SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – Cascade’s Anna Clanton is joining the Middle Tennessee Women’s Golf program under the direction of second-year head coach Lauren Wamsley, MTSU announced last week. 

“It was great…winning state after winning the region was big for us because Summertown was our rival, and then two weeks later seeing that she [MTSU HC Lauren Wamsley] offered me… never believed it would happen but it did.”

Clanton helped lead the Lady Champions to the program’s first-ever Region Championship (5-A) as well as the TSSAA Division 1 Class A State Tournament Championship last October. Cascade finished 10 strokes ahead of second-place Stewarts Creek with a total score of 302 (+22). She finished in fourth place individually with a score of 153 (+12) over the two days, and committed to MTSU a few weeks later in November. 

“I committed shortly after state – around November – and the reasons I chose MTSU were that it’s close to home and I’ve always been a fan of their basketball team because of Coach Insell,” Clanton explained. “It’s also a great school.”

“When I went to take a visit, I met some of the players too. It was just great to meet them, and I can’t wait to learn from them and play with them during my college career because they’re great golfers.”

Clanton also won both the District 9-A and Region 5-A Individual Championship en route to the State Tournament appearance. She also won the SunDrop Tourney at Willowbrook earlier in the season.

She was a dual-sport athlete for three of her four years in high school – basketball and golf – and her basketball fandom was a feather in MTSU’s cap during the recruiting process. 

She was one of five seniors on the golf team last year – Tatiana Greene, Kelsey Shatley, Sara-Kate Hall, and Kaydence Miller being the other four – and she says that camaraderie greatly enhanced her experience in making program history.

“It was extra special because we grew together like a family since we had known each other from elementary school,” said Clanton. “Just to look back at all the things that we’ve done and what we accomplished is great. I don’t think we ever lost a match our entire high school career, and we had never gone to state as a team before – only as individuals in our junior year – so going as a team because it had never been done before was just great to have that opportunity.”

Clanton, who plans to major in Business at MTSU, played softball through seventh grade before transitioning to competitive golf before her eighth grade year.

“Around 8th grade year is when I got competitive, but I’ve been swinging my whole life,” she said. “My parents always play, but I had always played softball [before 8th grade] until I tried it one day and I was kinda good at it.”

She also recognizes the role her support system has played in her career so far, thanking both her head coach and her parents.

“We [Clanton and her parents] come out here and play every day as a family, and you start getting better and better without even realizing it. If it weren’t for them, I would not be where I am right now because I would not be playing.”

“I also want to thank Coach Bankston for a great four years of golf,” she emphasized.

Clanton is ready for the next chapter of both her life and her golf career as she prepares to move in on campus starting in August.

“I’m excited to meet new people, improve my golf game, and just live the college experience.”