Ducks hire new softball coach
Outgoing AD Pat Kilkenny finished the final hire of his career with the placement of Mike White as the head softball coach. White is a former USA coach and player and also a former assistant at the UO from 2003-2004. He just spent the last two season as an assistant at Marist High School in Eugene, Oregon.
Here’s the press release from Goducks.com:
EUGENE – The University of Oregon announced that highly respected coach and former national softball team player Mike White will return as the Ducks’ head coach, in an announcement Friday by Athletics Director Pat Kilkenny.
The soon-to-be inducted International Softball Congress (ISC) Hall of Fame pitcher and coaching veteran of 30 years also served as a Duck assistant coach for two seasons in 2003-04, and helped the team advance to the NCAA regional final both campaigns.
Since then, he has continued to remain active at the elite level as a coach and private instructor, including a successful stint as an assistant coach at Marist High School during the 2008-09 seasons. The program ended the year ranked 22nd nationally in 2009 by USA Today and won consecutive 4A state titles after identical 29-1 seasons. He has also coached the Northwest Thunder and Northwest Bullets Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) youth club teams.
“From a national search came a local opportunity that rarely comes along,” said Kilkenny. “Mike is a tremendous teacher, especially with pitchers, and a believer in the fundamentals of the game. His ties to the local and regional softball community, as well as his knowledge of the Pac-10, make him a natural for this position, and we are thrilled to have him back at Oregon. We believe we found the best coach possible and one that will create an outstanding experience for our student-athletes.”
White is well-known as one of the top pitchers on U.S. National Teams before he retired in 2007. A New Zealand native, he became a U.S. citizen in 1994 and helped guide the USA to a bronze medal in the 2000 World Championships when he went 2-0 with a 0.89 ERA and 19 strikeouts. In 1999, the U.S. won the silver medal at the Pan Am Games, and he was 3-2 with a 0.68 ERA and 35 strikeouts. He also played on three silver medal Pan-American Games teams in 1995, 1999 and 2003.
He enjoyed another successful stint with the American team in 2004 and played in his sixth quadrennial International Softball World Tournament, and altogether helped teams claim two gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze in his four trips with New Zealand and two with the United States. Among other honors, the multiple Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) MVP pitcher and All-American helped lead teams to five ASA national titles and five ISC World Club Championships, and was the 2002 ASA Player of the Year.
In his prior stint with Oregon, White worked specifically with the pitchers and catchers as an assistant coach in 2003 and ’04. The Ducks lowered their ERA from 3.01 the season prior to his arrival to 2.12 and 1.68, respectively, while its strikeout totals of 347 and 394 – the best two in school history – far outdistanced its 223 total from 2002.
Several of his pupils shined immediately under his tutelage as freshman Amy Harris set a single-season strikeout record (180) his first season, while senior Andrea Vidlund led the nation in saves and set a Pac-10 record (11). The next year, newcomer Ani Nyhus was an All-Pac-10 First Team and NCAA Regional All-Tournament choice and two-time conference pitcher of the week. The junior college transfer notched 20 wins (25-12), rewrote the program’s single-season strikeout record (202) and pitched a no-hitter vs. Utah State. Catcher Jenn Poore was also an All-American and All-Pac-10 Second Team honoree in ’04 and drafted into the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league.
“I’m excited to be back coaching in the most competitive softball conference in the nation,” White said. “My first season here I remember watching the players rebound from prior adversity, then they started believing in themselves and nearly made the College World Series – it was a memorable experience. We’re ready to push the team back in that direction and recruit the best talent available. I’ve always been a Duck fan and loved this community so I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.”
The Wellington, New Zealand native (11/19/61) earned his bachelor of arts degree in marketing and management from Mount Mercy College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) in 1989. He is married to the former Lisa Revers, and the couple have three daughters; Nyree (11/2/92), Kenzie (8/3095) and Sidney (4/14/97).
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