On Friday night, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the Class of 2022 that will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame.
Four coaches, including three collegiate leaders and one high school coach, comprise the group.
Harvard head coach Jenny Allard, Southern Illinois head coach Kerri Blaylock, former SIU-Edwardsville head coach Sandy Montgomery, and Sheldon (Sacramento, California) High School coach Mary Jo Truesdale will be formally inducted at the 2022 NFCA Convention that is scheduled to be held in San Antonio, Texas.
Here’s a look at each Hall of Famer:
Jenny Allard
Allard enters her 27th season as head coach at Harvard in 2022, a position that she has held since the summer of 1994. During her career leading the Crimson, Allard has guided the program to eight Ivy League titles and seven NCAA tournament appearances. The victor in 637 career games and emerging victorious from more than 70% of Ivy League matchups, Allard also served on the D1 Softball Committee from 2017-20.
Kerri Blaylock
Blaylock is not only the winningest coach in SIU softball history, but the winningest coach in any sport in Saluki Athletics history. She recorded her 700th career win during the 2020 season, and has led the Salukis to the NCAA tournament eight times during her tenure. She owns a 745-407-1 record during her career at SIU. Thanks to successes during her playing career at Evansville, Blaylock was inducted into the Aces athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
Sandy Montgomery
Montgomery retired from SIUE following the 2018 season. She concluded her three-decades-long career with a record of 1,051-540-2, notching a winning percentage of .660. She led the program to the Division II national title in 2007 and shepherded the program through the transition from D2 to Division 1 membership two seasons later. The Cougars won forty games in their first season in Division I and won the Ohio Valley Conference in 2014. A program alum, Montgomery is already in the SIUE Hall of Fame for her accomplishments as a player.
Mary Jo Truesdale
Truesdale has spent more than two decades as the head coach at Sheldon High School in Sacramento, California. Prior to the 2021 season, Truesdale’s career win total stood at 759 victories and included eight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championships. Her career dates back to the 1970s, and she has now coached across six different decades. Last December, Coach Truesdale was named as one of the Top 10 Coaches in the Extra Elite 100 High School Softball Coach Rankings.
When the quartet of coaches are inducted in 2022, they will be the 89th, 90th, 91st, and 92nd inductees into the NFCA Hall of Fame.
