ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A well-traveled Tampa native returns to the bay area to take the helm of the Eckerd Triton softball program as Katie Grimes has been announced as the seventh head coach in program history.
Grimes, who brings with her nearly a decade of NCAA Division I experience, replaces the program's all-time wins leader
Josh Beauregard who was named
Eckerd's head baseball coach earlier this month.
"We are very pleased to welcome Katie to our coaching staff and Triton family," said Eckerd athletic director
Dr. Bob Fortosis. "We were fortunate to find a coach of her caliber. Her experience as both a student-athlete and a coach at a high level will be a major benefit for our softball program, both athletically and academically. From our earliest conversations, it was clear that Katie would be a great fit both for our athletics department and the Eckerd community as a whole."
"I would like to thank President Eastman and Dr. Fortosis for the opportunity to lead Eckerd softball," Grimes said. "I am excited for the challenge of competing in the Sunshine State Conference and building on the team's record-setting success in the last three seasons. My family and I are very excited to be a part of the unique community at Eckerd College."
Grimes comes to Eckerd from her most recent coaching stop at North Carolina State University where she was the team's hitting coach from 2013-15. The Wolfpack's offensive numbers dramatically increased under her tutelage as the 2015 squad broke school records for most runs scored (320), most runs batted in (293), most walks (227) and highest on-base percentage (.367) in a single season and also posted the second-most home runs in a single season (75).
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As a result of the strong offensive numbers, NC State made its first-ever appearance in an NCAA Super Regional after advancing through the NCAA Harrisonburg (Va.) Regional with a perfect 3-0 mark.
The team's power-hitting numbers exploded during Grimes's tenure. In 2013, the Wolfpack totaled 88 homeruns, the most in the ACC and sixth-most in the nation.
She began her coaching career at Boston University, spending one year as a volunteer assistant before joining Coach Shawn Rychick's staff as a full-time assistant. While there, she worked with the team's hitters, pitchers and outfielders and handled scouting, recruiting and summer camps.
Grimes was a four-year standout as a catcher at the University of Hawaii, starting 202 games over the course of her career. She was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007 and earned WAC All-Tournament honors as a senior in 2010. Her senior year saw Grimes hit .282 with 11 homeruns and 41 RBIs. She also succeeded in the classroom, receiving the UH Scholar-Athlete award and WAC All-Academic honors in each of her four seasons.
Before heading across the Pacific Ocean, Grimes prepped at H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, leading her team to three straight district championships and earning all-county and all-state honors during her career.
She earned a bachelor's of science degree in psychology in 2010 from the University of Hawaii and added a master's of education degree in counseling, sport psychology, from Boston University in 2012.
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