University of Tennessee Athletics
McDaniel to be Inducted into Armstrong State Athletic Hall of Fame
September 06, 2017 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Long-time Tennessee assistant softball coach Marty McDaniel will be among the final class inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Armstrong State University.
"It is truly an honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at Armstrong State and to be a part of starting up that program there when I did," said McDaniel.
McDaniel, who has been an assistant with Tennessee for the past 13 seasons, was the head coach of the Pirates softball program from 1998 until 2004.
"We knew Marty was going to be a great coach when he first joined our staff at Chattanooga," said co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. "When he left to start the program at Armstrong State, he quickly built them into a Division II national powerhouse and is very deserving of this tremendous honor. We were fortunate to recruit him back to our staff at Tennessee in 2004 and continue to be blessed that he, Kelly and Lindsey Jo are a part of our softball family."
While at Armstrong State, McDaniel had an overall record of 276-82 (.771). He started the fastpitch program from scratch, and within three seasons, Armstrong State had achieved the No. 1 national ranking (2000).
Under his guidance, the Pirates made four NCAA regional appearances in his seven years at the helm. They won the 2000 Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship and finished with an overall record of 51-7. McDaniel was named the 2000 South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and Peach Belt Coach of the Year.
McDaniel's team led all of Divison II in fielding percentage in 2001 and won-lost percentage in 2002, when the team finished 40-7.
"I just want thank all of players…everyone knows that the players make a coach. I also really want to thank the administration for giving me the opportunity be a part of something big," stated McDaniel.
Lauded for his teaching ability and his overall knowledge of the game, McDaniel continues to provide his outgoing personality and boundless enthusiasm to the Vol softball program under co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. His experience as both a coach and as a men's fastpitch veteran has been invaluable to the UT efforts.
During his time on the UT staff, McDaniel has been vital to the program's stunning success. His pitching pupils, such as standouts Monica Abbott, Megan Rhodes, Ashton Ward, Cat Hosfield, Ivy Renfroe, Ellen Renfroe, Erin Gabriel and Rainey Gaffin, have helped extend Tennessee's streak of 40+ win seasons to 15 following the 2017 campaign.
During his 13 years at Tennessee (2005-17), McDaniel's pitching staffs have led the nation in ERA and strikeouts (2007), set a national record for shutouts (51 in 2005) and helped the Big Orange to 710 total victories, an average of 54 wins per season.
McDaniel helped mold a young pitching staff into one of the best in the country in 2017. The Vols finished 22nd nationally with a 1.98 ERA despite relying primarily on a sophomore and a freshman. Sophomore Matty Moss posted career highs with 26 wins, 14 complete games, seven shutouts and 193 strikeouts en route earning All-SEC second team honors.
Freshman Caylan Arnold became just the fourth player in program history to be named SEC Freshman of the Year, doing so by recording 20 wins and 144 strikeouts, both the most by a Tennessee freshman since Ellen Renfroe in 2011.
Arnold also had a staggering nine wins over ranked opponents, including victories over Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida, who have combined to win the past six national titles.
The final Armstrong State University Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Armstrong Center on Armstrong State's campus in Savannah, Ga. There will be a social with the inductees beginning at 6 p.m.
Tickets will be available to the general public for $40 each and can be purchased by contacting Becky Smith at becky.smith@armstrong.edu.
With the final class included, the Armstrong State University Athletic Hall of Fame will feature 122 inductees, including 21 service citation award recipients. The inaugural class was inducted in 1995, and a class was inducted each year through 2004, and from 2011 through the two induction classes in 2017.
"It is truly an honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at Armstrong State and to be a part of starting up that program there when I did," said McDaniel.
McDaniel, who has been an assistant with Tennessee for the past 13 seasons, was the head coach of the Pirates softball program from 1998 until 2004.
"We knew Marty was going to be a great coach when he first joined our staff at Chattanooga," said co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. "When he left to start the program at Armstrong State, he quickly built them into a Division II national powerhouse and is very deserving of this tremendous honor. We were fortunate to recruit him back to our staff at Tennessee in 2004 and continue to be blessed that he, Kelly and Lindsey Jo are a part of our softball family."
While at Armstrong State, McDaniel had an overall record of 276-82 (.771). He started the fastpitch program from scratch, and within three seasons, Armstrong State had achieved the No. 1 national ranking (2000).
Under his guidance, the Pirates made four NCAA regional appearances in his seven years at the helm. They won the 2000 Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship and finished with an overall record of 51-7. McDaniel was named the 2000 South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and Peach Belt Coach of the Year.
McDaniel's team led all of Divison II in fielding percentage in 2001 and won-lost percentage in 2002, when the team finished 40-7.
"I just want thank all of players…everyone knows that the players make a coach. I also really want to thank the administration for giving me the opportunity be a part of something big," stated McDaniel.
Lauded for his teaching ability and his overall knowledge of the game, McDaniel continues to provide his outgoing personality and boundless enthusiasm to the Vol softball program under co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. His experience as both a coach and as a men's fastpitch veteran has been invaluable to the UT efforts.
During his time on the UT staff, McDaniel has been vital to the program's stunning success. His pitching pupils, such as standouts Monica Abbott, Megan Rhodes, Ashton Ward, Cat Hosfield, Ivy Renfroe, Ellen Renfroe, Erin Gabriel and Rainey Gaffin, have helped extend Tennessee's streak of 40+ win seasons to 15 following the 2017 campaign.
During his 13 years at Tennessee (2005-17), McDaniel's pitching staffs have led the nation in ERA and strikeouts (2007), set a national record for shutouts (51 in 2005) and helped the Big Orange to 710 total victories, an average of 54 wins per season.
McDaniel helped mold a young pitching staff into one of the best in the country in 2017. The Vols finished 22nd nationally with a 1.98 ERA despite relying primarily on a sophomore and a freshman. Sophomore Matty Moss posted career highs with 26 wins, 14 complete games, seven shutouts and 193 strikeouts en route earning All-SEC second team honors.
Freshman Caylan Arnold became just the fourth player in program history to be named SEC Freshman of the Year, doing so by recording 20 wins and 144 strikeouts, both the most by a Tennessee freshman since Ellen Renfroe in 2011.
Arnold also had a staggering nine wins over ranked opponents, including victories over Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida, who have combined to win the past six national titles.
The final Armstrong State University Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Armstrong Center on Armstrong State's campus in Savannah, Ga. There will be a social with the inductees beginning at 6 p.m.
Tickets will be available to the general public for $40 each and can be purchased by contacting Becky Smith at becky.smith@armstrong.edu.
With the final class included, the Armstrong State University Athletic Hall of Fame will feature 122 inductees, including 21 service citation award recipients. The inaugural class was inducted in 1995, and a class was inducted each year through 2004, and from 2011 through the two induction classes in 2017.
Players Mentioned
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