International & NPF

NPF Scrap Yard Dawgs Announce Coaching Staff for 2017 Season

Scrap Yard Dawgs

CONROE, TX – Scrap Yard Dawgs General Manager Connie May announced on October 14, 2016, who will make up the Coaching Staff for the 2017 season. The new Head Coach for the Dawgs will be Texas A&M Softball’s Gerry Glasco, and the new Assistant Coaches will be Oregon Softball’s Jimmy Kolaitis and Bucknell Softball’s Joe Guthrie.

“I believe we have three of the best softball minds in the game,” said GM Connie May. “Their intensity and passion to win will be a huge piece of the puzzle to get back to the Championship Series and have a shot at the Cowles Cup.”

Glasco, a Marion, Illinois native, will bring a valuable level of NPF experience to the Dawgs Coaching Staff. Coach Glasco is currently an Associate Head Softball Coach at Texas A&M University where he has made a clear impact on the program. During the 2016 season, the Aggies broke five school records including runs scored (429), on-base percentage (.437, RBI (401), total bases (852), and OPS (.988). In SEC play, Texas A&M broke seven school records: batting average (.293), runs scored (134), home runs (35), RBI (128), total bases (315), slugging percentage (.505) and on-base percentage (.397).

“I am really excited about the Scrap Yard Dawgs and our opportunity to bring professional softball into the Texas market,” said Glasco. “The Dawgs management has put together a tremendous organization and we are committed to being the best softball team in the NPF and bringing a championship to Houston.”

Glasco joined the Aggies from the University of Georgia, where he spent three seasons as an assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach after the 2011 season. Glasco helped the Bulldogs to a 277-92 mark as the team has hovered near the top of NCAA and Southeastern Conference rankings in almost all offensive categories and set 20 plus team offensive records.

Coach Glasco also brings NPF Coaching experience. In the summer of 2014, he led the USSSA Florida Pride as head coach to an NPF regular season championship title and NPF Tournament championship title for the first time in Pride history.

Working with Coach Glasco and the Dawgs will be the University of Oregon’s Assistant Coach, Jimmy Kolaitis. He is in his fourth season as an assistant coach with Oregon. Kolaitis helped the Ducks to Pac-12 titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016 plus a pair of WCWS appearances. He has also made a huge impact in his first three seasons with the Ducks’ Hitters, helping UO’s hitters shatter several school records.

In 2016 the Ducks led the NCAA, hitting .353 on the year. Oregon also ranked second in the country in slugging (.618), second in home runs per game (1.64) and fourth in runs per game (7.60). In 2015, the Oregon offense broke the program’s single-season records for batting average (.359), slugging percentage (.593), runs per game (7.37), doubles (97), home runs (81), walks (250), RBIs (399) and total bases (927). Many of the records broken were set the year before. In 2014, Kolaitis’ first season in Eugene, the Ducks scored more runs (445), posted more RBIs (394), hit for a higher average (.342) and hit for a higher slugging percentage (.518) than any other team before it.

Also in Kolaitis’ first season, Oregon won a school-record 56 games, as the Ducks claimed they’re first-ever No. 1 national ranking. UO went 51-8 in 2015, including 21-1 at home. Kolaitis coached third baseman Courtney Ceo to a NCAA batting title as the senior hit .493 on the season, a new school record, after hitting .410 the year prior.

In addition, Kolaitis served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bandits of the NPF during the summer of 2013. The Bandits won the NPF regular season title in 2013 as Kolaitis mentored the leagues offensive player of the year, Megan Wiggins. The Bandits earned the NPF’s coaching staff of the year honors.

Joe Guthrie will join the Dawgs as an Assistant Coach for the 2017 Season. He has recently joined the Bucknell University Softball Staff for the 2016-2017 year as a Volunteer Assistant Coach. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State University. From the 2014 to 2016 seasons, the Penn State hitters broke over 30 schools, Big Ten and NCAA records.  Penn State’s win totals went from 14 in 2014 to 30 in 2016.  During the 2016 season, PSU finished 36th nationally in batting average as well as third best in the Big Ten conference.

“I am extremely humbled and honored to coach with Gerry Glasco and Jimmy Kolaitis,” said Guthrie. “I look forward to taking this journey toward a championship with them. I think they are two of the best minds in softball. I appreciate what Connie May and the Scrap Yard Dawgs organization was able to accomplish in year one of their existence. It’s an outstanding roster with some of the best players in the world and a great time to be a part of the NPF.”

Prior to his time at PSU, Guthrie spent six seasons as the head softball coach and assistant athletic director at Marion Military Institute, (NJCAA, Division 1), in Marion, Alabama. While at MMI, he was charged with starting the program from scratch.  In five seasons on the field, the Lady Tigers made three NJCAA Region Tournament appearances, and every player in the program received a four-year college softball scholarship offer.

Courtesy of Scrap Yard Dawgs, www.scrapyarddawgs.com

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