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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 The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball (formerly known as the Amateur S ...
.


Early life and education

Eriksen graduated high school from
Ward Melville High School Ward Melville High School is a public high school in the Three Village Central School District of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, serving grades ten through twelve. It is fed by the two junior high schools in the district: Paul J. ...
in
East Setauket, New York East Setauket is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, on Long Island, New York, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census, at which time it had a population of 10,998. Be ...
. Eriksen attended the
University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
where he was a member of their
baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team, called ...
from 1981 to 1984. 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.


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. 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 The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Havana 1991 (), were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organi ...
. Eriksen was named a First Team All-World catcher in 1992.


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. 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 The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...
appearance in
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
. 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). 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. 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.


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 The USA Softball International Cup previously known as the World Cup of Softball, was an annual women's softball tournament. The first eight World Cups were held at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The competition is gover ...
twice,
Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
once, and
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
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.


Head coaching record


College


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eriksen, Ken Living people American softball coaches South Florida Bulls baseball players South Florida Bulls softball coaches Year of birth missing (living people) United States women's national softball team coaches