San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
TIME TO MOVE ON
San Diego State softball coach Kathy Van Wyk announces her retirement after 25 seasons.
Kathy Van Wyk has had hundreds of memorable moments at San Diego State.
SDSU’S Mountain West game Saturday against Fresno State, Van Wyk’s last contest as head coach, was added to the list, bookending a 6-0 win over USD in 1997 that kicked off Van Wyk’s head coaching career.
After the 4-1 loss against Fresno State closed out the 2021 season, after saluting the Aztecs’ six seniors in a postgame ceremony, after 25 years guiding the program, Van Wyk retired as SDSU softball coach.
“I’ve been ready for a while,” said Van Wyk, who was honored by SDSU President Adela de la Torre in a pregame on-field ceremony. “This job requires a lot of energy and ... you’ve really got to give it the enthusiasm it deserves.”
The Aztecs enjoyed just two winning seasons in the two decades before Van Wyk took over. She guided SDSU to 21 winning seasons, a record seven Mountain West championships and 11 NCAA Tournament berths (four regional finals appearances) over the next quarter century.
Three weeks ago in Logan, Utah, the Aztecs rallied for five runs in the final inning for a 13-10 win over Utah State, giving Van Wyk her 800th career victory. She concludes her career with an 805-558-1 record.
SDSU associate head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz, who was named head coach-in-waiting a year ago, will take over for Van Wyk, who departs as the winningest coach in Mountain West history. She earned conference Coach of the Year honors five times.
“Kathy’s impact on the softball program and athletic department overall has been nothing short of remarkable,” John David Wicker, SDSU’S director of athletics, said in a statement. “Reaching the 800win plateau is a testament to her hard work, dedication and desire for excellence. But it is the countless student-athlete lives that she positively impacted that will be her lasting legacy.”
Van Wyk agreed with that, and it goes far beyond the eight All-americans and 86 all-conference selections she coached.
“My phone has been blowing up the last two days with former players (sharing) wonderful thoughts and feelings,” Van Wyk said. “It’s great to know that I’ve had a bit of impact on some lives and that they appreciate it. That’s what life is all about.”
Van Wyk arrived at SDSU in 1995, spending two years as co-head coach with Linda Spradley before taking over the program in 1997.
The Aztecs then played on a field located in the middle of campus that also was used for intramurals. The SDSU Softball Field located adjacent to Tony Gwynn Stadium has been home to the program for the past 16 years, rising along with the program itself over the past two and half decades.
Van Wyk points to the 2001 season — when SDSU made its NCAA Tournament debut — as a turning point in the program.
The Aztecs advanced to the 2001 West Region final in the eight-team regional before losing to UCLA, which finished as national runnerup that season.
Nuveman Deniz has been with the Aztecs program for the past 13 years following an outstanding playing career of her own.
The three-time Olympian won two gold medals (2000 and 2004) and one bronze (2008) with the U.S. National Team.
In 1999, Nuveman Deniz led UCLA to a national championship with a .446 average, 31 home runs and 91 RBIS.
“Stacey’s the right person for the job now,” Van Wyk said. “I’ve had my run. I feel very comfortable leaving the program in great hands, having made it better in a lot of aspects . ... I’m ready. It’s time for me to move on.”