Sam Houston State University softball head coach Bob Brock will be inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the annual convention on Dec. 9 in New Orleans, LA.
Joining the SHSU coach in the NFCA Hall of Fame is head coach Jacquie Joseph of Michigan State, head coach Mona Steven from Utah University and University of Saint Thomas Minnesota head coach John Tschida.
“It feels good to be honored by the NFCA Hall of Fame,” Brock said. “Great players and great colleges have helped me get to this point, and the support has been awesome.”
Since Brock became head coach in 2001, the softball program has seen tremendous improvements. Brock has lead the Bearkats to over 380 victories, the most by any head coach in the program’s history. The head coach also led the team to their first NCAA Division I regional playoffs appearance in 2007.
Brock has also guided the team to 214 Southland Conference victories and 10 trips to the SLC Tournament over the past 15 seasons. The team reached the finals in 2005, 2007 and 2012, and the semi finals in 2013 and 2014.
“My time here has been great,” Brock said. “I have been here since fall 2001 and don’t plan on leaving any time soon.”
During Brock’s 32 seasons of coaching, he has spent time on staff at SHSU, Texas A&M and Baylor, and has accumulated over 1,114 victories, which makes him one of 29 head coaches in the NCAA to have earned over 1,000 wins.
“If I didn’t have the school behind me, the athletic department and the grab bunch of athletes, I would not be earning this award,” Brock said “These awards are nice, but I did not earn them by myself.”
Along with his induction into the NFCA Hall of Fame, Brock is also a member of the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame, earned Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2005, was named National coach of the year in 1983 and is a four-time Regional Coach of the Year winner.
“Getting into the softball hall of fame is the best you can get,” Brock said. “Getting into it [the softball hall of fame] is a great accomplishment.”
Brock has had the opportunity to coach 21 All-American players, 60 All-regional honorees, he has coached in the Women’s professional Fastpitch League and coached two players who were members of the gold medal winning U.S Olympic softball team.
While the fall exhibition season came to a close on Oct. 27, Brock hopes the team will continue their success in the 2016-2017 season, receive an NCAA tournament bid and make it to the conference championship game.
“I think we are going to be a really good team this season,” Brock said. “We have a lot of impact players that are freshmen and we’re really excited to get started.”
The SHSU softball season will kick off on Feb. 10 with a handful of road games in Monroe, LA. at the University of Louisiana Monroe Tournament.