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Candi Letts enters her second season at the helm of the Utah State University softball program after she was named the new head coach, announced by athletic director Randy Spetman on June 14, 2006. Letts' team went 17-36 in her first season, topping the 2006 season's win total with a 2-0 upset against then #15 Oregon State at Corvallis, Ore., the Beavers' first shutout loss at home to an unranked team since April 29, 2005. The Aggies' 17 wins in 2007 reached double-digits in the win column for the first time in three years, and doubled the 2006 season's win total. The 17-36 ledger is just behind the 2000 squad (18-33) and the 2005 squad (23-28) for best record through 45 games of the 2000's. Letts also led the USU softball program to a sixth-seed in the Western Athletic Conference as the Aggies made their WAC Tournament debut and also made their first conference tournament appearance since 1990. Letts produced one first-team all-conference player and five academic all-conference honorees at the end of her first season, while the team established a new school record with 33 home runs. Bringing 12 years of experience as a Division I head coach, Letts came to USU from Northern Illinois University, where she was an assistant for the Huskies for one season. She helped lead NIU to a 23-28 mark in 2006, finishing fourth in the Mid-American Conference's West Division, and placing fifth in the MAC Tournament. At NIU, Letts instructed the Huskies' pitchers, who earned the MAC Pitcher of the Week honor three times throughout the season. Prior to NIU, Letts was the head coach at the University of Mississippi, where she spent seven seasons guiding the Ole Miss program from 1999-2005, compiling a 153-246 (.383) record, including leading the Rebels to a school-record 30 wins in 2005. Before Ole Miss, Letts was head coach at Colorado State University from 1994-98, amassing a 160-106-1 (.602) record in her five seasons there, as she re-established the softball program after it had been eliminated for one season. In 1997, Letts led the Rams to a 51-14 mark, winning the WAC championship and finishing ninth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) final poll. That season Letts was named the WAC Coach of the Year, as well as the NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year. Letts has a career head coaching mark of 330-388-1 (.460) in 13 seasons, reaching the 200 and 300 win milestones while at Ole Miss. As a head coach, Letts has coached four All-American's, seven all-region players, 13 all-conference winners, one conference player of the year, and one freshman of the year. As a pitcher at Creighton University from 1979-1983, Letts helped the Bluejays to three-straight trips to the College World Series. In her career in the circle, Letts compiled 43 wins to go with 16 saves, while logging an ERA of 0.76 and firing 276 strikeouts. In the 1982 season, Letts led the country with nine saves, a mark that still ranks as the fifth-most single-season saves in NCAA history. After graduating from Creighton in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, Letts began her coaching career at the high school ranks, including head coach at Burlington, Iowa, for five seasons. Letts moved up to the college level in 1988, returning to Creighton, where she served as an assistant for six years, helping the Bluejays to two NCAA Regional trips, as well as making three appearances in the Top 25 poll and coaching one All-American. In 1991, Letts and Creighton played Utah in the longest game in NCAA history, a 31-inning contest. Letts, a native of Manchester, Iowa, is a member of the Iowa Softball Pitchers Hall of Fame, being inducted in 1980, as well as the Iowa Softball Hall of Fame in 1996. Additionally, Letts was named the Colorado SportsWomen Coach of the Year in 1997.
CANDI LETTS Year-By-Year Head Coach Record 1994 Colorado State 22-30-1 .425 WAC (9-16, T 6th) 1995 Colorado State 24-19 .558 WAC (12-15, 5th) 1996 Colorado State 31-22 .585 WAC (16-12, 4th) 1997* Colorado State 51-14 .785 WAC (26-6, 1st) # 1998 Colorado State 32-21 .603 WAC (16-13, 4th) 1999 Ole Miss 25-36 .410 2000 Ole Miss 21-42 .333 2001 Ole Miss 18-40 .310 2002 Ole Miss 25-29 .463 2003 Ole Miss 19-34 .358 2004 Ole Miss 15-37 .288 2005 Ole Miss 30-28 .517 |
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