton. He also served as the director of the recreation department for the City of Fort Stockton, overseeing the operation of 15 different sporting activities for several summers.
Shuster and his wife, Mona Kliesing Shuster, reside in Houston.
