Brad Horky, Head Softball Coach
Pittsburg State University
The
winningest head coach in the 34-year history of the Pittsburg State University
softball program, Brad Horky returned to the Gorillas’ helm for
the 2006 season after a 10-year absence from the campus.
Horky, 49, fashioned a 183-83 record (.688) at
PSU between 1991-95, leading the school to an MIAA regular season title
in 1994 and the program’s only three trips to the NCAA Division
II National Tournament from 1993-95.
His squads averaged 37 wins per season and his
final four teams averaged 40 victories. Horky also easily established
a school record with his .688 winning percentage during his initial tenure.
Horky accepted the position of interim head coach
at Pitt State on July 11, 2005.
He led the Gorillas to a 22-22 overall record
during the 2006 campaign. Pitt State suffered eight one-run losses last
year and had 10 early season games cancelled from the schedule due to
inclement weather.
Following the 2006 season, Horky had the interim
tag removed from his job title, following a national search for the position.
Last year, he guided a young Pitt State squad to a 17-29 overall record
as he continued the process of rebuilding the program.
A 15-year veteran head coach, Horky has compiled
a 487-296-1 (.626) all-time record highlighted by an NAIA Division I National
Championship while at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Coaching Chronology
Horky, a Beatrice, Neb., native, made his
head coaching debut at Nebraska-Kearney in 1985.
He compiled an impressive 100-60-1 (.624) record
in three seasons directing the Lady Lopers. In just his third season as
a collegiate head coach, Horky led UNK – then Kearney State College
– to a 42-15 overall record and the 1987 NAIA Division I National
Championship, garnering NAIA National Coach of the Year honors that season.
He posted a 32-24-1 record in his debut season
in 1985, leading UNK to a CSIC title and a berth into the NAIA National
Tournament.
Horky then served as assistant head coach at the
University of Kansas between 1988-90, helping the Lady Jayhawks to a Big
Eight Conference regular season title in 1990.
In 1991, he became the fifth head coach in Pitt
State history.
His initial squad enjoyed marginal success, posting
a 22-27 (.460) record. Horky’s team won its first six games of the
season, highlighted by a 4-1 victory over the University of Notre Dame
on March 10 in a tournament at Houston, Texas.
In 1992, Horky led the Gorillas to a 36-20 record,
helping PSU register just its second-ever 30-win season – its first
since the 1986 campaign. The Gorillas posted an 8-2 record in MIAA South
Division games during the regular season, suffering only a pair of one-run
losses to Missouri Southern, which posted a 50-7 record and claimed the
NCAA-II national title that year.
PSU advanced to the finals of the MIAA Postseason
Tournament for the first time in school history, before the Gorillas fell
to MSSU in the title game.
In 1993, Pitt State fashioned a 36-8 mark and
earned the school’s first trip to the NCAA-II National Tournament.
The Gorillas posted a 9-1 record in MIAA South Division play and Pitt
State again reached the finals of the MIAA Postseason Tournament, falling
to MSSU in the title game at Shawnee, Kan.
With a 36-6 record, the Gorillas were invited
to the four-team NCAA-II Central Regional at Joplin, Mo. A pair of one-run
losses – to Wayne State, Mich. (1-0) and MSSU (3-2) halted PSU’s
season.
Horky followed up the 1993 season by leading Pitt
State to a school record 48 wins in 1994, posting a 48-15 record and leading
the Gorillas to a second straight trip to the NCAA-II Central Regional.
Pitt State captured the MIAA regular season title
with a 10-1 record in regular season play. The Gorillas reached the MIAA
Tournament finals for a third straight year, but again came up short –
this time to CMSU (9-6) – in the title game.
The Gorillas posted a 1-2 record in the NCAA-II
Central Regional. PSU sandwiched a 7-6 win over Wayne State, Mich., around
a pair of losses to MSSU.
In 1995, Horky led Pitt State to a 41-13 record
and the school’s third straight appearance in the NCAA-II Central
Regional. He became the winningest coach in PSU history with a 5-1 win
over UMSL on April 9, passing Mary Nutter with his 174th victory.
The Gorillas made a fourth straight appearance
in the MIAA Tournament title game that year, falling to CMSU, 4-0. Pitt
State dropped a pair of games in the NCAA-II postseason, ending the season
with losses to MSSU and Central Missouri.
Following his stint at Pitt State, Horky stepped
away from the coaching profession for two years, before assuming the head
coaching postion at Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kan.,
in 1998.
Horky spent four seasons (1998-2001) at BCCC,
posting a 143-70 (.671) record. His final three teams averaged 40 wins,
and in 2001 he led the Lady Grizzlies to the Jayhawk Conference title.
In 2002, Horky took over a struggling Brown Mackie
College program in Salina, Kan. He led BMC to a 22-32 record that year.
In 2006, Horky enjoyed a successful return to
the sport, leading the Gorillas to a 22-22 overall record. His young but
promising 2007 squad posted a 17-29 overall record last spring.
Prior to becoming head coach at Nebraska-Kearney,
Horky coached four girls fastpitch teams to Nebraska State Softball Association
state championships in the 1980s (1980-81, ’83-84). His 1984 squad
placed seventh at 18 & Under Nationals at Lodi, Calif.
Educational Background
Horky earned a bachelor’s of science
in education from the University of Nebraska in 1982.
Horky-Era Honors
During his six-year tenure at Pitt State
(1991-95, ’06), Horky has produced:
4 NCAA Division
II All-Americans 2 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
19 All-MIAA Players 24
MIAA All-Academic Honorees
Horky’s Career Coaching
Record
Year School W-
L- T Pct. Postseason Finish
1985 Nebraska-Kearney 32-
24- 1 .570 NAIA Nat’l Tournament
1986 Nebraska-Kearney 26-
21- 0 .553
1987 Nebraska-Kearney 42-
15- 0 .737 NAIA National Champions
Neb.-Kearney Totals (3 years) 100- 60- 1 .624
1998 Butler County C.C. 23-
25- 0 .479
1999 Butler County C.C. 40-
14- 0 .741 NCJAA Region Tournament
2000 Butler County C.C. 39-
17- 0 .696 NJCAA Region Tournament
2001 Butler County C.C. 41-
14- 0 .745 Jayhawk Conf. Champion/
NJCAA
Region Tournament
BCCC Totals (4 years) 143-
70- 0 .671
2002 Brown Mackie 22-
32- 0 .407
Brown Mackie Totals (1 year) 22- 32- 0 .407
1991 Pittsburg State 22-
27- 0 .460 MIAA Tournament
1992 Pittsburg State 36-
20- 0 .642 MIAA Tourn. Runner-Up
1993 Pittsburg State 36-
8- 0 .818 NCAA-II Nat’l Tournament
1994 Pittsburg State 48-
15- 0 .762 MIAA Reg. Season Champion/
NCAA-II
Nat’l Tournament
1995 Pittsburg State 41-
13- 0 .759 NCAA-II Nat’l Tournament
2006 Pittsburg State 22-
22- 0 .500 MIAA Tournament
2007 Pittsburg State 17-
29- 0 .370
Pitt State Totals (7 years) 222-134- 0 .624
15-Year Coaching Totals 487-296- 1 .626