Heather Fegley-Birchmier, a longtime fixture in Chico State women’s golf as both a student-athlete and coach, enters her 10th season as the Wildcats’ head coach in 2026–27.
Fegley-Birchmier completed her ninth season leading the program in 2025–26, guiding the Wildcats through a full 10-tournament schedule, the program’s busiest slate since 2021–22. Chico State competed in four fall tournaments and six spring events, including four scheduled 54-hole tournaments. The Wildcats’ best team finish came at the Women’s Palm Valley Classic, where they placed 20th in a 27-team field in Goodyear, Arizona. Gabriella Fanucchi led Chico State at the event, finishing 25th out of 142 players, while Ariana Blagrove placed 72nd. The season also included the return of Chico State’s home tournament, as the Wildcats hosted the Wildcat Invitational at Butte Creek Country Club for the program’s first home event since 2016–17.
At the 2026 CCAA Championships, Chico State finished fifth at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton. Brooke Pelletier capped her senior season as the only Wildcat to play in all 10 tournaments and all 24 rounds, led the team with a 79.6 scoring average, and earned the CCAA Elite 13 Award. Fanucchi also produced one of the Wildcats’ top individual seasons, averaging 80.6 per round and carding the team’s lowest round of the year with a 72.
During the 2024–25 season, Fegley-Birchmier guided the Wildcats through a competitive slate of nine tournaments, highlighted by a third-place team finish at the Sonoma State Fall Invitational. Chico State finished sixth at the CCAA Championships, with Kaylie Parola and Trinity Hernandez each producing standout performances during the fall by tying for sixth individually at Sonoma.
In 2023–24, Fegley-Birchmier led a young Chico State lineup through seven tournaments, including a fifth-place team finish at the Augustana Spring Fling in Palm Desert. Freshman Kaylie Parola recorded the Wildcats’ lone top-10 finish of the season, tying for fourth at the Spring Fling, while freshman Ariana Blagrove was Chico State’s top finisher at the CCAA Championships, placing 17th at 16-over par.
In 2022–23, Fegley-Birchmier led the Wildcats to top-five team finishes at the Bay Area Invitational and the Sonoma State Spring Invitational. Taylor Stewart earned medalist honors at the Sonoma event and capped her Chico State career with All-CCAA recognition.
The 2021–22 season saw the Wildcats make 11 tournament appearances and place third at the Bay Area Invitational. Chico State also earned national academic recognition, with four players named to the WGCA All-American Scholar Team.
Fegley-Birchmier was named Chico State’s head coach in August 2017 after serving three seasons as an assistant coach under Nick Green from 2014–17. During her assistant coaching tenure, the Wildcats recorded 17 top-five finishes and made two NCAA Championship appearances.
A former Wildcat standout, Fegley-Birchmier competed for Chico State from 2010–14, playing in 35 events and earning nine top-20 finishes. As a senior captain, she helped lead the Wildcats to their first NCAA Super Regional berth in eight seasons. Off the course, she was a two-time Dean’s List honoree and represented the Department of Sociology in the Dean’s Cup Academic Competition.
A Chico native, Fegley-Birchmier graduated from Pleasant Valley High School, where she won back-to-back Eastern Athletic League individual titles and helped lead the Vikings to three section championships. She has remained active in the local golf community, co-founding the Chico Area Junior Golf Association in 2016 and volunteering with the Butte County Special Olympics Golf Program. She also previously worked at Butte Creek Country Club in pro shop operations and marketing.
Fegley-Birchmier earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Chico State in 2014.
