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FOR RELEASE on: "I am very excited to be part of the Missouri Southern athletic department," Gray said. "I look forward to the growth of the program and hope to give Missouri Southern and the Joplin community another program to continue to be proud of. A couple of things that attracted me to this position were the closeness to my family and hometown and it allowed my children to see their grandparents and aunts and uncles more often. I know the history and tradition of the program and know that it is a winner and I believe that we can continue that tradition." Gray, a 1993 graduate of Pittsburg State, has spent the past six years as an assistant and later associate head coach at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia where he was the chief hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator. While an assistant, Gray helped move the team from Division II to Division I status in 2006. The 2004 team went 64-6, including a Regional title and a trip to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament. That team broke single-season records for home runs (48), hits (637), runs scored (393) and runs batted in (377). He saw individuals break records for doubles (22) and home runs (20). The 2005 Owls went 57-13, won their second straight regional title and were the National Runner Up in their final season of Division II play. That season, the KSU coaching staff was named the South Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year. In the three years that KSU has been a Division I program, the Owls have went 38-17 (2006), 44-20 (2007) and 36-17 this past season. In 2007, KSU won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title and had four players named All-Conference including the Pitcher and Player of the Year. Prior to KSU, Gray spent six years as the head coach at Division II Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. During that span, he led the Patriots to a 195-131 record and defeated three ranked opponents over a two-year span with his 2002 team going 35-20. Gray's teams were outstanding in the classroom, as well, earning a 3.328 GPA in 2000, ranking 10th nationally, and a 3.188 GPA in 1999. He had 14 student-athletes named to the Peach Belt honor roll in 1999 and 11 in 2000. Gray's first head coaching position came at Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas where he started the softball program in 1994 and amassed a 62-45 record over two seasons. In two years, Gray coached two All-Americans, and six All-Conference players and finished fifth in the Region VI tournament in 1996 with a record of 38-15. Gray started his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater Pittsburg State from 1990-1994 while he finished his undergraduate degree. He helped turn a team that went 23-27 in his first season to 36-8 in season two, including a trip to the Division II regionals. Gray has a 195-131 overall NCAA coaching mark and a 62-45 mark as a junior college head coach. "We are very excited to have Bill Gray joining our staff," Beard said. "He brings a wealth of high caliber experience to the position. The committee believes his experience as a Division II head coach and as an assistant at Kennesaw State, a nationally recognized powerhouse, and back-to-back Division II champion, has prepared him well to be the head coach at Missouri Southern." Gray currently serves as a board member with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and has served on numerous different committees within the organization. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Pittsburg State in 1993 and a Master's Degree in kinesiology from Texas Woman's in 2007. "My time at KSU has been one I’ve
thoroughly enjoyed and I have coached some tremendous athletes and had the
privilege to work with some amazing coaches," Gray said. "I’m thankful
that I get to use these experiences as a head coach again. I want to be
able to make the Southern softball program what I know it can be. Gray is married to the former Jennifer Cummings of Kansas and has three sons; William Preston (19), Owen Michael (7) and Nathan Allen (3). |