Kalamazoo College Names Brian De Witt Head Softball Coach
Kalamazoo College announced the hiring of Brian De Witt as head softball coach on Friday, May 29.

“We are excited about the experiences that Brian brings to campus,” said Kristen Smith, Director of Athletics. “He turned around one softball program and started another competitive program from scratch. I am confident that his experiences will help him lead the Kalamazoo College softball program to a higher level.”

“I am honored to be chosen to lead the Kalamazoo College softball program,” said De Witt. “Kalamazoo is a great academic school that turns out quality students. I am excited about the opportunity to build a quality softball program that mirrors the success of the students in the classroom.”

After coaching in the high school ranks for five years in his home state of Wisconsin, De Witt took over a struggling program at Highland Community College in Kansas in 2001-02. He took a program that won just four games during his first season to 14 wins in his second season and 25 wins by his third season (2004). In addition to the turnaround on the field, De Witt’s teams earned NJCAA Academic All-American honors each season.

Later in 2004, De Witt was offered the opportunity to become the first coach of a new softball program at Louisiana State University at Eunice. In addition to being able to assist in building the new softball complex, De Witt recruited the first team to LSU-Eunice and led them to a 21-19 record and national ranking during the inaugural 2006 season. Each of De Witt’s three Bengal teams advanced to the conference post-season tournament.

De Witt earned his bachelor’s in education degree at the University of Wisconsin–LaCrosse in 1995. He earned his master’s degree at UW-LaCrosse in 2000.

“My experiences at UW-LaCrosse, a Division III school, showed me the importance of balancing athletics with academics,” De Witt said. “Kalamazoo College feels like the right fit for me and my coaching style. It is the perfect size where students get to know their professors. It’s like having an extended family.”

In addition to his coaching experience, De Witt has taught health and physical education courses at the middle school level as well as at Highland Community College and LSU-Eunice. He has experience in parks and recreation administration and has organized numerous softball leagues and tournaments. As a fastpitch player himself, De Witt was a member of two Tri-State ISC Travel League championship teams, competed in three national fastpitch tournaments and three International Softball Congress World Tournaments.

De Witt plans to be on campus during the middle of June.

“I am looking forward to getting to Kalamazoo and getting to know the team and the community,” De Witt said. “I am eager to build the program's reputation into one of success. The players I have met are eager to learn, want to work hard, and are looking forward to getting back on the field next spring.”

Softball earns NFCA Academic Award
The 2007-08 Kalamazoo College softball team was recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as one of the Girls Got Game Top Ten All-Academic Teams based on GPAs for the 2007-08 academic year. Kalamazoo was third overall in NCAA Division III with a 3.531 cumulative team GPA, and eighth among all four-year colleges and universities. NFCA Release