Softball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 541-346-5305
In her seventh season at the helm of the University of Oregon softball program, head coach Kathy Arendsen continues to direct the Ducks to its longest and most fruitful stretch of success - a tenure that has placed her firmly atop the UO all-time coaching ledgers.
In February 2008, Arendsen (pronounced AIR-en-son) became the first Duck softball mentor to win 200 games, and her all-time victory count and winning percentage (.606, 218-142) loom as the best in school history.
UO continued its postseason success in 2008 and advanced to the NCAA tournament regional final for the fifth time in six seasons, an impressive feat considering the young Ducks featured new starters at seven positions compared to the '07 season. On the Pac-10 charts, the Ducks handily paced the league in stolen bases (110), thanks to three of the top five best marks in the league. Cortney Kivett (33) and Sari-Jane Jenkins (32) ranked first and second in the league category, and the latter broke the Duck career mark, too (80). Over the course of the season, UO triumphed over 10 foes that advanced to the postseason, including twice over returning national champion Arizona - the first time in school history that UO the season series vs. the Wildcats. Off the field, the Ducks also featured seven Pac-10 All-Academic honorees and have now had at least two first- and second-team selections in each of her six years.
"I’m really proud of the program we are building in all phases on the field and in the classroom," Arendsen said. "We still have some things to do to get to where we want to be, but we are growing and most importantly are nationally competitive year-in and year-out."
A year before, the 2007 campaign shined as one of UO's greatest. Oregon stole national headlines after it jumped out to a program-best 24-3 start, thanks to a 18-game win streak, then remained in the national top 25 all season long. During the Pac-10 slate, UO won the season series vs. in-state rival Oregon State for the first time since 2004 to clinch the UO athletic department's annual NW Dodge Civil War Cup, and also won the season slate against recent national champion California and Stanford as well.
The Ducks paced the Pac-10, known as "The Conference of Champions", in batting average (.306), doubles (83) and stolen bases (126), and ranked second in runs (343), triples (11), RBI (309), total bases (762) and slugging (.477), and third in hits (489) and on-base percentage (.384). In the field, Oregon posted a school record .973 fielding percentage, and easily eclipsed the previous mark (.960) from 2005. UO also led the Pac-10 in steals (126) and double plays turned (35) with new school records, and staked new school bests in fielding percentage (.973) and fewest errors made (52).
Individually, Jen Salling rattled off one of the most amazing seasons in Pac-10 history. The Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-American ranked second nationally in batting (.481) and first in the Pac-10 in RBIs (73). She also was busy rewriting the Oregon history books with single-season records for batting (.481), slugging (.837), on-base pct. (.590), RBIs (73), total bases (138) and walks (46). The Canadian Olympic Team selection was also a first-team All-Pac-10 selection and one of seven All-Pac-10 honorees for UO as conference coaches also tabbed second baseman Suzie Barnes, designated player Ann Marie Topps and outfielder Sari-Jane Jenkins to the league second team. In the classroom, three Ducks were tabbed NFCA Academic All-Americans - Topps, Amie Morris and Kayleen Hudson, while Barnes and Kristi Leiter were Pac-10 All-Academic First Team picks, and Joanna Gail was a second team selection.
Arendsen's trail of Duck success leads back to her first season in 2003. The Ducks piled up a 37-19 overall mark and made a statement to the nation's top softball league with a third-place Pac-10 finish. Their 10-11 conference record earned their highest league placing since 1990 and bettered their win total from the previous three seasons combined (2000-02, 9). The memorable first season also included back-to-back home wins over a conference opponent for the first time since 1998 and a sweep of Washington for the first time since 1993.
In the NCAA Regional at Fullerton that year, Ducks dominated on offense and led the hits, runs scored, RBI, triples, home runs, total bases and stolen bases categories. As a team, Oregon posted the second-highest batting average at the tournament and boasted the best individual average by a player.
"2003 was probably one of the most special seasons for me as coach," Arendsen said. "We just came together as a team and wanted to do the best that we could. This was the team that began the process of restoring the history of Oregon softball. It was a tremendous experience for me. The players deserved a lot of the credit because they really believed they could win and wanted to be successful."
Her next two seasons in 2004 and '05, UO also advanced to the postseason to make it three straight times for only the second time in school history. In '04, Oregon defeated every Pac-10 team for the first time since 1998, while its 1-0 win over No. 1 Arizona marked the first time in school history that the Ducks defeated a top-ranked team. The squad later won the series over rival Washington for the second straight year - the first time in school history that Oregon won the series over the Huskies in back to back seasons.
In the 2004 Tallahassee Regional, Oregon again advanced to the championship game and for the second year, fell just one game short of the College World Series. Four players were named to the all-tournament team, and again Oregon showed that it had the stamina to advance deep into the regional tournament.
"Our players know what it takes to be successful," Arendsen said. "They have a taste of being so close to our goal and my job is to help get them there. They understand what we are trying to do and what it will take and nothing they do will surprise me."
Following the 2004 season, several players were honored for their play. Pitcher Ani Nyhus earned first-team all-Pac-10 accolades while catcher Jenn Poore earned second-team all-conference honors. Beth Boskovich and Ashley Richards were honorable mention selections and the four were named to the NCAA regional all-tournament team, while Poore also earned first-team Easton All-America honors.
In November of 2004, Arendsen was the only American in the record class of 19 inductees to be elected into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame.
The Ducks also advanced to the postseason and regional final appearance in 2005 and went 2-2 in the tourney hosted by No. 10 Oklahoma. UO amassed a 36-25 record that season and ended the campaign with a season sweep of UCLA for the first time in school history and helped Arendsen notch her 100th win as the Duck mentor.
Prior to her arrival at Oregon, Arendsen rebuilt Mississippi State’s softball program following a 10-season hiatus to a pair of NCAA tournament berths within a six-year span. The 50-year-old Zeeland, Mich., native arrived on the scene in Starkville in 1996 and quickly led the Bulldogs to a winning season (30-26). By 2000, Mississippi State was an NCAA Tournament team as the Bulldogs received its first regional bid. It marked the first time in Arendsen’s career that she reached the postseason and along the way she picked up her 300th win.
"Building a program at Mississippi State really prepared me heading into my first season at Oregon," Arendsen said. "It was two different situations, but the bottom line was coming in with the goal of winning and establishing success."
In 2001, Mississippi State made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament and finished the season 36-31. Arendsen, known as one of the nation’s top pitching technicians, coached Kellie Wilkerson to her fourth-consecutive All-America honor, becoming just the second player in Mississippi State history and the school’s first female to ever earn such honors. MSU’s Keri McCallum was a first-team AA Catcher and Diamond Sport Division I Catcher of the Year in 2000.
Despite the fact that Oregon softball was entering its 29th season in 2003, Arendsen had the task of bringing the Ducks back on track after missing the postseason for two consecutive years. Prior to that, the Ducks had made three straight postseason appearances (1998-2000) and had been to the tournament nine times total. Arendsen’s first priority was to return Oregon to the postseason and be competitive within the Pacific-10 Conference.
"Oregon is a program that has had success in the past," Arendsen said. "There have been some great players at Oregon, and it’s a program that has competed in a difficult conference and been successful. That has been our main goal ? get back to what has been done here in the past and grow beyond."
With 20 years of collegiate coaching experience and an overall record of 590-417, Arendsen has the knowledge to keep the Ducks among the national elite programs. Prior to her stop at Mississippi State, the 13-time ASA All-American, left her mark in the Ivy League, coaching the Yale Bulldogs to a 90-73 record. Arendsen suffered the first of just two losing seasons in her career her first year at Yale (12-26). She immediately turned the program around the following year, posting a 31-12 record, which included a perfect league record and the Ivy Championship. She remains Yale’s winningest softball coach of all time.
"When we arrived at Yale, Bulldog softball had perennially been in last place in the Ivy league. The opportunity to recruit and develop the players helped us to an Ivy Championship and provided an excellent background as we headed to Mississippi State."
Arendsen first broke into the collegiate coaching ranks as a softball graduate assistant at Temple in 1981 before spending a one-year stint as assistant softball and women’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut. She assumed her first head coaching position as head softball coach at Western Connecticut State during the 1983 season.
Following a one-year absence from coaching, Arendsen returned to coaching in 1984 as an assistant at Northwestern, assisting with three Big 10 Championship teams before resuming her head coaching career at Eastern Illinois in 1990. During her two seasons with the Panthers, Arendsen accumulated a 46-36 overall record.
Perhaps more impressive is Arendsen’s playing career, which spanned 15 years. In 1996, Arendsen was inducted into the American Softball Association Hall of Fame. She was the first-ever three-time Broderick Award recipient (1978-79-80) ? recognizing the nation’s top collegiate softball player and is a 13-time American Softball Association "All-American".
While playing at Texas Women’s University and Cal State-Chico, Arendsen helped guide her teams to AIAW Division I National Championships in 1979 and 1980, respectively. Following her sophomore year, Arendsen played 15 seasons as a pitcher for the Raybestos Brakettes (Stratford, Conn.). A dominant pitcher over her career, Arendsen posted a career record of 338-26 while accumulating 79 no-hitters, 42 perfect games, 265 shutouts and a 0.15 ERA before retiring in 1992. She also appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes, "Real People" and P.M. Magazine.
Before retiring, Arendsen struck out 4,038 batters, including baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson three times in an exhibition on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
In 1981, Arendsen became the first softball player ever to be a finalist for the James E. Sullivan award, recognizing the top amateur athlete in the country.
In addition to being the youngest player (37) ever inducted into the ASA Hall of Fame, she has been voted into halls of fame at Cal State-Chico and Texas Women’s as well as the state of Michigan’s ASA Hall of Fame and the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Hall of Fame.
She was honored as one of the 50 best-ever athletes to come out of the state of Michigan by Sports Illustrated in December 1999 and was also named as the top softball player of the past 25 years by the U.S. Sports Academy. She is also a member of the Michigan Hall of Fame that also includes Barry Sanders and Joe Dumars among others.
With both a successful coaching and playing career, Arendsen has the tools necessary to coach in the nation’s top softball conference.
"Being a Duck is better than I ever thought it could be," Arendsen says. "I feel very privileged to be at Oregon and coaching in a great softball conference."
She was honored as one of the 50 best-ever athletes to come out of the state of Michigan by Sports Illustrated in December 1999 and was also named as the top softball player of the past 25 years by the U.S. Sports Academy. She is also a member of the Michigan Hall of Fame that also includes Barry Sanders and Joe Dumars.
"Being a Duck is better than I ever thought it could be," Arendsen says. "I feel very privileged to be at Oregon and coaching in a great softball conference."
