South Dakota State head coach Krista Wood earned her 500th career win in a victory over St. Thomas on Thursday.
Wood reached the milestone win as part of a doubleheader sweep against the Summit League foe, a doubleheader that saw the Jackrabbits outscore their opponent 20-1 in the two games combined.
As the Jackrabbits’ leader celebrates her milestone win, here are Five Fast Facts about her and her career to this point.
1. She is the winningest head coach in SDSU program history.
Now in her eighth season leading the Jackrabbits’ program, Wood has earned 230 wins while at the helm of SDSU and is the winningest coach in the program’s history.
2. She is a two-time Summit League Coach of the Year.
In 2018, Wood was named the conference Coach of the Year in a season that saw her team reach the conference tournament championship game and play in the NISC postseason tournament. In 2021, she earned her second Coach of the Year award after leading the Jackrabbits to a 43-win season that included a Summit League title and an NCAA tournament berth.
3. Her team swept the Summit League conference awards in 2021.
In addition to Wood being named Coach of the Year in 2021, members of her team also swept the remaining awards from the league, including Player, Pitcher, and Freshman of the Year, which went to Cylie Halvorson, Tori Kniesche, and Grace Glanzer, respectively, in the Jackrabbits’ impressive year.
4. She has a history of building programs.
Prior to turning SDSU into a perennial conference contender within the Summit League, Wood made similar efforts at Wayne State College, a D2 school in Nebraska. There, she took over a program that had won ten games and ultimately led that squad to three NCAA tournament berths.
5. She was a Hall of Fame pitcher during her playing career.
During her playing career at Omaha from 1999-2003, Wood had a stellar career in the circle, including helping guide the Mavericks to the Division II national title in 2001. She finished her career as the winningest pitcher in Omaha program history and owns 530 career strikeouts. She was inducted into the Omaha Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.
