HUNTSVILLE – After 37 years as collegiate and professional coach, Sam Houston State head softball coach Bob Brock has decided this will be his last.
Brock announced to the team Monday night he will be retiring at the end of this season.
“I really want to thank Sam Houston for giving me this opportunity to come back to my alma mater and coach the game I truly love,” Brock said as he prepares for his 17th season at Sam Houston. “This sport and this school have always been very special to me and it is an honor I have to opportunity to end my coaching career here.”
Brock is Sam Houston’s all-time winningest coach, directing the Kats to 407 wins since 2002. That is just a part of his illustrious coaching career that has seen him record more than 1,100 wins and three national titles while coaching at Texas A&M.
“We have been very fortunate to have a legend in the sport of softball lead our program,” said Director of Athletics Bobby Williams. “We appreciate what he has done for us. By making this decision now, this will give the appropriate time for him to get every recognition he deserves throughout the season.”
During his career, he directed the Bearkats to the university’s first Southland Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Division I Championships tournament appearance in 2007. In the NCAA College Station regional, the Kats defeated Louisiana-Lafayette before falling to Texas A&M in the regional semifinals.
This past year, Brock received the highest honor in the coaching profession when he was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
When Brock became the SHSU head coach in 2002, the program had fallen on hard times. Sam Houston had won three national championships (AIAW in 1981, NCAA Division II in 1982, and NIT in 1993) and three Southland titles (1988, 1990, and 1993). But, between 1998 and 2001, the Bearkats finished either ninth or 10th in the league.
The Bearkats have earned a Southland Conference post-season tournament berth eight of the last 11 seasons, reaching the tournament finals in 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2013.