From UCLA to Boise State: Local golf standout ready to tee up close to home

From UCLA to Boise State: Local golf standout ready to tee up close to home

Growing up, Trevor Garus played several sports, including volleyball, baseball, and golf.

“My dad had me kind of do everything,” he said.

His family is full of volleyball players. His dad, Shaun, is the head coach of the Boise State women’s indoor team and played professional beach volleyball, while his mom and sister both played in college.

“It’s always been a big part of my family,” he said.

Garus played for a boys’ club here in Boise, and even spent a summer playing in San Diego.

However, he said his primary sport was baseball until an injury had him considering other sports.

“I fouled one off, like just into the bridge of my nose, and so after that, I was a little afraid, I guess you could say, to get back in the box,” he said. “But it kind of made golfing an easier transition.”

Transition to golf

At the age of 12 or 13, Garus started golfing. Though he started playing later than most of his peers, he said that having played multiple sports helped him become a better golfer.

“Having hand-eye coordination from things where the ball’s moving,” he said. “Like I’m being a little bit more of an athlete, not just kind of restricted and limited to only playing golf.”

As he continued to get better, Garus said his dad taught him to be deliberate in his training.

“He really pushed me and kind of taught me how to practice with intent and not just go out and mindlessly whack balls and just spend hours out there, but to actually get something out of it and make sure I’m doing drills and doing things that are actually going to benefit me and prepare me for tournament pressure.”

During his time at Capital High School in Boise, Garus won the 5A Southern Idaho Conference District III golf title three years in a row, the first player to do so in 21 years. He also accumulated several other accolades, including winning the 2023 Idaho State Amateur Championship, placing second in the 2023 Junior America’s Cup, qualifying for the U.S. Amateur tournament in 2023 and 2024, and being named the 2023 Idaho Player of the Year by the Idaho Golf Association.

He caught the attention of college scouts, including from schools like Missouri, Arizona, and Notre Dame.

He eventually committed to UCLA. At the time, he said Boise State was not on his radar.

“When I was being recruited over that summer, Boise State didn’t have a head coach.”

He said within days of committing to UCLA, Boise State hired David Trainor to take over the program. Garus said Trainor reached out to him, but it was too late.

“(We) kind of just crossed paths and never really had a chance to ever talk about it,” Garus said.

When Garus got to UCLA in the fall of 2024 for his freshman year, he said he struggled, only playing in one tournament that fall. But that spring, the tides turned.

“I started playing really well and played in pretty much all of our events,” he said. The Bruins would eventually win their first conference championship since 2006

His sophomore year, it was deju vu.

“Didn’t play fantastic in the fall, only played in one event, and then in the spring I started playing a lot better.”

Garus said though he was playing better golf, his tournament scores weren’t aligning with his goals.

UCLA and back

Through his two seasons as a Bruin, he played in 11 tournaments totaling 30 rounds of golf, averaging 74.1 scoring in both seasons.

Even with the team’s successes, including an NCAA national runner-up finish this past spring, Garus was ready for a change, to play somewhere where he could thrive.

“Something just wasn’t allowing me to play as well as I probably should have been for how well I was doing at home and in practice,” he said. “(My coaches) didn’t want to see me just stay there and not succeed either, and so it kind of led to the decision to get in the portal and see what other options there are and see if there’s a place that is a better fit for me.”

“I reached out immediately as soon as I saw his name in there,” Trainor said.

“It was just kind of looking at like, ‘Okay, what is really going to help me?’” he said. “And that was the biggest thing with talking to Trainor is just, he was so passionate, and he really made my development a priority to him. And that was very appealing to me.”

“He’s a very strong player. Hits the ball a long way. Knows the shot shape he wants to see,” Trainor said. “Trevor’s a guy I look at that could go far in this game because he already thinks like a professional.”

Back home, Garus said he’s realized he’s at his best when he’s surrounded by his support system.

“(Trainor) believes I play my best golf in Boise,” he said. “He’s like, ‘When you’re playing really well in high school and everything… you were working with your trainers here and your coaches here, and you had your friends and family and everything here.’ And… he believed that that was the environment that I thrive in and where I do my best in.”

“I’m definitely looking forward to having (my dad) and my mom even here too, so that they can kind of be a little bit more involved and a part of my college career,” Garus said.