Tim Walton
Head Coach
University of Florida
- Tim Walton has established Florida softball as a national powerhouse in his 11 years at the helm of the Gators. In his 11 years at Florida, the Gators have earned a total of:
- 7 WCWS berths
- 4 appearances in the Championship Series
- the program’s first and second National Championship Titles in 2014 and 2015.
- Walton reached a career milestone when he earned career win No. 600 in just his 12th season as a head coach – which means his teams have had at least 50 wins each of his 12 years at Florida. Win No. 600 came in just his 774th game, making Walton the fastest active head coach in the Southeastern Conference to reach 600 lifetime victories.
- Walton has led Florida to countless school and SEC records, and his squads have earned numerous firsts for the Gator softball program. UF has made the NCAA Tournament every year of his tenure, hosted Regionals all 10 times and played host to NCAA Super Regionals eight times from 2008-16.
- On the softball diamond, Walton’s players have earned numerous accolades:
- 14 players with a total of 29 NFCA All-America honors
- 19 players with 44 total NFCA All-Southeast Region honors
- 15 WCWS All-Tournament team selections (including three Most Outstanding Players)
- 19 players with 41 All-SEC honors, and 17 SEC All-Tournament team selections, including 3 MVPs, 3 SEC Pitchers of the Year and 4 SEC Players of the Year.
- Statistically, Florida has been in the Top 10 in numerous NCAA offensive categories during Walton’s tenure, including home runs per game, slugging percentage, home runs all time, runs scored, average runs per game, etc.
- Walton has been a part of national championship teams as a baseball player (University of Oklahoma – 1994), an assistant softball coach and a head softball coach. Before serving as head coach at Wichita State, Walton served as an assistant softball coach for the University of Oklahoma, working with the hitters and outfielders. In his 4 seasons at OU, the Sooners made 3 consecutive WCWS appearances, including winning the 2000 NCAA title.
Tim is one of the best hitting coaches in the country and his ability to get his hitters to know their strike zones and aggressively compete on the highest level year in and year out makes him a tremendous addition to our Hitting Summit ~Cindy