Phil McSpadden
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Oklahoma City University |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | Vinita, Oklahoma |
| Alma mater | Oral Roberts |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1981 | Oklahoma State (assistant) |
| 1982-1984 | Dewey High School |
| 1985–1987 | Ponca City High School |
| 1988-present | Oklahoma City University |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 1,860–404 (.822) |
Phil McSpadden is an American softball coach. With a record of 1,860–404,[1] he has more wins than any other coach in the history of college softball, and is considered the best college coaches in the history of their respective sport.[2][3] He has led the Oklahoma City University softball team to eleven NAIA national titles in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2016, 2017, and 2022. [4][5] He was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014.
Early Career[edit]
McSpadden was born and raised in Vinita, Oklahoma, where he was an all-state baseball player. He started his college college baseball career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before finishing at Oral Roberts. He began his coaching career as an assistant baseball coach at Oklahoma State in 1981 before getting into softball in 1982, first at Dewey High School in Dewey, Oklahoma. He led Dewey’s softball team to their first-ever state championship appearance, also marking the first time any sports team from Dewey had ever competed for a state title. McSpadden then coached at Ponca City High School, where he led his team to two back-to-back state tournaments. He finished his high school coaching career with a dominant 129-40 win-loss record.
Oklahoma City University[edit]
McSpadden became the head softball coach at Oklahoma City University in 1988. Since then, McSpadden has led all college softball coaches in wins versus four-year schools with a 1,789-393 record (.823 winning percentage), guiding the OCU Stars to 18 national championship appearances, 11 wins, 5 national runner-up finishes, 30 trips to the NAIA Softball World Series, 22 50-win seasons, 13 55-win seasons and seven 60-win seasons. McSpadden's 1999 team won more games than any college softball team ever has, with 69 wins to only 2 losses. OCU has captured 10 regional titles, five bi-district titles, five district titles and 29 SAC titles under McSpadden, and won the national championships in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2016, 2017, and 2022.
As of 2024, Phil McSpadden is the winningest college softball coach of all time. He owns membership in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, NAIA Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the OCU Athletics Hall of Fame. McSpadden has repeatedly turned down head coaching offers from larger colleges like Oklahoma, Alabama, and Texas A&M to stay at OCU.
See also[edit]
- National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame
- List of college softball coaches with 1,000 wins
References[edit]
- ^ "Phil McSpadden". OCU Sportss. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ "Unconventional: OCU's Phil McSpadden, College Softball's Winningest Coach, Was Never a Stereotype on His Way to the Top (part 1)". The Daily Oklahoman. May 5, 2015. pp. 1B, 6B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Unconventional: OCU's Phil McSpadden, College Softball's Winningest Coach, Was Never a Stereotype on His Way to the Top (part 2)". The Daily Oklahoman. May 5, 2015. pp. 1B, 6B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "McSpadden Sets All-Time College Wins Mark". NAIA.org. April 11, 2015.
- ^ "Unconventional: OCU's Phil McSpadden, College Softball's Winningest Coach, Was Never a Stereotype on His Way to The Top". The Daily Oklahoman. May 5, 2015. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.