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Mark Redburn
Mark Redburn enters his seventh year at Southeast Missouri which is again ready to defend its Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament crowns.
In the last two plus seasons, the Redhawks put together an overall record of 91-43 and 32-12 mark in OVC play. In over five years with Redburn at the helm, SEMO has produced one National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American, six NFCA All-Region selections, 11 All-OVC picks, one OVC Player of the Year, one OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player and two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
SEMO was off to a great start and had all the makings for a big 2020 campaign, but a global COVID-19 pandemic shut its season down only 17 games in.
The Redhawks won nine in a row and posted a 9-1 record in their first 10 games of the season. SEMO finished with an overall record of 12-5 and did not get a chance to play any OVC games when play was cancelled.
Although the 2020 season lasted just 23 days (Feb. 14-Mar. 8), the Redhawks accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.
SEMO led the OVC in slugging percentage (.528), on-base percentage (.411), triples (14), stolen bases (41), hits allowed (84) and earned runs allowed (40). The Redhawks also rated second in the league in batting average (.310), home runs (19), opposing batting average (.204), runs allowed (51), stolen bases per game (2.4) and triples per game (0.8).
Nationally, SEMO was among the top 25 in triples per game (2nd), stolen bases per game (8th, 2.4), scoring (16th, 6.7), slugging percentage (21st) and on-base percentage (24th).
Individually, Rachel Anderson led the OVC in batting average (.480), slugging percentage (.880), on-base percentage (.541) and triples (5) following a season that culminated with her winning the league’s coveted Player of the Year honor. Anderson, who didn’t strike out all year, capped her 2020 campaign as only the sixth player in program history to claim First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades.
Pitcher Rachel Rook was atop the OVC in earned run average (0.70) and opposing batting average (.119), while Ashley Ellis ended the year as the league’s leader in home runs (8). Redburn guided SEMO to its first OVC regular-season and tournament championship, and NCAA Regional appearance in 20 years the year before that in 2019.
What a year 2019 was for SEMO which set an all-time program record with 46 wins, the only 40-win season in the school’s entire NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks went 46-18 overall and 17-5 in the OVC before going 1-2 at the NCAA Regional in Oxford, Mississippi.
SEMO had so much to celebrate over the course of its magical 2019 campaign.
Redburn and his staff were honored as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year. For Redburn himself, he was voted OVC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.
Four players earned All-OVC honors, three claimed NFCA All-Region accolades and one garnered NFCA All-America distinction. Outfielder Rachel Anderson became SEMO’s first All-American in 28 years and the program’s first All-American in the NCAA Division I tenure. TEAM 43 was also recognized by the NFCA for achieving the fourth highest grade point average among all NCAA Division I schools. SEMO recorded a team GPA of 3.678 with 17 players securing NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors.
Redburn certainly has the Redhawks trending in the right direction as his teams averaged nearly 40 wins (39.5) in the last two seasons alone. SEMO put together a 79-38 (.678) record and went 32-12 (.727) in conference play over that span.
Statistically, SEMO’s 2019 team broke a total of 17 single-season records in slugging percentage (.510), on-base percentage (.382), game played (64), runs (363), hits (501), home runs (74), RBI (318), total bases (850), walks (180), stolen bases (89), stolen base attempts (117), wins (46), saves (11), batters struck out (331), batters struck out looking (90), innings pitched (414) and putouts (1242).
In 18 years as an NCAA Division I head coach, Division I assistant coach and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) head coach, Redburn has made 13 postseason appearances which include one NCAA Women’s College World Series, two NCAA Super-Regionals, four NCAA Regionals and two NJCAA National Tournaments.
In 2018, the Redhawks finished at 33-20 overall and fourth in the OVC with a 15-7 mark. SEMO locked down its first winning campaign in seven years.
The Redhawks heated up to win 11 of their final 14 regular-season games and advanced to the eight-team OVC Tournament.
SEMO’s 2018 club finished with a 74 RPI among the nation’s 296 NCAA Division I softball teams, quite a jump from its 173 ranking in 2017. The Redhawks collected eight doubleheader sweeps along the way.
Defensively, SEMO improved tremendously. After ranking eighth in the OVC in fielding percentage a year ago, the Redhawks were the league’s second-best fielding team in 2018. SEMO had 43 errors and committed 16 less than it did in 2017. The Redhawks went error free in 25 games equating to 47 percent of their entire season.
The year before that, SEMO finished the 2017 campaign among the school’s top single-season leaders in slugging percentage (6th, .427), on-base percentage (5th, .356), triples (t4th, 21), home runs (9th, 31), total bases (9th, 567), stolen bases (2nd, 65), stolen base attempts (1st, 88), opponent batting average (7th, .282), strikeouts/7 innings (7th, 4.17), strikeouts (10th, 194), strikeouts looking (3rd, 61) fewest doubles allowed (8th, 49), fielding percentage (8th, .960), fewest errors (t7th, 59) and fewest stolen bases against (3rd, 38).
Redburn picked up his 200th career victory when SEMO beat Austin Peay, 7-4, on Apr. 30, 2016. His 2016 club ranked among the school’s top-10 teams in doubles (6th, 69), stolen bases (3rd, 58), walks (8th, 138), home runs (6th, 35) and slugging percentage (6th, .412).
In his first season, Redburn led the Redhawks to an overall record of 19-27 and 12-12 in OVC play during 2015. His 19 victories came after SEMO won no more than 15 games in each of the previous two seasons. Redburn’s first club at Southeast also had 12 OVC wins, a +9 increase from the 2014 campaign. In addition, the Redhawks made the OVC Tournament, snapping a streak of three years where they missed the event.
Not only did Redburn earn his 100th career NCAA Division I win in his inaugural season with the Redhawks, but he coached three All-OVC selections and one NFCA All-Region honoree.
Statistically, SEMO finished among the top-five OVC teams in batting average (3rd), slugging percentage (5th), on-base percentage (5th) and hits (5th). The 2015 Redhawks also broke two single-season records with Kayla Fortner establishing new marks in home runs and single-game mark and set a single-game school record with six home runs, as well.
Academically, the Redhawks accumulated a 3.35 grade point average during the 2014-15 academic year as a total of nine players earned NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete status for achieving a 3.5 or higher GPA.
Redburn coached a total of four first-team All-OVC selections, three second-team All-OVC picks, one OVC Freshman of the Year, three NFCA All-Region honorees and three OVC All-Newcomer selections in his first four years as SEMO’s head coach.
The fourth head coach in Redhawk softball history, Redburn won 90 games in five years as head coach at the University of Evansville before accepting the job at Southeast on June 26, 2014.
In 2014, Redburn coached a UE team with five starters that were underclassmen, including four freshmen and one sophomore. The Purple Aces achieved their highest batting average since 2007. Additionally, UE had a freshman lead the team in stolen bases and home runs.
Despite a season that allowed 53 games, the 2013 team had its best season in Redburn’s five years at UE. Entering the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 7 seed, the Purple Aces beat the No. 6, No. 3 and No. 2 seeds to make their first MVC Championship appearance since 2003. UE finished second with three players garnering All-Tournament team honors.
The 2013 campaign resulted in the most overall wins in a season since 2008 and the best regular-season and conference tournament finish since Redburn’s arrival. UE continued its aggressive baserunning with 89 stolen bases, ranking second in the MVC. The pitching staff also rated fourth in the conference.
Redburn’s 2012 club saw improvement as well, winning more games than it had the previous season. The Purple Aces stole 79 bases and had two all-conference and one National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selection that year.
In 2011, Redburn exposed a young and inexperienced team to some of the top programs in the nation as UE played one of its most difficult schedules. Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Ohio State, Texas Tech, South Alabama and Chattanooga were among the stiff competition.
Redburn quickly started to transform the UE program during his first year in 2010. The Purple Aces secured a berth in the MVC Tournament after winning 10 conference games. UE led the MVC with 31 doubles and hit 36 home runs, while producing two all-conference picks.
Academically, Redburn’s teams consistently enjoyed success. In fact, each of his last four UE teams accumulated a 3.1 or higher grade point average. He had several student-athletes obtain over a 3.5 GPA and earn academic recognition along the way.
Prior to UE, Redburn spent three years as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri working primarily with the pitchers and catchers, and serving as recruiting coordinator.
He was part of a coaching staff that compiled an overall record of 137-53. The Tigers registered a school record for victories (50), won the Big 12 Conference Tournament, won their Regional and defeated host UCLA in the Super Regional to advance to the College World Series in 2009. Overall, Redburn coached four all-conference pitchers, including USA National Team Pitcher Chelsea Thomas at Missouri.
Redburn began his collegiate coaching career as head coach at St. Charles (Mo.) Community College from 2001-04. He led the 2003 team to its first Region 16 championship and a seventh-place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I National Tournament. His 2004 squad set a school record with 33 victories.
Following his stay at St. Charles CC, Redburn spent two seasons as head coach of the new softball program at Jefferson College. In the program’s first year of competition, 2006, he led Jefferson to a 49-16 record, Region 16 championship and ninth-place finish at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. Redburn was honored as the Midwest Community College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year following that season.
A native of St. Charles, Missouri, Redburn graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1993 and received his master’s degree in Athletics/Activities Administration from William Woods University.
He and his wife, Tracy, have two sons, Joe and Jack.
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