Oklahoma State University Athletics
Tom Gray Hired as Assistant Softball Coach
August 04, 2008 | Cowgirl Softball
“Tom brings a lot of experience with him to our program,” Wieligman said. “He's from the west coast and has a lot of contacts in regards to recruiting out there. He also is very passionate about the sport of softball, which will be a huge asset for our team.”
Gray recently completed his seventh season as a co-head coach for the UIC Flames with Sarah O'Malley-Fisher. The duo compiled a 216-208 overall record and won four Horizon League regular-season championships. The Flames had three 40-win seasons during their tenure, won the Horizon League Tournament title in 2004 and made NCAA Regional appearances in both 2002 and 2004.
Gray has coached four All-Americans and eight All-Region honorees, as well as four conference Players of the Year, two league Pitchers of the Year, and 15 All-Horizon League first-team members during his nine years at UIC.
Gray joined the staff at UIC under then-head coach Mike McGovern in 2000. He helped lead the Flames to a 52-25 record that season as UIC won both the Mid-Continent Conference regular season and tournament titles. A year later, the Flames once again won the MCC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regional for the fourth-consecutive season.
“I'm ecstatic to be joining the coaching staff at OSU,” said Gray. “When I visited the campus, I was completely impressed with the staff and facilities. I'm extremely happy that I'll have the opportunity to get to work in that situation.”
Prior to his move to Chicago, Gray was head coach at Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, Calif., where he led his team to nine league championships, winning every season from 1990-98. During that span, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation Coach of the Year three times, earning the honor in 1992, 1993 and 1996.
While at Crossroads, Gray was also an assistant coach for the Orange County Batbusters, an ASA 18-under gold team. With the Batbusters, he helped the team garner mention as one of the top programs in the nation, winning the Gold National Championship in 1997 and finishing second in 1998.
