Athletic director Joel Nielsen announced on Monday, June 20, that interim head coach Eric Oakley has been promoted to the official head coach of the Kent State softball team.

Oakley was named interim head coach following the sudden resignation of Karen Linder.

“Eric Oakley did a terrific job leading the Kent State softball program through difficult circumstances this past year,” Nielsen said in a press release. “We are eager for Eric to continue our softball program’s legacy of success on the field, in the classroom and in the community.”

Oakley came to Kent State in July of 2014 where he was hired on as a pitching coach for the 2015 regular season. This past season Oakley helped the Flashes surpass expectations leading the team to hits second straight Mid-American Conference regular season championship. The Flashes have won 78 games over that two-year span , which is the winningest span in the history of the program.

Prior to Kent State, Oakley was the head coach at North Dakota where he led the team to 34 wins and had a total of 16 players earn all conference honors during his time there.

Stephen Means is the managing editor for KentWired contact him at [email protected]