An excellent recruiter and a player's coach, former University of Tulsa men's assistant Andy Crabtree was hired at Texas A&M on July 1, 2011 by Aggie women's golf head coach Trelle McCombs.

Crabtree, 35, brings a wide and versatile background in golf to Texas A&M. Since his graduation from the University of South Florida in 1999, he has served as an assistant golf coach, an admissions recruiter at USF and as an administrator with the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA).

"What caught my attention with Andy was his ability to connect with people on the recruiting trail," McCombs said. "When I would ask people about Andy, they would always talk about what a good recruiter he is. He will be an asset for us in that regard. I also think he will bring a different perspective coming from the men's side, whether it's breaking down someone's swing or seeing a different way to attack a golf course."

Crabtree joined an Aggie squad that had won a Big 12 Championship and posted two top 10 NCAA finishes. In his first year in Aggieland, Crabtree helped A&M to individual titles at the 2012 Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Regional. The Aggies finished second at regionals to match their best finish in program history and placed 16th at the NCAA Championship to mark its fourth top 20 finish in McCombs' five seasons.

"The goal is to win the national championship and Texas A&M is a place where we can do it," Crabtree said. "A&M has been ranked pretty consistently in the top 25, and has finished in the top 10 at NCAAs under Coach McCombs. Hopefully I can help them get over the hump because the thought of winning a national championship at Texas A&M is exciting and is one of the things that attracted me to the program."

Prior to coming to A&M, Crabtree served as an assistant coach at Tulsa for four years and he was the team's first full-time assistant coach when he was hired in 2007. During his time in Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane golf team advanced to NCAA regional play three times and had eight players earn All-Conference USA honors. Tulsa's 2010 recruiting class was rated one of the best in the nation among mid-major schools by Golfweek.

Crabtree worked extensively with All-Conference USA golfers Nicolas Geyger, Rob Laird, and Arie Fauzi at Tulsa. He also helped instruct Chris Worrell, who was recognized by Conference USA when he earned All-Freshman Team honors. In 2010, Crabtree caddied for Tulsa's Stephen Carney, when he won the Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship. Crabtree also mentored Tulsa golfers to accomplishments in the classroom. The Golf Coaches Association of America honored Tulsa men's golf with the All-Academic Team Award in 2008-09 and 2009-10. Rob Laird was selected GCAA All-American Scholar in 2009 and 2010.

Previously Crabtree was a recruiter in the admissions office at South Florida. Before that, he was the Manager of Junior Golf for the FSGA where he was the Tournament Director for the FSGA and USGA golf championships. Crabtree also served on the Florida Junior Golf Council advisory board, which raised millions of dollars to develop and promote junior golf in Florida.

A talented player in his own right, Crabtree was a four-year letterwinner at USF and was named the Conference USA Student-Athlete of the Year for golf as a senior. An excellent student, Crabtree earned his bachelor's degree in communication and was an Academic All-American in 1999. After graduation, Crabtree qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach and the 2000 British Amateur at Royal Liverpool.