Head Coach Laura Watten
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6 2008 MARYLAND SOFTBALL HEAD COACH LAURA WATTEN THIRD SEASON AT MARYLAnd • TH OVERALL TEXAS-ARLINGTON '92 Laura Watten has brought Considered one of the rising young coaches in the college Off the field, Watten’s teams have posted a team GPA of 3.0 a dynamic new energy to the game, Watten was fresh off leading Bethune-Cookman College or better every single year and boast a 100 percent graduation Maryland softball program in of Daytona Beach, Fla., to the 2005 NCAA Division I Super rate. Watten’s players have been cited as NFCA Academic her two years on the job. The Regionals when she was tapped to lead the Terps’ program. In All-Americans 27 times, and three of her Terps earned ACC third year Terrapin mentor guiding the Wildcats to a 49-win season – including a regional title All-Academic honors in each of her years at Maryland. has transformed the culture over host Florida, South Florida and Central Florida – Watten was Watten is a 1992 graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington surrounding the Terrapin named the 2005 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) where she played catcher and first base and helped her team to program and brought an exciting Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Her Cats ended the 2005 a conference title in 1989 and top 25 rankings in two seasons. brand of softball to Robert E. season with a final No. 18 ranking by the NFCA/USA Today. She was a three-time all-conference selection for the Mavericks Taylor Stadium. The Terps have During Watten’s eight years as head coach at B-CC, the and went on to an assistant coaching position at the school. improved their win total in each Wildcats made five NCAA Regional appearances and captured She was named head coach at Bethune-Cookman prior to the of Watten's two seasons and rewritten the school record books five conference titles. The four-time MEAC coach of the Year 1998 season. in the process. posted an eight-year mark of 322-207 and averaged more than A member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, None of it should be surprising, though. Watten’s way is the 40 wins per season. Watten has served on the NCAA South Region ranking committee “can-do” way, and it’s precisely the approach the second-year B-CC’s signature campaign under Watten came in 2005, and the NFCA’s Top 25 voting panel. She also has been an active Terrapin mentor has taken in her quest to drive Maryland’s softball the 49-win effort highlighted by a title at the NCAA’s Gainesville member of the Diversity Committee within the NFCA. program to national prominence. Hired just prior to the start of Regional, as well as victories over Florida (twice), Northwestern, Watten is currently enrolled in graduate school at Texas the 2005-06 academic year, Watten has worked extensively Central Florida, South Florida, Virginia Tech, Florida Atlantic and Women’s University, where she is working on a master’s degree to elevate all aspects of the program – recruiting, scheduling, UMass, all of which advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament. In in kinesiology. A native of Dallas, Texas, Watten currently student-athlete development -- in an effort to put the Terps in a total, the Wildcats were 21-17 against teams that finished in the resides in Annapolis, Md.. Her parents, Nancy and Paul, are position to succeed on a national scale. top 100 of the NCAA’s RPI (Rating Percentage Index) that year. their daughter’s biggest fans and are prominent fans at Terp If Watten’s past success and the results in her first two years Statistically in 2005, the Wildcats ranked fourth in the nation in games. at Maryland are indicators, the Terps are well on their way to stolen bases per game, 10th in batting average and team ERA, making their mark. In 2007, the Maryland program reaped the 12th in double plays turned and 25th in scoring. full benefits of Watten's recruiting efforts. Nine newcomers joined the team, including five transfers, and Maryland's lineup was instantly transformed into an offensive juggernaut. The Terps SNAPSHOT ON WATTEN shattered previous team records for home runs with 59 and Year School Position Notes/Honors stolen bases with 98 (previously 39 and 46), and set numerous 1986-1991 Univ. Texas/Arl. Student-Athlete individual records as well. Amber Jackson, a Bethune-Cookman 1995-1996 Univ. Texas/Arl. Assistant Coach transfer who followed Watten to Maryland, had the greatest 1998-2005 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 2005 NFCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year, 2005 MEAC Coach of the Year, 2005 offensive season in school history, setting new single-season Super Regional Appearance, 2005 South Region Tournament Champion, 2003 MEAC Coach of the Year, 2002 MEAC Coach of the Year, 2001 MEAC Coach of the Year, Five records for batting average (.408), runs (61), home runs (24), Regional Tournament Appearances, NFCA All-American player, Seven NFCA All-Region RBIs (56) and walks (55). Jackson led the NCAA in home runs players and was a first-team All-America selection by Easton. Fellow 2005-present Maryland Head Coach Easton All-American player, NFCA All-American player, transfer Jennifer Wellborn also reached the Terrapin top-10 in Two NFCA All-Region players doubles and home runs, and holdover Lindsay Klein had 47 RBIs, second only to Jackson's 56 in school history. Under Watten's COACHING RECORD tutelage at B-CC and Maryland, Jackson became only the 12th Year School Position Overall Pct. Conf. Pct. Notes/Honors player in NCAA history to reach 300 hits, 200 runs, and 100 1998 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 30-27 .527 13-3 .813 MEAC Runner Up 1999 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 29-35 .453 14-2 .875 stolen bases for her career. 2000 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 38-28 .576 14-2 .875 MEAC Champions “In her first two full seasons as the head coach of Maryland 2001 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 45-23 .662 15-1 .938 MEAC Champions/MEAC Coach of the Year softball, Coach Watten has effectively begun to infuse the 2002 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 40-24 .625 14-2 .875 MEAC Champions/MEAC Coach of the Year program with the culture, expectations, and student-athletes 2003 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 47-23 .671 18-0 1.000 MEAC Champions/MEAC Coach of the Year she believes will be necessary to take the Terrapins to the next 2004 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 44-28 .611 14-2 .875 MEAC Champions 2005 Bethune-Cookman Head Coach 49-19 .720 16-0 .1000 South Region Champs/MEAC Coach of the Year/ level of competitive success,” said senior associate athletic Southeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year director Chris Boyer. “We fully expect that Laura will have the 2006 Maryland Head Coach 32-27 .542 7-13 .350 Terps battling for ACC Championships and a return to the NCAA 2007 Maryland Head Coach 33-26 .559 8-12 .400 Softball Championships in the very near future, while maintaining the commendable level of academic success her teams have Career 10 Seasons 387-260 .598 133-37 .782 consistently achieved and providing a first class collegiate experience for her student-athletes.” 7 2008 MARYLAND SOFTBALL COACHING STAFF played second base and shortstop and helped lead the Rattlers Philadelphia Force. She finished with five home runs and a .309 ALISSA to a MEAC title her senior season. Smith earned her team’s average last season, while helping the Force to a 24-20 finish. defensive player of the year award that year. She previously played for the Chicago Bandits (2006), New York SMITH Smith worked as a pharmacy technician in Orlando for two Juggernaut (2005) and Akron Racers (2004). During her rookie ASSISTANT years before joining Bethune-Cookman’s coaching staff as an season of 2004, Peel led the NPF in homers (5) and stolen COACH assistant to Watten. She received her degree from Phoenix bases (27) while appearing in 61 games and being selected to THIRD SEASON AT College in 2005. the all-star team. In 2005, she made her second consecutive MARYLAND An Oak Hill, Fla., native, she now lives in Annapolis, Md.. appearance on the all-star team while leading the Juggernaut NINTH SEASON in runs (23), triples (4), walks (22) and stolen bases (16). She OVERALL batted .233 and drove in 11 runs for Chicago in 2006. TRENA She is a graduate of LSU, where she starred for the Tigers The Maryland softball program couldn't function without Alissa from 1999-2002. As a senior in 2002, she earned second team Smith. Laura Watten's longtime assistant is an essential part of PEEL All-American honors from the NFCA, was a semifinalist for the everything Watten does at Maryland, and she will again be key ASSISTANT COACH USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, and was the to the team's success this season. SEC Athlete of the Year. The three-time All-SEC choice was a "Her biggest strength is in her recruiting and her ability to relate SECOND SEASON AT MARYLAND two-time selection to the All-South Regional team. For her career, to the kids on all different levels," Watten said. "She dedicates she batted .323 and set a school record with 27 triples. As a junior, every bit of her time to these kids. She’s valuable because she’s Trena Peel, a former Peel led the nation in triples per game and broke the LSU and in tune with them in ways that others aren’t.