ATLANTA, Ga. – Kennesaw State’s legendary head softball coach Scott Whitlock will receive another prestigious honor this month when he is inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club’s Softball Hall of Fame.
Whitlock will be inducted during a ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 30 as part of the 2010 Georgia Dugout Club’s Annual Clinic at the Hilton Hotel Downtown in Atlanta.
"It is a great honor to be inducted into this Hall of Fame," said Whitlock. "It’s extra special because of it being right here in our state."
Whitlock, a native of Bostwick, Ga., is a pioneer when it comes to the growth of fast pitch softball in the state of Georgia, as he transformed the Kennesaw State program from a slowpitch team in the late eighties to one that competed at the fastpitch level when the Owls moved into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1991.
In his more than two decades as one of the winningest softball coaches in the country, Whitlock has helped spark a rise in interest in the sport due in large part to his team’s success and his visibility not only in Georgia, but on a regional, national and international level.
Whitlock’s selection to the Hall of Fame is a testament to the high level of respect he has among his coaching peers throughout the state. Potential candidates are nominated by Georgia high school and college softball coaches. The Dugout Club’s Executive Committee then votes on the nominees to decide on who will ultimately be inducted.
This will be just the second class of softball inductees in the Georgia Dugout Club’s history. Whitlock and Michelle Jones, the longtime softball coach at Berrien High School in Nashville, Ga., will join 2009’s inaugural class of Jim Mau, the retired coach of Wheeler High School in Marietta, and Fayette County High School head Coach Jill Joyner, as those enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
"I am grateful that the Georgia Dugout Club, which was founded as and for many years was exclusively a baseball organization, reached out and welcomed softball into their fold," added Whitlock. "The state of Georgia has always had a great history of baseball and now has become a hot bed for softball. For me, to be inducted into such an influential organization’s Hall of Fame means a great deal."
Whitlock has won two national championships during his storied career as Kennesaw State head coach, guiding the Owls to back-to-back NCAA Division II National Championships in 1995 and 1996. Overall, his Owl teams have qualified for national postseason competition 13 times, including nine trips to the NCAA Division II College World Series and three appearances in the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
In the Owls 11 seasons as a member of the Peach Belt Conference (1995-2005), Whitlock’s squads won either the conference’s regular season championship, postseason tournament, or both, nine times.
His success has carried through the Owls move to Division I as he led Kennesaw State to the 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship in just their second Division I season. Heading into the 2010 season, Whitlock carries a career record of 1,027-218.