BY BRITTANY DICKEY
Parker McCurdy BS’23 hits a long drive at a golf tournament during the 2023-24 season.
He played golf on scholarship for a year, but as the saying goes, the heart wants what the heart wants.
“I missed basketball so much that when I transferred out of TJC, I wanted to come back and play,” he said.
McCurdy transferred to The University of Texas at Dallas and its Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering while also playing basketball during his sophomore and junior years.
The summer after he received his diploma, he found himself practicing both basketball and golf.
Was there room in his life for two loves?
“The first week of graduate school I show up at Coach’s office and ask him if I could try out,” said McCurdy of Cole Sondgeroth, head coach of the men’s and women’s golf teams at UT Dallas. “He gave me the opportunity to try out for the team, and that was a turning point in my life. Everyone at UTD is welcoming, and returning to an athletics department feels awesome.”
“Parker conducted data analysis for a project between my lab and Texas Health Resources (THR) sports medicine,” Kang said. “THR had longitudinal data from athletes who had anterior cruciate ligament reconstructive surgery. The data was movement data including vertical jumping and landing, and they followed their patients for 12 months. They were interested in analyzing data, and Parker conducted data analysis.”
Graduate school beckoned.
Since joining the American Southwest Conference (ASC) on the champion team, McCurdy has earned three top 10 finishes, was named ASC Golfer of the Week twice and tied two University records: Four eagles in one season and for the lowest tournament round (fewest strokes) of golf in a tournament — 66. Earlier this year, he was also named a member of the First Team All-ASC, the ASC Newcomer of the Year and NCAA PING All-Region VII Team by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
“Parker is one of the most competitive individuals I know,” Sondgeroth said. “Whether that be in the classroom, on the golf course or anywhere else, Parker is always motivated by success. He is always looking for ways to continue to improve, which can be seen through his continued success and improvements on the golf course.”
Sondgeroth said the experience of graduate student athletes can benefit the team.
“With age comes maturity, which translates to some of their decision making on the golf course,” he said.
McCurdy drives to the basketball net while playing for UT Dallas in 2021.
McCurdy keeps his eye on the ball as he recruits his golf teammates for an intramural basketball team.
“My interest is biomechanics because it can relate to sports science,” he said. “I’m interested in analyzing sports data and optimizing strength training.”
Though golf is now his chosen sport, McCurdy is still passionate about basketball: “Golf doesn’t lie — it is a patently objective sport,” he said. “There are no referees, and if you miss a putt, you miss a putt — you can’t fake that. It’s a mentally demanding game. Basketball is a sport that starts a fire in you that is very active. You get into a flow state, and it’s super fun.”
Fortunately for McCurdy, mixing his current situation studying with sports is a slam dunk.
“The golf team started an intramural basketball team, so I get to play golf and basketball throughout the year,” he said. “I feel like I get a win-win.”
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