Kirk Walker

Kirk Walker has been a coach at the NCAA Division I level for more than 20 years. Since his tenure as head softball coach at Oregon State University began in 1995, Walker has accumulated more wins than any other coach in program history. He led the Beavers to eight NCAA tournaments between 1995 and 2006, including the program's first-ever Women's College World Series appearance in 2006. Walker was named the 1999 and 2005 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, the same years his OSU softball staff was named...See more

Kirk Walker has been a coach at the NCAA Division I level for more than 20 years. Since his tenure as head softball coach at Oregon State University began in 1995, Walker has accumulated more wins than any other coach in program history. He led the Beavers to eight NCAA tournaments between 1995 and 2006, including the program's first-ever Women's College World Series appearance in 2006. Walker was named the 1999 and 2005 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, the same years his OSU softball staff was named the Speedline/NFCA Pacific Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Walker was a member of the USA Softball National Team coaches pool through the 2004 Olympics. He has served on the executive board of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association since 2003. Walker came to Oregon State after spending 11 seasons at national powerhouse UCLA as an assistant coach, where he helped lead the Bruins to six NCAA titles and 10 appearances in the College World Series. In the off-season, he also has served as the head coach of the California Commotion, which won the women's major fastpitch national title four consecutive years from 1996 to 1999. He currently resides in Wilsonville, Oregon. ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORSLouie Berndt was promoted to associate head coach of the Florida State softball program in 2004. First hired as an assistant in 1989, Berndt served one year before becoming head coach at Marshall University. Six years later she returned to Florida State. She has helped lead the Seminoles to seven straight NCAA regional tournaments, including six regional finals and two Women's College World Series appearances from 1999 to 2006. At Marshall, Berndt guided the then-reinstated program to its first-ever Southern Conference Tournament title and first NCAA tournament. She was named the 1996 Southern Conference Coach of the Year. Berndt was a two-time All-American at Western Michigan University. Carol Bruggeman has been associate head coach at Louisville since 2005. She was an integral member of the 2006 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, helping guide the Cardinals to a program-best 45-11 record, the regular-season conference title, their first national ranking, and their first appearance in an NCAA regional final. Bruggeman spent 12 years at Purdue, starting the program in 1994 and compiling a 380-304-2 career record. Bruggeman served as an assistant coach at Michigan from 1989 to 1993, during which time the Wolverines won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament both seasons. Bruggeman began her coaching career as graduate assistant at her alma mater Iowa, where she earned All-Big Ten, All-Mideast Region, and Academic All-America honors as an infielder. She was elected president of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association in 2006. Yvette Girouard has headed up the Louisiana State University softball program since 2000. She ranks fifth all-time on the NCAA Division I lists for wins and winning percentage, and in 2005 she became the sixth coach in NCAA history to record her 1,000th career victory. Girouard made a clean sweep of the three major Southeastern Conference titles (SEC Western Division, SEC overall, and SEC tournament) in three of her first five seasons as a Tiger, becoming the first coach in league history to lead a team to back-to-back tournament championships. During her two decades as head coach at University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana), she was named the National Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1993. Girouard was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Louisiana Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002. Michelle Gromacki assumed the role of head coach of her alma mater... See less