Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Associate head coach |
Team | UCLA |
Conference | Pac-12 |
Biographical details | |
Born | Woodland Hills, California |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1984–1989 | UCLA (grad. asst.) |
1990–1994 | UCLA (asst.) |
1995–2012 | Oregon State |
2013–2022 | UCLA (asst.) |
2023–present | UCLA (AHC) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 594–490–3 (.548) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
| |
Kirk Walker is an American softball coach, currently serving as associate head coach of the UCLA Bruins softball team. He previously served as the head coach for the Oregon State Beavers softball team, where he is the winningest softball coach in program history.
Walker began his coaching career as an undergraduate assistant coach for the UCLA Bruins in 1984. He spent 11 years at UCLA where the Bruins won six Women's College World Series championships in 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992. [1]
Prior to the 1995 season, Walker was named head coach for the Oregon State Beavers softball team. In 1999, he led the Beavers to a 47–25 record, setting a program-record for the most wins, and advanced to NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Following the season he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year and Speedline Pacific Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. [2] In 2005 he led the Beavers to a 43–16 record, and their first-ever conference championship in program history and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-10 championship was the first regular-season title for any women's sports program in Oregon State history. Following the season he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. [1] On March 1, 2009, Walker earned his 500th career win in a victory against Minnesota. [3]
Walker served as the head coach at Oregon State for eighteen years, where he posted a 594–490–3 record, and eight seasons with at least 40 wins. He is the all-time winningest softball coach in program history and the fifth-winningest in Oregon State history regardless of sport. [1] [4] On August 7, 2012, Walker resigned as head coach of the Beavers to return to UCLA as an assistant coach. [5] On August 12, 2022, Walker was promoted to associate head coach for the Bruins. [6]
On November 18, 2019, Walker was named head coach and assistant general manager for the California Commotion of National Pro Fastpitch. [7] The team never played a game as the 2020 and 2021 seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8] [9] On August 1, 2021, the NPF announced that due to a lack of revenue after cancelling the previous two seasons, it would be suspending operations. [10]
Walker came out as gay in 2005, announcing he and his partner, Randy Baltimore, adopted a daughter named Eva. [11] He was the first openly gay male coach in NCAA Division I history. [12] [13]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oregon State (Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference)(1995–2012) | |||||||||
1995 | Oregon State | 13–41 | 4–24 | 7th | |||||
1996 | Oregon State | 15–35 | 3–22 | 8th | |||||
1997 | Oregon State | 29–34–1 | 6–21 | 8th | |||||
1998 | Oregon State | 27–28 | 8–20 | 8th | |||||
1999 | Oregon State | 47–25 | 14–14 | 4th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2000 | Oregon State | 40–21–1 | 7–13 | 6th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2001 | Oregon State | 44–24 | 10–10 | 5th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2002 | Oregon State | 40–25 | 7–14 | 7th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2003 | Oregon State | 36–31 | 5–16 | 8th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2004 | Oregon State | 44–28 | 4–17 | 7th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2005 | Oregon State | 43–16 | 13–8 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2006 | Oregon State | 43–16 | 10–10 | 5th | Women's College World Series | ||||
2007 | Oregon State | 41–23 | 10–11 | 5th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
2008 | Oregon State | 28–31 | 6–15 | 7th | |||||
2009 | Oregon State | 25–30 | 4–17 | 7th | |||||
2010 | Oregon State | 24–31 | 4–17 | 8th | |||||
2011 | Oregon State | 19–28 | 2–19 | 8th | |||||
2012 | Oregon State | 36–23 | 9–14 | 6th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
Oregon State: | 594–490–3 (.548) | 126–282 (.309) | |||||||
Total: | 594–490–3 (.548) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
Stacey "Nuvey" Nuveman-Deniz is an American, former professional softball player and current head coach at San Diego State. She played for the UCLA Bruins at the catcher position on-and-off from 1997 to 2002, winning a National Championship in 1999. She also won two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal for Team USA.
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I. UCLA is second to only Stanford University as the school with the most NCAA team championships at 123 NCAA team championships. UCLA offers 11 varsity sports programs for men and 14 for women.
The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 7 NCAA Division I men's sports and 9 NCAA Division I women's sports respectively. The official colors for the athletics department are Beaver Orange, black, and white.
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Taryne Lee Mowatt is an American, former collegiate All-American, right-handed hitting, retired pro softball pitcher. Mowatt is the current pitching coach for Mississippi State. She played college softball at Arizona and helped them win the 2006 and 2007 Women's College World Series. From 2008 to 2013, Mowatt played professionally in National Pro Fastpitch, selected in the 2008 NPF draft by the Washington Glory. She ranks in several pitching categories for the Wildcats and holds the Women's College World Series records for strikeouts and wins.
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Christa Lee Williams-Yates is an American, former collegiate three-time All-American, two-time Gold Medal winning Olympian, retired three-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting softball pitcher originally from Houston, Texas. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where she received a gold medal with the American team. Four years later at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she won her second gold medal. Williams-Yates began her college career with the UCLA Bruins in 1997 before transferring to play softball with the Texas Longhorns (1998–99). Joining in its inaugural year, she played three years in the National Pro Fastpitch with the Texas Thunder (2004–06) and still ranks top-10 in career wins, strikeouts, ERA among other records. In 2018, Williams-Yates was named to the USA National Softball Hall of Fame. Currently, Williams-Yates teaches high school softball in Kingwood, Texas.
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The UCLA Bruins softball team represents the University of California, Los Angeles in NCAA Division I softball. The Bruins are among the most decorated programs in NCAA softball, leading all schools in NCAA championships with 12, 13 overall Women's College World Series championships, championship game appearances with 22, WCWS appearances with 36, and NCAA Tournament wins with 187.
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