Top Coach Softball

Top Coach Softball speaks  with Melissa McElvain, head softball coach for the Toreros of University of San Deigo.  Coach McElvain has been leading the Torero team for the past 15 seasons, finishing in second place in the West Coast Conference (WCC), giving them their fourth 2nd place finish in the past five seasons.  Her team once again had the lowest team ERA in the WCC for the third consecutive year.  Coach Mac, as she is referred to by her players, was also a fine player graduating from Oklahoma State where she earned All-Big 12 honors at catcher and second base.  She ranks in the Top-20 all-time at OSU for games played, hits, total bases, doubles, RBI and stolen bases while helping lead her team to 3 post-season appearances. Follow U of San Diego Softball on Twitter @USDSoftball Follow U of San Diego athletics @USDToreroshttp://www.twitter.com/usdtoreros Photo credit:  University of San Diego and Melissa McElvain Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

I am very excited to speak with one of the very special people and coaches for Division 2 softball.  This week’s Top Coach was inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2014 and has been one of the most profound names in coaching throughout her 20 years of coaching at University of Alabama Huntsville.  Head Coach Les Stuedeman has built the UAH Chargers softball program from the ground up starting in 1995 and has never looked back.  Her Chargers have averaged 47 wins per season and has never had a losing record while playing in the Gulf South Conference.  Follow Coach Les Stuedeman on Twitter @UAHCoachLes Follow UAB Huntsville Athletics @UAHChargers Follow The Gulf South Conference @GulfSouth Photo credit:  University of Alabama Huntsville Athletics Department Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

I’m excited to be speaking with the Head Softball Coach of Lynchburg College, Dawn Simmons.  Coach Simmons led her team to finishing 2nd in the Old Dominion Athletics Conference last season with a 31-13 overall record making 2015 the 10th year of 30-plus wins for the Hornets.  She has navigated her team to 17 straight ODAC tournaments while enjoying a 17-year career at Lynchburg College – an incredible run!  Next year she plans to surpass the 500 win mark as she sits just 20 wins shy of the career win milestone.  I think you will enjoy her direct communications and coaching philosophies that she shares during our conversation. Follow Lynchburg Athletics on Twitter @lchornets Follow Hornets Softball @LCSoftbal Follow Lynchburg College @Lynchburg Photo credit:  Lynchburg College Athletics Department Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Today I’m talking with Shane Bouman, Head Softball Coach for Indiana State University.  Coach Bouman has spent the last 4 years building the Sycamores to become one of the better Missouri Valley Conference teams leading this year’s team to the Columbia Missouri regional, for their first ever NCAA tournament.  In that regional, the Sycamores may have surprised a lot of teams and Softball followers with their hard play, determination and overall confidence as a team. Follow Indiana State Softball on Twitter @IndStSoftball Follow Indiana State Athletics @IndStAthletics Photo credit:  Indiana State University Athletics & Chris Vogt Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Today I’m talking with Head Coach of Longwood University, Kathy Riley.  Coach Riley will be starting her 19th year in the Fall leading her Lancers on the diamond in the Big South Conference.  Last year her team enjoyed their first consecutive 40 win seasons by going 40 and 16 and finishing as runners up in conference play.  Her overall collegiate coaching record includes 591 wins to 358 losses which includes coaching 4 years at Mount Olive College.  Coach Riley’s overall body of coaching accomplishments may pale in comparison to her success as a softball and basketball player though.  In 1981 she was the National Softball Player of the Year at East Carolina University and lead ECU to a No1 national ranking.  In 1990 she played on the gold medal-winning team at the 1990 Olympic Sports Festival.  While at ECU she also played basketball helping her team get to  the NCAA Tournament in 1981 and was a preseason All-American that same year.  She later played and coached professional basketball for the Houston Shamrocks. Follow Longwood Softball on Twitter @LongwoodSB Facility Photo credit:  Longwood Photography Action Photo credit:  Mike Kropf Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were No

I’m very happy to be speaking with Danielle Penner, Head Coach of Barry University’s softball team who after a decade of leading the softball program has consistently placed the Buccaneers among the top of NCAA Division II programs.  She has compiled a 358-163 record and last season her team tied for first in the Sunshine State Conference.  What I like about Coach Penner, In addition to her head coaching success, is her overall resume that includes achievements in education both for herself and her teams, experience coaching both in the US and in Canada and her personal achievements and awards as a player and star pitcher. Her teams have consistently been a Top-20 academic team ranking high in GPA In 1999 established Elite Softball Clinic in Ontario designed to teach the mechanics of fastpitch softball One of the most accomplished and decorated pitchers in NCAA D2 softball history: Played 4 seasons at California PA with a pitching record of 144-15 80-0 conference record in 4 seasons and all conference honors each season MVP junior and senior year Led California PA to national title in 1997 and 1998 ironically beating Barry University in the championship game NCAA D2 Player of the Year in 1998 From 1994-97 she played with Team Ontario leading the team to bronze medal in 1996 at the Canadian National Championships Recognized in Sports Illustrated, People Magazine, Fitness Magazine Follow Coach Penner on Twitter @BarrySoftball Follow the Bucs @GoBarryBucs Follow Barry University @BarryUniversity Follow Sunshine State Conference @D2SSC Follow California University @CalUofPA Photo credit:  Barry University Athletics Department Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Sally Walker, NCAA Umpire Program Advisor I’m very happy to be speaking with a member of the NCAA Softball officiating team and former WCWS umpire, Sally Walker, Umpire Program Advisor for the NCAA.  With over 30 years experience as an on-the-field umpire Sally joins us to discuss how the game and umpiring has changed and grown over the years as well as what makes a Top Coach from an umpires viewpoint.  In her career, Sally has been selected as an elite 7 member crew by her peers and the NCAA to officiate several WCWS tournaments where getting every call right is an absolute requirement of the vocation.  Now as a retired NCAA umpire, Sally has helped the sport standardize on officiating across the country, improve umpire performance and support the NCAA umpire program. Follow NCAA Softball on Twitter @NCAAsoftball Photo credit:  Chris Vogt Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Today I’m talking with a special Head Coach and Associate Athletics Director, Dean Johnson from Caldwell University in garden state of Caldwell, NJ.  Coach Johnson has led the Cougars  since 1995 and has compiled nearly 700 wins having broke into the top 20 rankings for most winningest coach in all of Division 2 softball.  Through his tenure at Caldwell his teams have won at least 27 games in the past 18 seasons and have only had 1 losing season during that time.  This past season saw Coach Johnson’s team captured the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference league to advanced to round one of the regional tournament.   Follow Caldwell Athletics @CaldwellCougars Follow Caldwell University @CaldwellUniv Follow the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference @CACC01 Photo credit:  Caldwell University Athletics Department Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Head Coach, Jen Steele, of Jacksonville University has just completed her first season leading the Dolphins in the Atlantic Sun Conference.  A season that began with low expectations as JU was picked to finish 7th in the conference – they finished 5th.  Expectations again were set low for any hopes for the Dolphins to make it to the conference tournament.  However, Coach Steele’s team surprised many by winning the final 5 games of the season to achieve a bid to the tournament for the first time since 2012. Coach Steele is no stranger to impressing softball pundits and followers as prior to leading JU’s squad, she was the assistant coach at Longwood University during their surprise 2013 season whereby they captured the Big South Tournament title and bid to the NCAA Tournament appearance.  Lastly, in just another example of breaking expectations, Steele has previously been named Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Coach of the Year in 2009 at Randolph College after leading the team to its first-ever winning season and its first trip to the conference tournament. Follow Coach Jen Steele on Twitter @JUCoachSteele Follow Jacksonville University Athletics @JUDolphins Follow Atlantic Sun Softball @ASunSoftball Photo credit:  Jacksonville University Athletics Department Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Given all the past week’s NCAA championship games for D1, D2 and D3, I thought this week’s episode might check in on those teams who have advanced to the next round of play thus keeping their season alive to play another game.   During my visit to the Columbia, Missouri NCAA Division 1 regional I enjoyed learning about Indiana State University softball, a program that enjoyed their first ever win in the tournament on Saturday against Louisville.  The Sycamore’s Head Coach, Shane Bouman, explains what’s made this year particularly successful as he attributes a great deal of it to his star hitter and Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Megan Stone, who batted .416 this season.  Coach Bouman might just be the next Top Coach to watch. This championship roundup podcast should get you ready for all the upcoming championship play later in the week.  Keep watching college softball and prepare to be amazed.

This week I'm visiting the campus of University of Wisconsin - Whitewater spending some time talking with Head Softball Coach, Brenda Volk who recently celebrated her 500th win leading the Warhawks to yet another NCAA Regional tournament this year.  Having coached the Warhawks since 1999 she has celebrated 8 NCAA Division 3 appearances and her team has shown their dominance in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference year after year winning her 10th regular season conference title and taking home the Coach of the Year accolade.  Follow Head Coach Brenda Volk on Twitter @CoachBrendaVolkFollow UW-Whitewater softball @UWWSoftballPhoto credit: Michael McLooneMusic credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

This week's episode is a conversation with a very special coach from another coastal town in Virginia where I am speaking with the 2014 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Brandon Elliott.  Coach Elliot is in his 8th season  as Head Coach of the Marlins at Virginia Wesleyan College where he has guided his team to an overall 231-82 record including 2011, 2013 and 2014 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships and NCAA tournament berths.  Coach Elliott is a student athlete graduate of VWC who found his first job working on campus and later wound up as Head Coach of their softball team.  His rise to becoming a successful D3 coach is inspiring to all.Follow Coach Brandon Elliott on Twitter @ElliottSaysWhat Follow Virginia Wesleyan Softball @VWCSOFTBALL Follow Old Dominion Athletic Conference @odacathleticsPhoto credit:  Virginia Wesleyan College AthleticsMusic credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Today I'm visiting the campus of Cal State University at Monterey Bay where I'm talking Softball coaching with the Otter's head coach Andrea Kenney.  Head Coach Kenney has built the CSUMB program from scratch starting in 2006 and needed just a few seasons to take her team to their first NCAA Division II appearance in 2009.   Over the next 5 years, Coach Kenney navigated her team to 4 NCAA tournament appearances.  At the start of this season the California Collegiate Athletic Association predicted that the Otters would  repeat as CCAA champs.  As such, today Coach Kenney's team finds themselves in first place in their league and ranked 5th in the nation.  Follow Head Coach Andrea Kenney on Twitter @MB_Softball Follow CSUMB Softball @CSUMBSoftball Follow Cal State U at Monterey Bay Athletics @OtterAthletics  Follow California Collegiate Athletic Association @ccaa09 Photo credit:  Cal State University at Monterey Bay Athletics  Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Today I am visiting with Cheryl Milligan, Head Coach of Tufts University softball team who is celebrating her 12th season as head coach where she has led the Jumbos to becoming one of the most successful Division III teams in the nation capturing back-to-back NCAA Championship for Division III schools in 2013 and '14.  Coach Milligan holds a number of accolades and records for winning but no award speaks more about being at Top Coach than being awarded the recognition by her peers as the New England Regional and National Coaching Staff of the Year at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association convention in both 2013 and 2014. Follow HC Cheryl Milligan on Twitter @TUSBcoachmilli Follow Tufts Athletics @TuftsAthletics Follow Tufts University @TuftsUniversity Photo credit:  Tufts University  Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

During this week's episode I visit a suburb of Atlanta to speak with Tony Wolfe, Head Softball Coach of Buford City High School in Buford, Georgia.  Coach Wolfe wears many hats in his role at the High School and in the community.  He is both the baseball and softball coach at the High School but his achievements of winning 7- straight Softball State Championships have landed him high praise and recommendation for being a Top Coach in Softball.   Listen to Coach Wolfe's unique journey to becoming a talented softball coach, learn details on the role of a High School coach as a player is being recruited by college teams, and enjoy the perspective of a multi-sport coach.  Follow Coach Wolfe on Twitter @bhscoachwolfe Follow Buford High School @BufordHigh Photo credit:  Tony Wolfe and Buford High Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not  

This week's episode comes from the desert of Arizona as I enjoy a great coaching conversation with Head Coach of Arizona State University's softball coach, Craig Nicholson.  Coach Nicholson is in his 2nd year as head skipper of the Sun Devils and has brought his consistent improving and winning approach to ASU from Ball State University and previous Central Arizona.  While at Ball State he became the fastest coach in program history to pass the 100 and 200-win marks, and was instrumental in Ball State capturing three Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season championships (2009, 2010, 2012), a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and the program's first All-American.  His offensively-minded background and path to ASU is a great story on it's own, but we also get to the details of building and leading a winning program.   Follow Coach Craig Nicholson on Twitter @ASU_CoachNix Follow Arizona State University Softball @ASUSoftball Follow Pac-12 Conference @pac12 Follow Ball State University Softball @BallStateSB Photo credit:  Arizona State University Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Coach Buck-Ziegler is in her 4th season with the Roadrunners of Cal State University Bakersfield which is in the Western Athletic Conference.  2014s Season marked the team's first year as part of WAC and Coach Buck-Ziegler led the Roadrunners to the conference tournament,  and saw several players recognized by the WAC as All Team conference players. In previous years with the Roadrunners Coach Buck-Ziegler has mentored several players to achieve All-Team and Conference honors and players of the year.  Under her coaching guidance, she has also demonstrated how important academics, community service and connecting with Alumni can be to a program. Prior to leading the Roadrunners, Buck-Ziegler spent 9 seasons in an assistant coaching capacity with the Oregon State Beavers where she helped navigate them to their first ever College World Series appearance  during the 2006 season.   Follow CSU Bakersfield Softball @CSUB_Softball Facebook:  facebook.com/csubroadrunners Website:  www.GoRunners.com or gorunners.com/softball CSUB location:  Bakersfield, CA (100 miles North of Los Angeles) in California’s agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley. Photo credit:  CSU Bakersfield Athletics Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Coach Simkins is in his 7- season as HC of the Red Storm of Dixie State University which is a member of the Pacific West NCAA Division II.  Last season the Red Storm  recorded the most wins of a Division Two program with 51 and Coach Simkins' overall record reached 250 wins to just 71 losses for an overall Head Coach winning percentage of .779.  An overall impressive statistic among many others.   2014 was a historic and magical season, in fact the best season in Dixie State's softball history.  The Red Storm won 51 games, won a second consecutive PacWest conference championship and earned a 6th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament in Salem, Virginia.  Where they finished in 3rd place losing a tough battle against West Texas A&M who ultimately became last year's national champion.  Coach Simkins was named PacWest Coach of the year and his coaching staff took the NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Follow Dixie State Softball on Twitter @DIXIESTATESB Follow The Pac West @ThePacWest Photo credit:  Dixie State University Athletics Department Music credit:  Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

This week I'm visiting with Kyla Holas, Cougar Softball's Head Coach at University of Houston.  Coach Holas is returning this season for her 15th year as head coach and last year surpassed the 500 win milestone as Head Coach of the Cougars.  Last season also marked a year where Houston went 33-23 overall and 13 - 5 in the inaugural season as part of the new American Athletic Conference where they wrapped up the season with a trip to the NCAA Regional for the fourth straight year. Follow Coach Holas on Twitter @kholas1 Follow UH Softball @UHCougarSB Photo credit: University of Houston Athletics  Music credit: Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not

Top Coach Softball visits Piedmont College to speak with Head Coach Terry Martin whose Lady Lion's return in 2015 having come off of one of their best seasons ever.  In 2014 Coach Martin led his Lady Lions to their 4th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 5 years.  Last year's 43-8 season represents an incredible 18 win streak during regular season play as well as 6-straight wins to capture their conference tournament title which led them to another NCAA Tournament appearance.  Their incredible 2014 performance was recognized in the national polls moving them up as high as 7th in the Nation at one point.  Coach Martin received Coach of the Year for 2014, his  6th time receiving the award in the last 9 years.  He returns in 2015 for his 17th season as Head Coach where he is just two victories away from surpassing the 400 win milestone.  Follow Piedmont College Softball @PiedmontSball Follow Piedmont College @PiedmontGA Photo credit: Piedmont College Athletic Department Music credit: Rock that crowd! by Everything Were Not