Louisiana Tech softball coach Mark Montgomery is making a Big Ten move.
The veteran coach, who also ran a highly successful program at Centenary College when it was a Division I program, has accepted the head coaching job at Maryland. He informed his players Sunday morning that he was making a change after seven years in Ruston.
“I’ve resigned and accepted a position to be the next head softball coach at Maryland,” Montgomery told The Times. “The toughest part of any coaching effort is saying goodbye. I’ve certainly loved my time, the administration and the players here at Louisiana Tech.”
Montgomery directed his 2019 team to a 45-16 record and a second NCAA Tournament berth. He also took Centenary to a pair of NCAA Tournaments during his time in Shreveport.
He has also been guiding the program around the devastation of the April 25 EF3 tornado that demolished the softball facility at Louisiana Tech. The past season Montgomery earned co-Conference USA Coach of the Year honors along with the same honor from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Maryland is expected to announce his hiring sometime Monday morning. Montgomery will be the first male to coach the Terrapins’ softball program and one of the first in the Big Ten. A Kentucky native, Montgomery inherits a Terps program that just completed a 20-31 overall, 4-19 Big Ten campaign under Julie Wright. Maryland athletic director Damon Evans recently announced that Wright had stepped down after her best season in four at Maryland.
Montgomery owns a mark of 226-161 since coming to Tech and a career collegiate head coaching record of 556-483 in 19 seasons, 17 of those on the Division I level. This past season, Montgomery led the Lady Techsters to 45 wins, the program’s first regular season conference title and a second C-USA Tournament title and NCAA Regional appearance in the last three years. The 45 victories were the second most in program history while Tech’s 19 C-USA wins were the most ever.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky in 1992 and his master’s degree from Georgetown College in 2000. Montgomery and his wife Melanie have three daughters, Bailey, Emma and Adrienne.
Twitter: @JimmyWatson6
Montgomery’s coaching honors
* 2019 C-USA Co-Coach of the Year
* 2019 LSWA State Co-Coach of the Year
* 2019 NFCA Mideast Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year
* 2017 LSWA State Coach of the Year
* 2014 C-USA SAAC Coaches Choice Award
Montgomery’s coaching stops
School Year Record League/Finish Postseason
Georgetown (Ky) 2001 36-15 24-6/2nd NAIA Regional
Georgetown (Ky) 2002 36-16 20-5/1st NAIA Regional
Centenary 2003 20-35 No league ---
Centenary 2004 36-28 16-8, 2nd NCAA Regional
Centenary 2005 31-28 11-9, 3rd NCAA Regional
Centenary 2006 31-25 13-9, 2nd ---
Centenary 2007 22-27 6-6, 4th ---
Centenary 2008 34-26 17-7, 2nd ---
Centenary 2009 32-23 13-9, 3rd ---
Centenary 2010# 10-34 4-19, 9th ---
Northern Colorado 2011 17-35 13-7/2nd-Mtn ---
Northern Colorado 2012 25-28 10-10/2nd-Mtn ---
LA Tech 2013 27-26 11-10/4th ---
LA Tech 2014 19-33 7-16/12th ---
LA Tech 2015 31-19 12-9/3rd-West ---
LA Tech 2016 32-22 12-9/3rd-West ---
LA Tech 2017 38-24 16-8/1st-West NCAA Regional
LA Tech 2018 34-23 15-9/2nd West ---
LA Tech 2019 45-16 19-5/1st NCAA Regional
Totals 19 Years 556-483 239-161