Rinko Mitsunaga

Biography

Rinko Mitsunaga, a highly successful former collegiate and amateur player who has transitioned into coaching, is in her third season as an assistant coach for the K-State women’s golf program in 2025-26. Mitsunaga (pronounced MIT-su-NAH-gah), who worked the previous two seasons at Tulane under current K-State head coach Stew Burke, has helped the Wildcats to a highly successful two-year run to begin her tenure in Manhattan. With Mitsunaga on staff, the Wildcats’ 2024-25 season was perhaps the most successful campaign in program history as the Wildcats advanced to their first ever NCAA Championship after tying for second in the NCAA Lexington Regional. The Wildcats set a school record with a 288.13 team scoring average, over two shots per round better than the record set by the 2023-24 squad. K-State also posted two wins and nine top-five finishes to tie for first in school history, while its seven top-three finishes were also a school record. K-State produced eight of the top 20 54-hole scores in school history during the 2024-25 campaign in addition to 13 of the top 25 team rounds. Individually, the Wildcats posted 13 of the top 18 rounds and 10 of the top 25 54-hole scores during the season. Mitsunaga was instrumental in the development of Carla Bernat, who left K-State as the best player in program history. Bernat, the 2024-25 Big 12 Women’s Golfer of the Year, earned First Team All-America honors from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) and Golfweek in addition to