CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah University and Director of Athletics Debbie Corum have announced that head softball coach Don Don Williams has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2025 season.
"Extending Coach Williams' contract was an easy decision. The rapid success of the softball team is unprecedented for that program and I am confident that they will continue to improve under Don Don's leadership," Corum said. "This will be her first opportunity to coach a full year with no interruptions so we are excited to see what can be accomplished."
Williams' Thunderbirds finished Big Sky play in 2021 as the second-best team in the conference with a 10-8 record, the most conference wins since 2017. They entered the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed and made it all the way to the championship game, where they finished runners-up.
They won 20 games overall for the first time since 2015 while also leading the Big Sky in home runs (60) and runs scored (259). The T-Birds also set a new program record for single-season slugging percentage, slugging .484 as a team.
Brooke Brown was named Big Sky Top Newcomer of the Year and earned All-Conference First Team honors. Brown broke the single-season home run record at Southern Utah by hitting 17 home runs in 2021. She led the Big Sky in home runs and RBI (53) and was second in slugging percentage (.767).
Josey White and Tyler Denhart also earned All-Conference honors with White being named to the Second Team and Denhart being named Honorable Mention. Denhart was named Big Sky Pitcher of the Week twice throughout the season, becoming the first Thunderbird to ever win the award multiple times in one season.
"I am grateful for the opportunity that Debbie Corum has given me to lead this program into the future. This contract extension gives me the time to continue to grow this program," Williams said. "The future of the SUU softball program is moving in the right direction and my family and I could not be more excited to be in Cedar City."
In just two seasons at the helm of the Thunderbird softball program, Williams has taken a program that won just six games during the 2019 season and turned them into a contender for the Big Sky Championship. She has coached three Big Sky All-Conference athletes, a Big Sky Top Newcomer of the Year, and 30 Big Sky All-Academic athletes.
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