Karen Mullins
Karen Mullins is an American college softball coach, most recently the long-time head coach of the Connecticut Huskies softball team. She served in that role from 1984 to 2014. She announced her retirement on May 19, 2014.[1][2]
| Playing career | |
|---|---|
| Basketball | |
| 1975–1979 | Connecticut |
| Softball | |
| 1978–1979 | Connecticut |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1980–1981 | Nichols |
| 1984–2014 | Connecticut |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 872–636–5 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| 3× NFCA Northeast Coach of the Year (1989, 1990, 1993) 5× Big East Coach of the Year (1992–1995, 1997) | |
Playing career
Mullins played four years of basketball at Connecticut and also two years of softball. Connecticut was just beginning to establish women's sports during her time as a student in Storrs.[1]
Coaching career
After completing a master's in sport management at UConn, Mullins became head coach at Nichols College in Massachusetts. She led the team for two seasons, compiling a 10–10 record before moving to E. O. Smith High School as a basketball coach. In 1984, she returned to UConn as head softball coach.[3] Mullins would remain at UConn for thirty one seasons, leading the Huskies to 10 top 2 finishes in the NCAA Northeast rankings, eight appearances in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship, a Women's College World Series berth in 1993, six Big East Conference regular season and seven Big East Conference Softball Tournament championships, and an overall record of 862–626–5. Over 96 percent of her players graduated, nine earned All-American honors, six were named academic All-Americans, and her players earned Big East Player or Pitcher of the Year awards 11 times.[1] She retired as one of the top 50 all-time coaches in career wins.[4] Mullins was one of the longest-tenured coaches at UConn, although many coaches also had remained in Storrs for multiple decades.[5][6]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nichols (NCAA Division III) (1980–1981) | |||||||||
| 1980 | Nichols | 5–4 | |||||||
| 1981 | Nichols | 5–6 | |||||||
| Nichols: | 10–10 | ||||||||
| Connecticut (Independent) (1984–1989) | |||||||||
| 1984 | Connecticut | 22–2 | |||||||
| 1985 | Connecticut | 34–7 | |||||||
| 1986 | Connecticut | 30–17–1 | |||||||
| 1987 | Connecticut | 27–7–1 | |||||||
| 1988 | Connecticut | 34–13 | |||||||
| 1989 | Connecticut | 29–12 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| Connecticut (Big East Conference) (1990–2013) | |||||||||
| 1990 | Connecticut | 34–9 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1991 | Connecticut | 35–18–1 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1992 | Connecticut | 42–10 | 6–0 | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 1993 | Connecticut | 45–14 | 7–1 | Women's College World Series, 1–2 | |||||
| 1994 | Connecticut | 29–18 | 15–2 | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 1995 | Connecticut | 37–20 | 16–3 | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 1996 | Connecticut | 36–22 | 16–4 | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 1997 | Connecticut | 30–20 | 15–1 | ||||||
| 1998 | Connecticut | 24–21–1 | 8–7 | ||||||
| 1999 | Connecticut | 23–23 | 9–7 | ||||||
| 2000 | Connecticut | 37–17 | 12–4 | ||||||
| 2001 | Connecticut | 36–23 | 14–6 | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 2002 | Connecticut | 13–36 | 5–15 | ||||||
| 2003 | Connecticut | 24–23–1 | 12–8 | ||||||
| 2004 | Connecticut | 23–23 | 6–12 | ||||||
| 2005 | Connecticut | 20–25 | 8–10 | ||||||
| 2006 | Connecticut | 19–29 | 6–14 | ||||||
| 2007 | Connecticut | 22–21 | 10–9 | ||||||
| 2008 | Connecticut | 22–22 | 13–7 | ||||||
| 2009 | Connecticut | 29–22 | 11–12 | ||||||
| 2010 | Connecticut | 21–30 | 7–15 | ||||||
| 2011 | Connecticut | 19–30 | 6–15 | ||||||
| 2012 | Connecticut | 21–27 | 9–13 | ||||||
| 2013 | Connecticut | 26–27 | 8–14 | ||||||
| Connecticut (American Athletic Conference) (2014) | |||||||||
| 2014 | UConn | 13–38 | 3–17 | 8th | AAC Tournament | ||||
| Connecticut: | 862–626–5 | ||||||||
| Total: | 872–636–5 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- "Karen Mullins". UConn Huskies. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- "Softball Coach Karen Mullins To Retire". UConn Huskies. May 19, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- "Karen Mullins sees role as UConn softball coach as 'great opportunity'". The Day. New London, Connecticut. January 31, 1984. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- Ned Griffen (May 20, 2014). "Waterford's Mullins retires after 31 seasons as UConn softball coach". The Day. New London, Connecticut. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- Paul Doyle (March 26, 2010). "UConn Softball Coach Has Seen Basketball's Rise Under Geno". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- David Borges (June 16, 2012). "UCONN: Coaches have stuck around for a long time with the Huskies". Middletown Press. Middletown, Connecticut. Retrieved October 8, 2015.