Lon Schmidt Jr. enters his second season as a volunteer assistant coach for the Centenary men’s and women’s golf teams.

Last season, Schmidt’s first with the program, he helped guide the Gents to a fourth-place team finish at the SCAC Championships and a seventh-place finish for the Ladies. The Gents’ fourth-place finish is their best at the event since also finishing fourth in 2014.

Schmidt’s knowledge and experience benefited senior Andrew Bennett (Bossier City, La.) and freshman Aubrey Snell (Shreveport, La.) as Bennett was named SCAC Men’s Golfer of the Year and Snell was named SCAC Freshman of the Year each were named First-Team all-conference. Bennett  was the story of the 2023-24 season for the Gents as he became the first Centenary men's golfer to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the division III era (2013-present) and claimed the individual title at the SCAC Championships in Whitney, Texas in April.

Bennett was also named a 2024 Division III PING All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America after earning a spot on the PING All-Region Team, landing on the Third Team, and is the first Centenary men's golfer to be named an All-American since Hal Sutton in 1980. He was named SCAC Men's Golfer of the Week once, and claimed two individual wins, three top-five finishes, and a top-15 finish during the season. He was also named to the 2023-24 Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) All-Louisiana Men's College Golf team. Bennett earned a spot on the First Team as he made the team for the first time in his career.

Schmidt, currently an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force assigned to Global Strike Command Headquarters at Barksdale Air Force Base, is a 2007 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. Schmidt earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences before going on to earn his MBA in Sports Management from Columbia Southern University in 2014. 

As an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Nuclear Launch Officer in the Air Force, he has served in numerous leadership and training roles throughout his career.  Schmidt's passion for teaching and leading has extended to the golf course as he previously was a high school volunteer assistant coach while stationed in Montana, and has pursued his personal development with the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside, Calif. - earning Level 1, Golf Level 2, and Junior Level 2 certifications. Additionally, he earned an invitation to the 2013 Air Force Golf Championships and has caddied on the Korn Ferry Tour.  

He is married to his best friend, Heather, and is the proud father of Luke, Tyler, and Emma.