Courtesy of UC Davis Athletics
DAVIS, Calif. – UC Davis softball‘s coaching staff is now complete after head coach Erin Thorpe selected Tom Royder as her final member as announced on Tuesday.
Royder, who will focus his instruction on the Aggies‘ pitchers and catchers, joins fellow assistant coach Brittany Gaston as Thorpe‘s assistants.
Royder has spent more than a decade coaching Division I pitchers and catchers from across the nation, beginning with his two-year tenure at Oregon.
Under his tutelage, which started in 1999, the Ducks advanced to a third place finish at the 2000 NCAA Regionals at LSU, losing both games to WCWS qualifier Southern Mississippi. While in Eugene, Ducks pitchers also received a slew of all-conference and team honors.
Success followed Royder when he joined the softball staff at Northwestern State; in 2001, the Lady Demons captured a Southland Conference crown and advanced to the NCAA Regionals hosted nearby at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In its draw, Northwestern State battled top-seed, and national No.2 seeded LSU to a 2-1, 10-inning thriller in the tourney opener.
As was the case at Oregon, Northwestern State pitchers were recognized for their success as Royder helped two collect All-Southland Conference first team honors. While on staff, one of Royder‘s pitchers tied a team record for the most victories earned in a single season, the other was selected as the MVP of the Southland Conference‘s tournament.
After a successful year at Northwestern State, Missouri invited Royder to join its softball staff.
From 2002-06, the Tigers became one of the dominant teams in the Big XII by capturing two second place conference tournament finishes and advancing to the NCAA regionals three times – serving as a tournament host on one occasion.
Throughout that timespan, Missouri pitchers set new records, recorded NCAA playoff no- and one-hitters, collect first team all-conference and all-tournament team accolades.
As is the case with his colleague, Thorpe, Royder coached in the Mountain West Conference when he arrived to New Mexico in 2006.
Before joining the Aggies, Royder spent the last eight years coaching pitchers and catchers both with the Lobos, and on a private basis.
Students who trained under Royder‘s guidance reaped numerous Division I softball scholarships throughout Colorado, Texas, New Mexico and California. In 2012, 12 players received offers from a list of schools that included Stanford and Texas A&M, and in 2014 his students are playing at Oklahoma, Iowa, Texas A&M, Maine and across the Southwest.
Whether they are competing at two- or four-year universities, players who obtained instruction from Royder became successful student-athletes. All-American recognition, appearances at the Women‘s College World Series, Big XII, Pac-12 and SEC all-conference honors and league championships are among the experiences and honors acquired by Royder‘s alums in recent years.
No stranger to the sport, Royder himself has competed for various fast-pitch teams in California, Texas and Washington throughout the last three decades. In addition to competing in 15 Amateur Softball Association National Championships, He also earned All-American first team selections in 1996 and ‘97 as a member of two title-winning teams.
