George Mason, Softball Head Coach Justin Walker Agree to Extension

The following release information was issued by George Mason and information and photo courtesy of George Mason…

FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University and softball head coach Justin Walker reached an agreement on a contract extension through the 2027-28 season, Director of Athletics Marvin Lewis said.

The extension comes after the Patriots posted their best softball record in over 20 years, won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament for the first time and qualified to their first-ever NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.

“I want to thank President Gregory Washington and Athletic Director Marvin Lewis for their commitment and support to our student-athletes,” said Walker. “I am excited to see what the future holds for the program.”

Walker has seen major success with the softball team in his three seasons at the helm. He was named interim head coach of the Patriot softball program in April of 2020, where he was later promoted to full-time head coach in July 2021. He led the Green & Gold to an 8-0 record to start his inaugural 2021 season, the program’s best start since 1983. Walker capped off his first season at the helm with the program’s first winning season (18-17 overall record) since 2014.

Walker’s second year as head coach saw more improvement on the field. In 2022, the team won 24 games, the most since 2004. Four Patriots earned all-conference second team honors and one took all-rookie honors. Two were also named as second team members in both the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region and the Virginia Sports Information Director (VaSID) Postseason Awards.

In his third year, Walker led the 2023 Mason Softball team to its best season in softball history, winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament. He and his coaching staff were also honored with the ATEC/NFCA Division I Regional Coaching Staff of the Year award, Mason’s first ever such award.

The softball team broke numerous Patriot records, such as home runs (27), doubles (90), slugging percentage (.408), RBI (226), stolen bases (135), walks (191), fielding percentage (.977) and strikeouts pitched (360). Their 35-win season is also tied for the fourth-most wins in a single season in program history and the most since 2002.

Over the course of the 2023 season, the Atlantic 10 recognized George Mason 10 times in their weekly Pitcher/Player/Rookie of the Week awards, the most of any school in the conference that season.

Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All A-10 Team member Aly Rayle and First Team All A-10 member Nicole Bechtel were also nationally recognized as NFCA Pitcher (March 28) and Player of the Week (April 25), respectively. Being given national awards was also a first for Mason Softball.

Two other Patriots were awarded end of the season conference awards in the 2023 season. Second baseman Marlaina Bozek was named First Team All A-10, while third baseman Haley Taormina earned Second Team All A-10. Taormina, Rayle and Bechtel were also named to the NFCA’s Mid-Atlantic All-Region Second team.

In the 2023 Atlantic 10 conference tournament, Walker and the fourth-seeded Patriots created even more history. Not only did they become the lowest seed to be crowned conference champion since 1990, but they were lowest-ever sole owner of the championship, as the 1990 tournament had co-champions.

In the classroom, 10 Patriots were recognized as Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes and the team as a whole was nationally ranked 38th out of 172 eligible Division I schools in team GPA. The Patriots, who earned the President’s Cup in Mason’s most recent Green and Gold Celebration, achieved a team GPA of 3.59, the highest mark of any Mason team in the 2022-23 school year.

“We are proud of Justin’s success and his determined commitment to our student-athletes, staff and community,” Lewis said. “As the softball head coach for the last three seasons, Justin has uplifted the program’s profile and made great efforts toward building a consistent contender in the Atlantic 10. We are thrilled with Justin’s commitment to excellence and we are excited for what the future holds under his guidance of this program.”

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