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Shannon Wathen
Shannon Wathen is in her 19th season at Campbellsville and 18th as head coach for the Lady Tiger softball program. She enters the 2020 season in the Top 20 on the active wins list by head coaches in the NAIA.
Wathen has the third-most wins in Campbellsville University athletics history behind baseball head coach Beauford Sanders (1,211) and former Hall of Fame women's basketball coach Donna Wise (661).
Wathen, a 1999 graduate of Campbellsville, was a two-time NAIA All-American and two-time Kodak All-American for the Lady Tiger women's basketball program. She ended her playing career in the Top 10 in numerous CU stat categories, including 1,365 points, 690 rebounds, 600 assists, 275 steals and 59 blocks.
She began her coaching career as a women's basketball graduate assistant. She decided to return to Campbellsville University in 2000 as a Lady Tiger assistant basketball coach under coach Donna Wise.
In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Wathen has traveled to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica with the Campbellsville University Athletics Department for mission trips recently.
In 2003, she took over as head coach of the Lady Tiger softball program. In 2005 the Lady Tigers notched their first of three straight Mid-South Conference regular season championships. CU won the MSC regular season again in 2009, co-champs in 2013 and 2015 and won the out-right title in 2016 - the programs seventh. The latest regular season title came in 2018.
Wathen's teams have also won the Mid-South Conference tournament in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Her teams have been to the tournament finals in 13 of her 17 seasons.
The 2015 year was one for the books. Having sometimes five freshmen in the starting lineup, Wathen led her team to the sixth MSC regular season championship, the program's first-ever NAIA Opening Round championship and their first World Series appearance.
In 2018, she paced the Lady Tigers to the second most wins in a season in program history with 47 after going 47-10 on the year. Wathen coached Campbellsville to the MSC regular-season and tournament titles, while moving on to the championship game of the NAIA Opening Round -- which the Lady Tigers hosted for the second-straight season. Campbellsville also matched its highest ranking in the NAIA National Poll at No. 4 overall, which they held for most of the season.
The 2019 season saw the Lady Tigers reach the MSC Tournament championship game and NAIA Opening Round finals once again. Wathen led a pair of NCCAA All-Americans, Morgan Gailor and Payton Blades. Also, freshman Riley Hurst was named NFCA Second-Team All-Regional shortstop.
The 2021 season may have been one of the best jobs of coaching Wathen has produced at CU. After starting the season 3-5 in non-conference play, they won 20 of their next 22 games and ended the regular season winning their last 14 Mid-South Conference games to be able to grab a share of the regular season title in the MSC. The Lady Tigers then went on to win their three MSC Tournament games to capture the tournament championship before falling in the first NAIA Opening Round Championship game to Olivet Nazarene.
During Wathen's tenure, she has been named MSC Coach of the Year eight times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2021). Six of her players have been named MSC Player of the Year, four others have been named MSC Pitcher of the Year a combined five times and has coached three MSC Freshmen of the Year.
In addition, the Lady Tigers have had eight NAIA All-Americans, including two-time First-Team honoree Jacqueline Roof and two-time Second-Team recipient Victoria Decker. At the NFCA level, Wathen has coached eight Lady Tigers to earn All-American honors – Tori Humphrey (2018, Second Team; 2017, First Team), Jacqueline Roof (2017, Second Team; 2016, First Team), Victoria Decker (2016 and 2015, Second Team), Brianna Scott (2016, Second Team), and Kristin Benton (2014, Second Team).
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