Hutchins Among Inductees in Lansing Area Sports Hall
7/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| | Hutchins |
A graduate of Lansing Everett High School (1975) and Michigan State University (1979), Hutchins was an all-city basketball performer from 1973-75. She continued her basketball career at Michigan State, playing for former Spartan coach Karen Langeland. Hutchins also played softball four seasons for MSU, helping the 1976 team to the AIAW (Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) national championship. Hutchins honed her softball skills as a member of the Lansing Laurels, an Amateur Softball Association fastpitch team that won numerous Midwest tournaments and placed as high as fifth in the ASA National Tournament.
Hutchins began coaching softball as a graduate assistant at Indiana University (1981). She was head coach at Ferris State University in 1982 and led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Hutchins joined the Michigan coaching staff as an assistant softball coach in 1983, moving to the head coach position for the 1985 season. In 16 seasons directing the Wolverine program, Hutchins has led U-M to six regular-season Big Ten Conference titles, five conference tournament championships, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and four Women's College World Series trips. Michigan has twice finished fifth at the WCWS (1997, '98). U-M has finished among the top three teams in the Big Ten standings 13 times under Hutchins. Fourteen Hutchins-coached players have earned 21 All-America citations, with another eight players earning 12 GTE Academic All-America awards.
The winningest coach in Michigan athletic history, with a 661-281-3 record, Hutchins has been named the regional coach of the year seven times by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and was the 1995 NFCA National Coach of the Year. Her Big Ten peers have selected Hutchins as the conference coach of the year six times.
Contact: Amy Carlton (734) 763-4423
