Kate Madden Position: Head Coach Experience: Fifth Season College: SW Missouri State

Entering her fifth year as head coach of the Georgia Tech softball team, Kate Madden has completed the once-daunting task of revitalizing the program.

The 2002 season saw the Jackets claim their first-ever ACC title and win a school-record 52 games. Tech was rewarded with its first trip to the NCAA Championship and made the most of it, coming within a single game of a trip to the Women’s College World Series. Madden was named ACC Coach of the Year for her efforts. Tech also earned its first-ever national ranking, as the Jackets were ranked 18th in the final USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll.

Individually, the Jackets were led by shortstop Tara Knudsen, who was named all-conference, all-region and third-team All-American, and pitcher Jessica Sallinger, the ACC Rookie of the Year and an all-region selection. Knudsen tied a conference record with 16 home runs, while Sallinger rewrote the Tech pitching record book with a 28-9 record and 337 strikeouts.

In 2001, the Yellow Jackets finished with a 24-29 overall record and went 2-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Tech’s league wins came against No. 16 Florida State on March 31 and at Maryland on April 15. Under Madden’s guidance, the Jacket pitching staff posted a 1.55 earned run average. Sophomore Tiffany Goodman (1.13) and freshman Erin Voeltz (1.72) both ranked among the league’s top 10 in ERA.

In 2000, Tech finished the year with a 25-33 record and won its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular season games under Madden, a doubleheader sweep of Florida State on April 1. The Yellow Jackets gained a victory over then-24th-ranked East Carolina in a South Atlantic Softball Alliance matchup as the two teams split a doubleheader. Tech finished the year second in the ACC in team batting with a .272 average and also was tied for second in fielding with a .964 percentage. Also, catcher Anne Knobbe led the conference in home runs with 16 and in RBI with 51.

The Yellow Jackets finished 22-38 in 1999, Madden’s first season, and improved statistically in almost every category and moved from last to third in the ACC in team batting and runs scored per game. Tech did not win a conference game during the year, but rebounded to defeat North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. Tech also registered a win against NCAA participant Kansas during the USF-Gladstones Tournament and split with NCAA participant East Carolina.

A former professional pitcher and collegiate standout, Madden came to Tech in 1998 as the Yellow Jackets’ first full-time assistant softball coach.

She served as the team’s first base coach and pitching and catching position coach during her tenure as an assistant. As the head coach, Madden continues to guide the pitching staff, coach from the third base box and guide team operations.

In the summer of 1997, Madden was a pitcher for the Durham (N.C.) Dragons in the inaugural season of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch softball league. She finished second in the race for the batting title with a .343 average as the team’s leadoff hitter and also played in the infield. A neck injury cut short her professional career after that season.

A native of Aurora, Colo., Madden graduated from Southwest Missouri State in 1996, where she had a distinguished playing career.

In her senior season, Madden was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year after setting league records for batting average (.450), hits (86), runs scored (60) and stolen bases (37).

She also set school marks for single-season total bases (100), career runs (123) and stolen bases (59) and had a 23-game hitting streak.

On the mound, Madden went 15-9 with a 2.64 earned run average. She was named the MVC Tournament MVP after leading the Lady Bears to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 13 seasons.