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 Sof ...

Early life and education

Eriksen graduated high school from

Ward Melville High School Ward Melville High School is a Public school (government funded), public high school in the Three Village Central School District of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, serving grades tenth grade, ten through twelfth grade, twelve. It is f ...

East Setauket, New York East Setauket is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on Long Island, in the town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. Before that it was part of the Setauket-East S ...

. Eriksen attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

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 generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

. 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 United States men's national softball team is the national team for the United States. The 1988 World Championships were held in Saskatoon, Canada. The team played 13 games in the round robin round. The United States beat Australia 21–1 in ...

where he won silver at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organization, PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was ...

. 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. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

appearance in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. 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, is an annual softball tournament. The first eight World Cups were held at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The competition is governed by USA ...

twice,

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

once, and

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

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