Erikson not leaving USF for UF job...

[MatRatUSF]

http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=8855&sport=softb&html=softball/news/20050621032300.html

Gainesville, FL

Tim Walton, one of softball's top young coaching talents, will be the new head softball coach at the University of Florida, Athletics Director Jeremy Foley announced Tuesday.

Walton comes to Florida from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan., where he has been the head coach for the past three seasons. In 2005, Walton led the Shockers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years as they earned the first at-large bid in school history. Wichita State finished the 2005 season with a school record 46-18 record and broke 30 school records in the process.

"It was evident in my conversations with Tim that he would be a top candidate for the head softball coach position at Florida," Foley said. "He is a young talent with solid credentials who quickly turned around the program at Wichita State. I was impressed with his knowledge about our program at Florida and the enthusiasm he showed for coaching here. He has won national championships as a player and a coach and his knowledge should help lead Florida softball to national prominence. We are proud to welcome him and his family into the Gator family."

Walton, 32, began his tenure at Wichita State with a bang in 2003. The team put together one of the best turnarounds in the nation that year, improving its 2002 record by 18 wins to a 39-20 overall record. The Shockers 39 wins was a school record to that point. Under Walton's watch, Wichita State ranked among the top 30 in the nation for earned run average and fielding percentage, including the fifth-best fielding percentage in 2005 (.977).

Walton has been a part of national championship teams as an assistant softball coach and as a baseball player, both for the University of Oklahoma. Before heading to Wichita, Walton served as an assistant softball coach at national powerhouse Oklahoma, as the hitting coach and outfielders coach. In his four seasons at OU, the Sooners won three Big XII titles and made three consecutive College World Series appearances, including winning the 2000 NCAA title.

Walton played baseball for two years at Cerritos Junior College in his home town of Cerritos, Calif., before transferring to Oklahoma. Walton made two trips to the College World Series as part of the Sooners pitching staff, earning the win in the 1994 national title game in a 13-5 victory over Georgia Tech.

Walton stresses academics and community involvement with his teams, as well as on-field performance. In 2004 Wichita State earned an NFCA Academic Top 10 Award for having one of the top 10 cumulative GPAs in the nation. His teams also have been involved in Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots, the Kansas Food Bank and reading programs at elementary schools.

"I am excited for the opportunity to coach at the University of Florida. There are three things that make Florida a great place to coach and to play," Walton said. "It is a university with a complete package in a college town with an athletic department that has achieved so much success."

"First and foremost, my goal is going to be to achieve success at the Southeastern Conference level. From the first day of meetings we are going to be geared toward working hard to win that conference title. The SEC is one of the top three conferences in the country, so if we take care of that goal we can work on regional and national success."

After graduating from Oklahoma in 1996 with a degree in history, Walton played with the Philadelphia Phillies minor league organization for two seasons. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach in 1997 with the Oral Roberts University baseball team under coach Sunny Galloway.

Walton is married to the former Samantha Rhoten, who was a basketball player at Oral Roberts. The couple has a son, Brooks, who is five years old and has been rooting for the Gator baseball team while watching the College World Series this week, and a daughter, Camden, who is three years old.

Florida returns 17 of its 21 team members from 2005 for the 2006 season, including starters at every position. In addition, Florida adds a talented freshmen class including two pitchers, Lindsay Littlejohn and Stacey Nelson, infielders Brooke Johnson and Kim Waleszonia, and utility player Alicia Spack.

Tim Walton's Record with Wichita State Softball

Year

Overall

Missouri Valley/Regular season finish

NCAA

2003

39-20 (.661)

16-9/3rd (.640)

 

2004

38-26 (.594)

15-12/5th (.556)

 

2005

46-18 (.719)

22-4/2nd (.846)

NCAA Regional

Tim Walton: 123-64 (.658)/overall; 53-25 (.679)/MVC

[flsportsfan83]

maybe erickson will be an asst coach

[flsportsfan83]

i hear he has love for the gators

[BullDoug]

i hear he has love for the gators

Gator love...ewwwwwhhhhh YUKE!

[flsportsfan83]

i was kidding