USSSA Pride head softball coach Tim Walton, who is also the head coach for the University of Florida, collected his 400th collegiate win on Friday, February 11, against Florida Gulf Coast. Since taking over the UF softball program in 2006, the Florida Gators have become a softball powerhouse.
Walton’s Gators won 70 games in 2008, a feat that might not be accomplished again due to new NCAA scheduling guidelines that have cut down on the number of games you can play. They only lost five times the entire season.
Florida followed that up by going 63‐5 in 2009 and 49‐10 a season ago.
Florida’s 182 wins the past three seasons are easily the most in the Southeastern Conference, which is still seeking its first softball national title since the NCAA sanctioned a championship tournament in 1982.
Add all the wins up, and Walton is comfortably at the top of the school record books. He currently has a 280‐67 record at UF, 403‐131 overall. Since UF’s softball program started play in 1997, none of the previous two coaches cracked 200 wins at UF.
Walton has led the Gators to two SEC regular season championships, two SEC tournament championships, three College World Series appearances, and coached seven All – American’s.
The USSSA Pride family wishes Coach Tim Walton and the Gators the best of luck the rest of their 2011 season. Walton will continue his head coaching duties for the Pride, when the NPF season gets underway on June 9.
About USSSA Florida Pride:
The USSSA Florida Pride is a professional franchise in the National Pro Fastpitch League that is owned and operated by USSSA. The amateur organization of USSSA has multi-sport coverage and encompasses teams and players from the United States and abroad.
About NPF:
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
About USSSA:
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!