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Ken Eriksen is an American softball coach who is the current head coach of the University of South Florida Bulls and former manager of the United States women's national softball team.[1]

Early life and education

Eriksen graduated high school from Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, New York. Eriksen attended the University of South Florida where he was a member of their baseball team from 1981 to 1984.[2] He graduated from USF in 1984 with a degree in political science. He later returned to South Florida to earn his master's degree in public administration.[1]

Playing career

While at USF, Eriksen played in five different positions, mainly as a pitcher and a catcher. He amassed a career .315 batting average and 2.48 ERA.[1]

After graduating, Eriksen began playing fastpitch softball. In 1986 he was signed by the Clearwater Bombers of the American Softball Association, where he played until 1992. Eriksen also played for the Larry Miller-Toyota team of the ASA from 1993 to 1995 and the Tampa Smokers from 1996 to 1997, after which he retired from playing to become the head coach of USF softball. He also played for the United States men's national softball team where he won silver at the 1991 Pan American Games.[1]

Eriksen was named a First Team All-World catcher in 1992.[1]

Coaching career

South Florida

While still within a six-year stint with the Clearwater Bombers, Ken Eriksen became the assistant coach of his alma mater's softball team in 1989 under legendary coach Hildred Deese, who led the Bulls to back-to-back national championships in 1983 and 1984.[3] After Deese retired, Eriksen took over as the second softball coach in USF history in 1997. Under his guide, the Bulls have won eight conference titles, made 15 NCAA tournament appearances, and a Women's College World Series appearance in 2012. Also during his time as coach, USF pitchers have thrown three perfect games and 19 no hitters (not including no hitters that were also perfect games).[4] The Bulls have completed 16 seasons with 40 or more wins under Eriksen, including six seasons with 50 or more wins and one of those seasons coming with 60 or more wins.[5] He became the 28th coach in NCAA Division I softball history to win 1,000 games on April 30, 2021, with pitcher Geogina Corrick throwing a no hitter in the win over conference foe ECU.[6]

Team USA

Eriksen was named as an assistant coach for the United States women's softball team in 2002. With him as an assistant, Team USA won gold medals at the ISF Women's Softball World Championship twice, World Cup of Softball twice, Pan American Games once, and Olympic Games once. In 2011, Eriksen became the head coach of Team USA. Since he took over, the team has won gold medals at the ISF Women's Softball World Championship twice, World Cup of Softball six times, and Pan American Games twice.[7]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
South Florida Bulls (Conference USA) (1997–2005)
1997 South Florida 51–13 12–0 1st NCAA Regional
1998 South Florida 57–14 11–1 1st NCAA Regional
1999 South Florida 44–26 6–6 3rd
2000 South Florida 41–33 11–7 3rd
2001 South Florida 43–34 12–9 T-3rd NCAA Regional
2002 South Florida 24–33–1 9–11 5th
2003 South Florida 54–19 17–6 2nd NCAA Regional
2004 South Florida 60–14 18–5 3rd NCAA Regional
2005 South Florida 42–28 15–9 4th NCAA Gainesville Regional
South Florida Bulls (Big East Conference) (2006–2013)
2006 South Florida 50–25 17–3 2nd NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional
2007 South Florida 44–22 15–5 2nd
2008 South Florida 44–20 16–4 1st NCAA Gainesville Regional
2009 South Florida 34–22 12–10 T-4th
2010 South Florida 24–29 9–13 9th
2011 South Florida 33–21 13–5 4th
2012 South Florida 50–14 17–5 3rd Women's College World Series
2013 South Florida 45–16 18–3 2nd NCAA Gainesville Regional
South Florida Bulls (American Athletic Conference) (2014–Present)
2014 South Florida 43–17 13–5 2nd NCAA Tallahassee Regional
2015 South Florida 36–20 6–10 5th
2016 South Florida 45–16 15–3 1st NCAA Tallahassee Regional
2017 South Florida 32–24 9–8 4th
2018 South Florida 39–23 14–7 1st NCAA Gainesville Regional
2019 South Florida 41–19 13–2 1st NCAA Tallahassee Regional
2021 South Florida 31–19 16–7 2nd NCAA Gainesville Regional
2022 South Florida 45–16 12–5 3rd NCAA Tallahassee Regional
South Florida: 1,006–521–1 (.659) 301–142 (.679)
Total: 1,006–521–1 (.659)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Ken Eriksen". GoUSFBulls.com. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  2. ^ "2021 Baseball Media Guide JD (PDF)" (PDF). USF Athletics. p. 103. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  3. ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "They're trying to keep the memory of the Clearwater Bombers alive. It might be a uphill battle". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "2021 Softball Media Guide (PDF)" (PDF). USF Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  5. ^ "Eriksen Reassumes USF Head Coach Role". USF Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  6. ^ "Corrick Nearly Perfect as Eriksen Reaches Milestone win 1,000". USF Athletics. April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "Ken Eriksen (Tampa, FL) – Women's National Team Head Coach". Archived from the original on December 1, 2018.
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