High school softball: Greatest coaches from each state

Larry Niemeyer of Jefferson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) finished his career with over 2,000 career wins, making him the easy choice for MaxPreps' list of the Greatest High School Softball Coaches of All-Time from Each State, but what about the other states?

MaxPreps has compiled a list of every state's greatest softball coach. The choices are not necessarily based on all-time wins or most state championships, but could be. Also, no coaches were chosen from South Dakota or Wyoming, since those states do not sanction high school softball.
Greatest high school softball coach from each state

Alabama
Jim Brown, Hoover
Brown was the only softball coach in the state with over 1,000 career wins, finishing with a record of 1,186 and 319 in 24 seasons. His teams won five state championships and were runners-up three times.

Alaska
Dave Massey, Juneau-Douglas (Juneau)
Coached softball at some level for over 40 years in Juneau, winning multiple state championships with the Crimson Bears.

Arkansas
Debbie Clark, Bryant, Wynne
Won four state championships during her tenure at Bryant and Wynne, including three straight with the Hornets from 2010-12.

Arizona
Jerry Mullin, Seton Catholic (Chandler)
His teams were undefeated in state championship games, winning four in a row from 1996-1999, four in a row again from 2002-2005 and back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.



California
Jim Liggett, Carlmont (Belmont)
Liggett coached 41 years at Carlmont, winning 1,009 games and collecting eight Central Coast Section championships (California does not hold state championships in softball).

Colorado
Bob Bledsoe, Erie
Bledsoe has nearly double the state championships of any other coach in the state, collecting 11 state titles while at Erie. His teams posted a record of 405-87 in his 20 seasons as coach.

Connecticut
John Bores, Southington
Bores took over for longtime coach Joe Piazza and kept the Southington powerhouse program running strong. He won a pair of championships while appearing in five title games. His teams went 256-27 in 12 seasons.

Delaware
Steve Baker, Caravel (Bear)
Baker's teams were 203-65 in his 14 seasons. They advanced to the state tournament 12 times, winning a state record four championships.

Florida
Robert Iamurri, Naples
He holds numerous state coaching records, including career wins with 817, state championships with 12 and state tournament wins with 73.

Georgia
Tony Wolfe, Buford
He recently announced his retirement after 14 seasons as head coach. He won 10 state championships, all of them consecutively, while finishing with a record of 429-78-2.



Hawaii
Howard Okita, Kailua
Before a long coaching career in the college ranks, Okita spent nine seasons at Kailua, winning six state titles and posting a record of 181-24.

Idaho
Wes Worrell, Bishop Kelly (Boise)
No coach has won more state titles in Idaho than Worrell, who has eight total. He won three in a row at the 3A level from 1997-99 and three more in a row at the 4A level from 2005-07.

Illinois
Randy Wolken, St. Joseph-Ogden (St. Joseph)
No coach in Illinois had more wins than Wolken, who collected 1,043 victories during a 39-year career. He won a state championship in 2006.

Indiana
Russ Milligan, Center Grove (Greenwood)
The Indiana High School Softball Hall of Fame coach won five state championships during his tenure at Center Grove. He had a career record of 741-95 in 27 years. Tragically, Milligan died due to complications of COVID-19 in February.

Iowa
Larry Niemeyer, Jefferson (Cedar Rapids)
The nation's all-time winningest coach in a single sport, Niemeyer had a record of 2,089-429 with state titles in 1983, 1997 and 1998 while at Jefferson. He also won a fall state championship while at Adel in 1970.

Kansas
Jeff Hulse, Olathe East (Olathe)
Named the national coach of the year in 2013, Hulse won state championships in 1998, 2001, 2004-2007, 2012 and 2013. He retired in 2015 with a career record of 346-32.



Kentucky
George Randolph, Owensboro Catholic (Owensboro)
He retired in 2017 with the most all-time wins in Kentucky at 678. He also holds the record for most state championships with five in his 22 years at Owensboro Catholic.

Louisiana
Gerald Albert, Vandebilt Catholic (Houma), Bourgeois (Gray)
Albert's teams at Vandebilt Catholic and Bourgeois went 490-78, including 185-11 at Vandebilt Catholic. He guided Vandebilt to a 112-game win streak, a national record, and five state championships. He's also won a state title Bourgeois.

Maine
Tom Griffin, Scarborough
In 30 years as the head softball coach, Griffin has won 12 SMAA conference championships and eight state championships, with the most recent coming in 2019.

Maryland
Robert Earl Radford, Northern (Owings)
Although he only coached 12 seasons at Northern, Radford posted a record of 227-43-1 while winning eight state championships.

Massachusetts
Gary Mullins, Turners Falls (Montague)
Mullins went over 700 career wins during the 2019 season and he has over 1,000 career wins in multiple sports. His softball teams have won 20 Western Massachusetts championships and a state record nine state championships.

Michigan
Diane Laffey, Regina (Warren)
Laffey is the all-time wins leader in Michigan with 1,212 prior to the 2021 season. Her teams won four straight titles from 2004-07 as well as 1989, 2015 and 2019.



Minnesota
Bob Mertz, New Ulm Cathedral (New Ulm)
The award for lifetime achievement in Minnesota girls softball is named after Mertz, who had a state record of 802 wins with 141 losses. His teams won seven state titles, 26 conference titles and 16 section crowns in his 39 seasons.

Mississippi
Trae Embry, Neshoba Central (Philadelphia)
Embry had a fastpitch record of 427-72 and a slowpitch coaching record of 413-104. He has won a combined 20 state championships, including seven fastpitch titles and eight slowpitch crowns at Neshoba Central.

Missouri
Jill Angel, Centralia
Angel has won a state record four state championships and had a record of 355-123-1. Her teams won three straight state titles from 2011-13.

Montana
Kirk Thomas, Billings Senior
In 11 seasons at Billings, Thomas had a record of 217-53 with seven state championships, including three in a row from 1986-88.
Nebraska
Todd Petersen, Papillion-LaVista (Papillion)
Petersen's club has won a state record 72 games in a row and counting. He has led the program to five state championships. His team went 36-0 in 2020 and never trailed at any point during the season.

Nevada
Mike Sparrow, Pahranagat Valley (Alamo)
Picked up his 500th career win earlier this season while leading his team to the Southern 1A championship game. Sparrow's teams have won a state record 10 state championships.

New Hampshire
Harold Sachs, Salem
Sachs won 15 state championships at Salem and posted a record of 611-88 in 32 seasons as head coach.



New Jersey
Jeff Horohonich, Immaculate Conception (Lodi)
In 16 seasons, Horohonich posted a record of 379-85 with 13 state sectional championships and seven Parochial A championships.

New Mexico
John Tigert, Carlsbad
In his first two stints as the Carlsbad coach, Tigert won 11 state championships and posted a record of 496-84.

New York
Jim McGowan, Bay Shore
In 30 seasons at Bay Shore, McGowan went 609-88 with six state championships and 23 league titles. His team also won 55 in a row from 1994 to 1996.

North Carolina
Monte Sherrill, Alexander Central (Taylorsville)
In 26 seasons, 22 at Alexander Central, Sherrill won 10 Class 4A state championships, 26 conference championships and posted a record of 753-60. His teams also had a 95-game win streak.

North Dakota
Pat Johnson, West Fargo
Johnson has won 21 state championships in North Dakota (nine of them sanctioned by the state association), including 20 in a row from 1998-2017.

Ohio
Bud Weisgarber, Strasburg-Franklin (Strasburg)
With a record of 787-171, Weisgarber has won 150 more games than the No. 2 coach on the list in Ohio. He also has eight state championships in his 35-year career.

Oklahoma
Gary Cook, Davenport
Over a seven-plus year period, Cook won 10 state fastpitch and slowpitch championships at Davenport. He won eight in a row, including the final one in the fall of 2003, just seven weeks before he passed away from cancer. He won over 600 games in his career.

Oregon
Jerry Stidham, Putnam (Milwaukie)
In 25 seasons at Putnam, Stidham had a record of 512-103 with back-to-back state titles in 1988 and 1989 and another in 1995.



Pennsylvania
David Homa, Minersville
Won 308 games in 16 seasons at Minersville and won four state championships. He was also an assistant coach for four others.

Rhode Island
Paul Rizzo, North Providence
He's coached multiple sports while at North Providence and coached the softball team from 1991 to 2004, winning three state championships and finishing second four times.

South Carolina
Gary Adams, Crescent (Iva)
Coached 43 seasons at Crescent, winning 1,043 games and losing 169. His teams won 33 region championships and 19 state championships, including 11 in a row from 1987 to 1997.

Tennessee
Don Freudenthal, Ezell-Harding Christian (Antioch)
In 30 seasons, Freudenthal won 809 games, a state record, and captured 13 state championships. In the 15 years between 1987 and 2001, Freudenthal's teams advanced to the state title game every year and won 12 times.

Texas
Guyla Smith, West
With a record of 713-216-5, Smith has nearly 100 more wins than the No. 2 coach in the state. She also won a state championship in 2016.

Utah
Calvin Bingham, Bear River (Garland)
Bingham picked up his 10th state championship this year and upped his career wins total to 453, which ranks second in state history. He won five straight state championships from 2008-12.



Vermont
Darrell Sawyer, Brattleboro
Sawyer built the Brattleboro softball program from the ground up, winning five state championships and finishing second seven times.

Virginia
Marie Crump, Powhatan
With close to 750 career wins, Crump has nearly 200 more wins the second place coach on the state softball wins list. She also have five state championships to her credit.

Washington
Pat Pace, Montesano
Although Pace coaches at a 1A school, it's hard to deny his success. He has a record of 527-150 with 10 state championships, including the latest one in 2019.

West Virginia
Rick Magruder, Wheeling Central Catholic
Magruder won six state championships in 18 years, including a 33-0 season in 2016 when he was named the MaxPreps Small School National Coach of the Year.

Wisconsin
Tom Drohner, Stevens Point
Drohner has a record of 528-83 in 23 seasons at Stevens Point. His teams have won eight state championships, including four in a row from 2001-04.