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Sue Kunkle
University of Southern Indiana Head Coach Sue Kunkle begins her 19th year at the helm of the Screaming Eagles after leading USI to the NCAA II Tournament for the fifth straight year and sixth time in the last seven seasons.
USI finished the 2019 season with a 35-21 overall record and a 19-7 record in GLVC play. The Eagles, who finished the year ranked No. 25 in the final NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, advanced to the finals of the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament before falling to eventual Midwest Region champion Grand Valley State University.
In 2018, Kunkle led the Eagles to their first-ever NCAA II National Championship. Her squad was 27-22 overall and 15-13 in the GLVC before erupting for an unprecedented run that saw the Eagles go 14-1 in the postseason, capture their first GLVC Tournament title since 1998, their second straight NCAA II Midwest Region title, and USI's first-ever team national championship in a women's sport.
USI finished the 2018 campaign with a 41-23 record, marking the second straight 40-win season and third in program history, and was the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in the final NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Kunkle and her assistant coaches were named the NFCA Division II National and Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year for their efforts.
Additionally, Kunkle became the first coach in history to surpass the 500-win plateau at USI when the Eagles defeated Indianapolis in the first round of the 2018 GLVC Tournament.
In 2017, Kunkle led USI to its third straight NCAA II Tournament appearance and fourth in five years. She was named the GLVC Coach of the Year and her staff was named the NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the Eagles to a 46-14 overall record and a 19-7 mark in GLVC play.
Kunkle also led USI to a share of the GLVC regular-season championship in 2017 and the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament. USI also hosted the NCAA II Midwest Region #2 Tournament as well as the NCAA II Super Regional before finishing the year ranked No. 7 in the final NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll--the Eagles were ranked as high as No. 5 during the regular season.
Under Kunkle, a record three Eagles earned All-America accolades in 2017, led by GLVC Freshman of the Year and Division II Conference Commissioner's Association Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year Jennifer Leonhardt. Her squad set program records for most at-bats (1,693) and hits (540) and boasted the top team ERA (1.86) in the GLVC.
The first coach in USI history to reach the 400-win plateau, Kunkle led her squad to a 35-21 overall record and a 21-9 mark in GLVC play in 2016. Her squad finished third in both the GLVC regular-season standings and the GLVC Tournament before making its third trip to the NCAA II post-season in the last four years.
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USI had a banner year at the plate in 2016, where it broke records for home runs (53), doubles (93), runs scored (308), and RBIs (278).
That came on the heals of a 2015 season that saw the Eagles set school records for home runs (42), RBIs (231), and winning percentage (.780).
After a rough 2014 season, Kunkle's Eagles made a huge turnaround as they finished 2015 with a 39-11 overall record and a 22-6 mark in GLVC play. Her squad advanced to the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament, where they finished second to the then No. 1 ranked team in the nation in the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Six years ago, Kunkle's Eagles finished the season with a 22-23 overall record and a 12-22 mark in GLVC play. Her squad lost 14 games by two runs or less, including 11 contests by one run.
In 2013, Kunkle directed the Eagles to the NCAA II Tournament for the fourth time in the program's history. USI finished the season with a 30-22 overall record and a 17-15 mark in GLVC play.
Kunkle, USI's all-time winningest coach with a 548-382-1 (.589) overall record, became the first coach in USI history to record 300 wins when her squad defeated Wisconsin-Parkside in the final weekend of the 2012 regular-season. Her Eagles finished 2012 with a 27-21 overall record, a 16-16 GLVC, and were fourth in the nation in team GPA.
In 2011, Kunkle led the Eagles to a 21-22 overall record, 10-15 in the GLVC. Her squad was 19-26 overall, 15-12 in the GLVC, in 2010 and advanced to the GLVC Tournament after a brief one-year hiatus in 2009.
USI finished the 2009 season on a strong note after starting the year with 11 straight losses. The team showed how good it could be when they swept the eventual NCAA II Midwest Region champion University of Indianapolis to close out the campaign.
During the 2009 season, Kunkle's squad defeated NCAA II Championship Series participant Le Moyne College and NCAA II Midwest sub-regional host Ashland University.
In 2008, Kunkle led USI to a 31-23 overall record, 14-10 GLVC, and had the Eagles on the brink of an NCAA II Tournament berth.
Thirteen years ago, USI overcame injuries to post a 31-24-1 overall record, 13-10-1 GLVC, finishing fourth in the GLVC. Like most of Kunkle's squads, the 2007 version had a strong finish as it went 9-4-1 in the final 14 games, just missing a berth in the NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament.
In 2006, Kunkle guided the Eagles into the NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament for the first time since 1998. Her squad went 39-18, 17-5 GLVC, finishing third in the NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament. Kunkle was named the GLVC Coach of the Year after USI's second-place finish in the GLVC during the regular season.
Under Kunkle, the Eagles have consistently been one of the most competitive teams in the GLVC--one of the top conferences in Division II softball. USI has posted one first-place and one second-place finish in the GLVC Tournament as well as three third-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes in the league's post-season tournament.
In addition, Kunkle has seen her student-athletes garner 18 All-America honors, two Midwest Region Pitcher/Player of the Year accolades, 48 All-Region awards, three GLVC Player/Pitcher of the Year awards and 72 All-GLVC accolades. USI also has gotten the job done in the classroom under Kunkle, with her players earning four Academic All-America honors, 25 Academic All-District awards, and 172 Academic All-GLVC honors.
In 2005, Kunkle's squad overcame a rough start before winning 30 of its last 42 games to finish with a 30-20 record, including a 10-8 mark in GLVC play. In the process of their strong finish, the Eagles set a school record for consecutive victories, stringing together 18 consecutive wins on the heels of an 0-8 start.
Despite an up-and-down conference season, Kunkle's squad rebounded to win three straight elimination games in the GLVC Tournament before falling to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
imageIn 2004, Kunkle's Eagles battled some of the top teams in Division II and jumped out to an 8-0 start in conference play before finishing the campaign with a 26-24 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the GLVC.
Kunkle directed the Eagles to a 27-18 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the GLVC in 2003. That squad produced six All-GLVC and four All-Great Lakes Region performers.
During her first season, Kunkle led the Eagles to a second-place finish in the GLVC Tournament and to within an eyelash of a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Kunkle also set the USI record for wins by a first-year coach with a 31-18 overall record, 10-7 in the GLVC.
She also has coached two USA Athletes International squads. Kunkle led her first squad to a first-place finish in Holland in the summer of 2005 and her second squad to a third-place finish in Australia in 2006.
Kunkle took over the USI softball program in 2001 after a tenure at the University of Akron. She helped develop some of Akron's best hurlers, including 1998 UA Female Athlete of the Year Shelby Howell (1995-1998), and was responsible for recruiting and coordinating the team's travel arrangements as well as organizing the Zips camps and clinics, the Dugout Club, and alumni relations.
Beginning her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at California University of Pennsylvania, Kunkle gained a year of coaching experience at Morehead State University before being named assistant coach at Bethel Park.
A four-year starter at California, Kunkle became the winningest pitcher in school history with a career record of 54-12 from 1990-94. The Vulcans earned PSAC West Championships in Kunkle’s last three seasons, and were the conference’s overall champs in 1991. An All-Region pitcher as a junior, she earned All-Conference and All-Regional Tournament honors as a senior, while leading her team to a regional championship and California's first-ever appearance in the Division II College World Series.
Kunkle earned a bachelor's degree in education from California-Pennsylvania in 1994. She received her master's degree in sports science and coaching at Akron in 2001.
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