Wayne State's Gary Bryce becomes All-Time Division II Softball Wins Leader
Wayne State's Gary Bryce becomes All-Time Division II Softball Wins Leader
Wayne State University's softball coach Gary Bryce becomes All-Time Division II Softball Wins Leader.
By Marc Raimondi
You could say Gary Bryce puts the "W" in WSU.
Wayne State's longtime coach set the all-time Division II softball wins record Friday in the Warriors' victory over Lincoln (Pa.) in Cary, N.C. Bryce, in his 36th year at Wayne State, now has 1,219 wins, four more than former Bloomsburg coach Jan Hutchinson, who set the record in 33 seasons.
"It's always good to set records," Bryce told NCAA.com. "It's not something I necessarily go after. I think longevity has given me the opportunity to do that. I have had great assistant coaches over my career that certainly helped that.
"When you get close, you always get anxious. It's great to get it under our belt and have the victory. I'm very proud of what we've done over the years."
Among all three divisions of NCAA softball, Bryce sits in ninth place. Carol Hutchins of Michigan, who is still coaching, is tops with 1,493 victories in 33 seasons. She set the mark in April 2016. Next in Bryce's crosshairs is former Iowa coach Gary Blevins, who is eighth on the list encompassing all divisions 1,245 wins.
Michigan is obviously a state for elite collegiate softball. Bryce first arrived on Wayne State's Detroit campus in 1982. Hutchins has been in Ann Arbor since 1983.
Pat Kent was Bryce's star player on his first team and has been with him as an assistant coach ever since.
"I think to have success in any program you have to have continuity in the coaching staff," Bryce said. "She does a lot of the leg work and we do all of the recruiting together. She's a workhorse. The good thing is that she teaches middle school, a phys ed teacher, and she comes up with wonderful ideas and makes practice fun. She has been a very instrumental part of our success."
Wayne State has won 40 or more games seven times under Bryce. The Warriors have made three appearances in the D-II Women's College World Series and earned 21 berths in the NCAA tournament. Bryce has also guided Wayne State to 13 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament titles. WSU won the GLIAC regular-season and tournament titles last year.
You could say Gary Bryce puts the "W" in WSU.
Wayne State's longtime coach set the all-time Division II softball wins record Friday in the Warriors' victory over Lincoln (Pa.) in Cary, N.C. Bryce, in his 36th year at Wayne State, now has 1,219 wins, four more than former Bloomsburg coach Jan Hutchinson, who set the record in 33 seasons.
"It's always good to set records," Bryce told NCAA.com. "It's not something I necessarily go after. I think longevity has given me the opportunity to do that. I have had great assistant coaches over my career that certainly helped that.
"When you get close, you always get anxious. It's great to get it under our belt and have the victory. I'm very proud of what we've done over the years."
Among all three divisions of NCAA softball, Bryce sits in ninth place. Carol Hutchins of Michigan, who is still coaching, is tops with 1,493 victories in 33 seasons. She set the mark in April 2016. Next in Bryce's crosshairs is former Iowa coach Gary Blevins, who is eighth on the list encompassing all divisions 1,245 wins.
Michigan is obviously a state for elite collegiate softball. Bryce first arrived on Wayne State's Detroit campus in 1982. Hutchins has been in Ann Arbor since 1983.
Pat Kent was Bryce's star player on his first team and has been with him as an assistant coach ever since.
"I think to have success in any program you have to have continuity in the coaching staff," Bryce said. "She does a lot of the leg work and we do all of the recruiting together. She's a workhorse. The good thing is that she teaches middle school, a phys ed teacher, and she comes up with wonderful ideas and makes practice fun. She has been a very instrumental part of our success."
Wayne State has won 40 or more games seven times under Bryce. The Warriors have made three appearances in the D-II Women's College World Series and earned 21 berths in the NCAA tournament. Bryce has also guided Wayne State to 13 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament titles. WSU won the GLIAC regular-season and tournament titles last year.