Sacramento State

The longest tenured softball head coach in Sacramento Statehistory, Kathy Strahan announced her retirement on June 21, 2013,after 21 successful seasons at the helm of Hornet softball.

Strahan, who began her coaching tenure with the Hornets in 1993,concluded a 30-year collegiate head coaching career which saw heroversee programs at Sacramento State (1993-2013), San Jose State(1986-92) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (1984-85). She surpassedthe 800-win milestone during the 2012 season and finished hercareer with an overall record of 823-780-3, and a Sacramento Staterecord of 576-535-2. That Hornet record includes a conference markof 247-221-1.

Strahan’s career with the Hornets spanned four conferences asshe guided the team from the Western Athletic Conference (1993-96)to the Big West Conference (1997-02), the Pacific Coast SoftballConference (2003-12) and finally the Big Sky Conference (2013).

Under Strahan’s watch, Sacramento State made three NCAARegional appearances (1993, 1995, 2008) and the team finished belowthe .500 mark in conference play just once during her final 11years. Her Hornet squads posted at least 25 wins on 15 occasions,including nine 30-win seasons and one 40-win squad. A total ofseven Sacramento State players have played in the professionalranks during Strahan’s tenure, including five in the last 10years.

The Lansing, Mich., native was named Coach of the Year in threedifferent conferences (Big West, WAC, PCSC), has been inducted intothree different Hall of Fames in her home state of Michigan, led aHornet softball program that traditionally posted some of thehighest grade point averages at Sacramento State, and served onnumerous NCAA softball committees during her career. In fact, thesoftball program’s graduation success rate was at 93 percentat the time of her retirement.

On the final day of the 2012 regular season, she became the 52ndsoftball head coach in NCAA history (for all divisions) to achievethe 800-win milestone. Her 823 victories were good for 20th on theNCAA’s list of active head coaches when she retired.
   
Sacramento State never finished below the .500 mark in conferenceplay during its 10-year tenure in the PCSC. The Hornets combinedfor a 119-76 record in PCSC play, and the squad finished lower thansecond place in the league standings just twice in the team’sfinal eight years in the conference. Over a stretch of six straightyears (2001-06), the Hornets improved their overall record eachseason, culminating in a 35-20 mark in 2006.

During her final season (2013), Sacramento State posted a 22-22overall record and qualified for the inaugural four-team Big SkyTournament where the Hornets suffered a pair of heartbreakingone-run losses. Six different Hornets received some form ofall-conference accolade, including pitcher Caitlin Brooks receivingfirst team all-league honors after going 14-7 with a 1.81 ERA. Sixdifferent players hit better than .280 and the team strung togethera seven-game winning streak from March 2-9.

In 2012, Sacramento State finished the season with a 27-19 overallrecord and a 10-9 mark in the PCSC. The team’s .587 overallwinning percentage ranks as the fifth best mark since SacramentoState joined the Div. I ranks in 1990. In addition, the Hornetsposted the best fielding percentage in school history (.979), amark which also ranked second in the nation. Five different playersfinished the season hitting better than .320, and the team’snine-game winning streak (March 4-18) matched the program’ssecond longest streak during the Div. I era. Senior catcher MarissaNavarro was named second team all-Pacific Region, becoming the 10thSacramento State softball player to receive Div. I all-regionhonors.

During the two-year stretch between 2010 and 2011, Strahan headed ayouth movement that saw the Hornets start at least sixunderclassmen (freshmen and sophomore) every game of both seasons.Despite the rebuilding project, Sacramento State combined to post a25-15 record in conference play and racked up 16 all-conferenceawards, six of which were first team selections. That includedsweeping a four-game series on Loyola Marymount’s home fieldfor the first time in school history in 2010, and winning nine ofthe last 12 games of the season in 2011.

In 2009, the Hornets finished with a 28-23 overall record, a 14-6mark in the PCSC and eight players were named to the all-conferenceteam. A school-record five of those players were named to the firstteam. The Hornets won each of their last eight games of the seasonand narrowly missed out on their second consecutive conferencechampionship, finishing one game behind Portland State (15-5). Inaddition, the team tied the program record with 34 home runs. The2009 squad averaged 1.51 doubles per game, which ranked as the 15thbest mark in the nation.
   
In 2008, Sacramento State finished the regular season with a 32-21overall record, a 14-6 PCSC mark, and the program’s firstconference championship since joining the Div. I ranks in 1990. TheHornets were finally able to get over the hump after finishingsecond in the PCSC standings three consecutive years (2005-07). Inaddition, Sacramento State was a bubble team three straight years(2004-06) for a bid to the NCAA Regionals, but did not get aninvitation.
   
The 2008 season marked a historic year in which the team averaged5.5 runs per game and still owns eight offensive team records,including batting average (.311), on-base percentage (.371),slugging percentage (.443), hits (461), runs (293), home runs (34),RBIs (261) and total bases (656). Moreover, the batting average wasthe 16th best mark in the nation, the runs per game ranked 18th andslugging percentage 34th. The Hornets won each of their final eightconference games of 2008 to catapult themselves from fourth placein the league standings to first over a two-week span. For herefforts, Strahan was named the PCSC Coach of the Year for the firsttime.
   
Strahan also captured Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Yearhonors in her first season at Sacramento State in 1993. Her effortsled the Hornets to a berth in the NCAA Championships in 1993, thefirst postseason bid for any program in Sacramento State’sDiv. I history to an NCAA Championship event. Two years later,Strahan guided the 1995 squad to a 40-15 record and a No. 8 rankingin the final polls. During that same year, the Hornets hosted aregional for the first time in the Div. I era and finished first inthe nation with a 0.76 team ERA.
   
Before coming to Sacramento State, Strahan turned strugglingprograms into nationally ranked teams at Cal State Dominguez Hills(1984-85) and San Jose State (1986-92). In the process, her teamsregularly captured individual and team academic honors.
   
An honors graduate twice herself, Strahan has consistentlyrecruited and produced outstanding student-athletes. Each of theteam’s last nine years in the PCSC, at least five SacramentoState players were named to the PCSC Commissioner’s HonorRoll, including 13 in 2012 which matched a program record. Tenplayers on the 2013 roster finished the spring semester withoverall grade point averages of 3.0 or better.
   
The softball team has traditionally posted some of the highestcumulative grade point averages in the 21-sport Sacramento Stateathletics program since Strahan’s arrival. Fifteen times inthe last 16 years, at least one of her players has earned NFCAAll-America Scholar-Athlete honors, including two in 2012 (AlyssaNakken and Lauren Blair). In fact, Nakken received the honor fourstraight years while Blair received the award three consecutiveseasons.
   
In addition to academic honors, Strahan’s athletes havethrived on the field. At Sacramento State, Strahan coached SusieBugliarello to three All-America selections from 1995-97, TamiBlunt to an All-America selection in 1993, and Lindy Winkler to anAll-America selection in 2006. Bugliarello pitched for Italy inboth the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.
   
A total of seven Sacramento State players have played in theprofessional ranks during Strahan’s tenure. That includesJamie Schloredt and Izmena Cabrera, who both played for theNational Pro Fastpitch League’s (NPF) Chicago Bandits in thesummer of 2009. Cabrera was also selected to play for PuertoRico’s national team in 2009.   
   
Winkler went on to win a NPF championship with the New EnglandRiptide in the summer of 2006. Former Hornet Katie Cichy wasdrafted in 1999 by the Durham Dragons of the Women’sProfessional Softball League in the third round (15th overallpick). In 2003, Nicole Deatherage was drafted by the SacramentoSunbirds of the National Pro Fastpitch League, and Gina Givogri wona gold medal at the 1994 Pan American Games while playing for theUnited States.
   
The 1989 Big West co-Coach of the Year, Strahan posted a 201-187-1record in seven years (1986-92) at San Jose State. During thatspan, Strahan’s teams had just two losing seasons. Under herdirection, the Spartans arrived on the national scene in 1990,finishing 34-28 and earning the program’s first-ever NCAApostseason berth. San Jose State also made its first-everappearance in the national top 20, earning the 11th spot andremaining in the top 20 all season long.
   
In 1992, the Spartans finished 33-24 and advanced to the NCAA WestRegional. San Jose State climbed as high as ninth that year,finishing 13th in the final NCAA poll, duplicating the team’s1991 national finish after a 32-24-1 season. Her San Jose Stateteams won 30 or more games each of her last four seasons and won 20or more each season of her seven-year tenure.
   
Strahan began her head coaching career at Cal State Dominguez Hillsin 1984. After a 10-34 season, she led the Toros to a 36-24 recordand a national ranking as high as sixth during the 1985 season.
   
Prior to her stint at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Strahan spent fouryears as an assistant coach at Santa Monica Community College(1983), Housatonic Community College (1982) and Michigan State(1980-81).
   
Strahan was a shortstop for the Raybestos Brakettes of Stratford,Conn., the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) national champions in1977, ‘78 and ‘80. She was also a member of the UnitedStates gold-medal winning team at the 1979 Pan American games,while also playing with the 1978 U.S. World Championships team.
   
A standout softball and basketball player at Michigan State, shewas a member of the 1976 Michigan State AIAW national championshipteam. Strahan was inducted into the Michigan Amateur SoftballAssociation’s Hall of Fame in 1995. Six years later, in 2001,Strahan was inducted into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall ofFame. She was then inducted into the Greater Lansing Area SportsHall of Fame again on July 25, 2013, as a member of the 1974-75Lansing Laurels Fastpitch softball squad.
   
Strahan served on the NCAA Regional Softball Committee for fiveseasons and the USA Today Softball Poll ranking committee. She wasalso a member of the Pacific Region softball committee and the NCAAcertification committee.
   
Strahan earned her bachelor’s (1979) and master’s(1982) degrees from Michigan State in physical education,graduating with honors both times. In addition, she authored a224-page book, Coaching Girls Softball, detailing how to coachsoftball to girls ages 7-13.