OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Marissa Young knew she had an opportunity to make history when she took over as Duke’s softball coach.
She has delivered. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the university believe she is the first Black head coach to lead a team to the Women’s College World Series.
The Blue Devils (52-9) were eliminated Friday in a 2-1 loss to Alabama, but she has been overwhelmingly successful overall. Duke is 265-106 in her seven years at the helm.
Young said she saw few Black role models in the sport while growing up. She’s glad to fill that role for this generation and hopes her success helps bring more Black coaches and players into the sport. According to the NCAA’s demographics database, in 2023, there were just 19 Black head coaches among the nation’s 297 Division I schools, and just 6% of the players were Black.
“I hope that it continues to open up doors for others, both in the professional setting, but also, players that want to play at this level,” she said the day before Duke’s World Series opener against Oklahoma.
Things didn’t come easy at Duke in the early going with a program starting from scratch for the 2018 season. The Blue Devils went 29-27 her first year and dropped to 25-31 her second year.
Duke went 23-4 in 2020, but the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Blue Devils reached the NCAA Tournament in 2021, then lost in the super regionals in 2022 and 2023 before breaking through this season for their first trip to the World Series.
Young said she’s had a lot of help.
“It’s taken players like these sitting next to me that believed in me and the vision that we had and had the commitment to the program and our core values to get us to this point,” she said.
Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso isn’t surprised Young has been successful. She tried to recruit Young as a player, but she decided to go to Michigan, where she was Big Ten Player of the Year in 2003.
“I’ve watched her coaching career,” Gasso said. “I knew she was going to be really special because she just was a real competitor. When she got the Duke job, she really did a great job of recruiting and building it.”
Alabama coach Patrick Murphy’s opening statement after the win Friday night was about Young and the Duke program.
“Marissa and her team are terrific,” he said. “Great athletes all over the field. I’m confident they’ll be back.”
UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who is Asian American, said Young’s success should be brought to the forefront. She said it’s an example of a slow but steady change.
“The sport has grown,” she said. “Before you wouldn’t see many women of color coaching, playing. We’re in a different place. I’m so proud of that. We actually (should) take time to be able to kind of stop and celebrate and learn.”
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
