by Craig Morgan, special to TheSunDevils.com
Sun Devil Athletics' head coaches fall into three classes.
Seventeen of the 22 have been hired within the last three years, making up the new guard. Water polo coach Todd Clapper (2005) is the small middle guard, but in an era of rampant movement and heightened expectations, four coaches have stood the test of time, graduating to the old guard with 20-plus years on the job.
Women's tennis coach Sheila McInerney leads the way as she heads into her 33rd season. Track and Field coach Greg Kraft is in his 22nd season, and women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne and diving coach Mark Bradshaw are in 21st season.
"Hopefully, that's a good thing," McInerney said with a laugh. "This is a great place to live, to work and Arizona State has been great to me. Hopefully, I've reciprocated."
In their lengthy tenures, each of the four coaches has posted major achievements. In 32 seasons, McInerney has advanced to 31 NCAA Tournaments, including 29 straight. Her teams have made 18 Sweet Sixteens, eight Elite Eights, posted 13 top-10 finishes in the final team rankings, her players have achieved 45 All-American honors and she was named the ITA's Southwest Region Coach of the Year and the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2016.
Under Kraft, the track and field program has posted four national championships, three Pac-10/12 crowns since 2004-05, and his athletes have won 33 individual national titles. Kraft is a four-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coach of the Year, and a three-time conference coach of the year.
Turner Thorne has the second most career wins in conference (400) history and has made it to the postseason in 17 of the last 18 years, including a school record five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2005-09, four Sweet 16 finishes and two Elite Eight appearances. ASU's 12 NCAA Tournament appearances under Turner Thorne are nine more than ASU had in the 15 years prior to her arrival in Tempe.
Bradshaw coached NCAA champion Joona Puhakka and six-time All-Americans Micky Benedetti and Trisha Tumlinson. ASU has had nine divers earn four NCAA individual titles and 29 All-American honors in his tenure. In addition, Bradshaw has been named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year twice (2003, 2005), and Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year nine times between men and women.
"When you sit back and say 'wow, you're in your 21st year,' it seems a bit crazy to me," Turner Thorne said. "I'm literally standing in front of groups that are younger in years than the years I've been at ASU. I feel really fortunate and blessed that I've had some great leadership that has appreciated our staff and the collective efforts of our program."
While winning is always the goal -- "we all know we have to win or we're not going to be here," Turner Thorne said -- all four coaches said their greatest joy is not found in victories.
"My life exists on a college campus around people mostly aged 18-22 and I absolutely love working with that age group," Bradshaw said. "They're adults but they're so energized and they've been through battles in athletics and school and they want to keep climbing that ladder. To be around that cream of the crop that has such motivation -- not just to get their degree but to excel and win -- I love being around that because it energizes you."
Like Bradshaw, McInerney, Kraft and Turner Thorne said they still keep in contact with some of the athletes from their first years of coaching.
"Those relationships are the things that keep pushing you and driving you," Turner Thorne, 51, said.
In his lengthy tenure, Kraft, 62, said there have been widespread changes in the way he approaches his job, and in the people he coaches.
"It's been a tremendous growing experience for all of us and growth is the only way you can survive because the student-athletes are different than they were when I started coaching 38 years ago (total Division I tenure)," he said.
"There are so many more distractions that it definitely challenges a coach to keep them on task, but we have to because our sports is still measured to the hundredth of a second, to the nearest centimeter. The reward for taking on that challenge is that when they're hitting on all cylinders in our sport it's breathtaking -- to see Bryan McBride jump that high or Shelby Houlihan run that fast or Amy Hastings get a medal at the World Championships. Early in their careers, they always embraced the process. It wasn't about a finish line. The just tried to get better and it paid off."
While technology and training advances have made the four coaches jobs easier in some regards, the heightened expectations and year-round training have placed greater demands on them than ever before.
Thirty-four years ago, you thought you ran a good practice because your kids had hit forehands and backhands cross-court and you had a stop watch so every three minutes you'd switch," McInerney said. "That was efficiency.
"Now, you've got to do individual coaching and hitting with certain kids. You've got to keep learning, transforming your methods, staying current. You've got to know about Instagram and Snapchat and texting and not get ticked off if they don't answer the phone when I call them because if I text them they're going to answer that text.
"You've got to evolve with them."
There are times when the demands take their toll on coaches. Turner Thorne took a one-year sabbatical to mitigate that toll.
"There have been sacrifices," she said. "I never had maternity leave and I've been gone for a lot of my kids' stuff because I have this second family that needs attending to every day of the year.
"But that's what separates our program. We tell them 'we're going to take care of you as a woman first, and a basketball player second. We are going to push you and make you uncomfortable but we are going to be there for you every step of the way.' It's a huge life change when they go to college and they're not grown up yet. They're going to cry a lot their first year. They're going to go through a lot of issues, learning how to communicate, how to work through being uncomfortable. We need to be there for them."
To shape her student-athletes into well-rounded adults who appreciate the opportunity they've been given, Turner Thorne pushes her team into off-campus community service. Kraft called that an imperative.
"We have 30 scholarships here in track and field -- 12 for the men and 18 for the women -- and with that we spend in travel and gear, I tell them we're a poor business model," he said, laughing. "No one receives more from Arizona State University and the community of Tempe than our student-athletes so we have to give back. That's why I talk to them about community service. As I've aged that vision has become a little broader."
All four coaches admitted to thinking about their final days on the job. None of them expects to be a coaching lifer, but none of them is thinking about calling it quits just yet.
"At 55 and with 20 years here, I'm as excited as I've ever been, if not more, about the upcoming season," Bradshaw said. "There are so many positive things happening around this university, this department and with what coach [Bob] Bowman is building with the swimming program. We're in this together, and there's an energy and a process in what we're doing and where we're going."
McInerney will turn 60 in February but she said a group of three incoming freshmen from England, Slovenia and the Czech Republic has "invigorated" her for the season ahead.
"That's the beauty of college athletics," she said. "I'm sure some of the kids on the team think I'm an old geezer but this old geezer is going to last a little bit longer."
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20-YEAR COACHES AT ARIZONA STATE
FRANK KUSH/FOOTBALL/1958-1979/1982 INDUCTEE INTO SUN DEVIL HALL OF DISTINCTION
In 1955, Hall of Fame coach Dan Devine hired Frank Kush as one of his assistants at Arizona State. It was his first coaching job. Just three years later Kush succeeded Devine as head coach. On December 12, 1995 he joined his mentor and friend in the College Football Hall of Fame. As a coach, the late great Coach Kush ranks in the top-20 all-time winningest coaches with a 176-54-1 record (.764). In his 22 years at the helm of Arizona State, Kush had 19 winning seasons, won nine conference championships and ran up a 6-1 bowl record. He had undefeated teams in 1970 and 1975 and was named Coach of the Year in 1975 by the American Football Coaches Association of the Walter Camp Foundation and his team was ranked number two nationally by AP and UPI. He had unbeaten and untied winning streaks of 21, 13 and 12 (twice) at Arizona State. Kush also coached 129 college players who made it in the pros. He coached the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats to an Eastern Conference first-place and spent three seasons with the Baltimore Colts before moving back to Arizona to coach the USFL Phoenix team. After the USFL folded, Kush stayed in Arizona and became active in public relations and community work. He also served as executive director of the Arizona Boys Ranch, a center for reforming juvenile offenders. He passed away in the summer of 2017.
MARK BRADSHAW/DIVING/1997-PRESENT
In his 20th season at the helm of the ASU men's and women's diving teams, Mark Bradshaw has coached some of the NCAA's best divers, including four-time NCAA champion Joona Puhakka and six-time All-Americans Micky Benedetti and Trisha Tumlinson. Under his guidance, ASU has had nine divers earn four NCAA individual titles and 29 All-American honors and he has been named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year twice (2003, 2005). With a combined nine Pac-10/12 Diving Coach of the Year honors, Bradshaw has earned more Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year honors than any other coach in conference history. His divers have earned a total of nine Pac-10 Diver of the Year and six Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year awards and he's coached 24 Pac-10 champions, most recently Mara Aiacoboae (platform) in 2017. In international competition, Bradshaw served as Finland's head diving coach for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
WARD O'CONNELL/DIVING/1974-1997
Ward O'Connell was ASU's head diving coach from 1974-1997 during which 11 Sun Devils earned All-American honors for a total of 15 accolades. Under O'Connell's leadership, ASU diving accumulated 10 individual Pac-10 Conference titles, three Western Athletic Conference titles, and one Western Collegiate Athletic Association champion. O'Connell's divers were a key factor in the women's 1977 and 1978 AIAW National Championships and in 1994, he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. On the international diving scene, O'Connell was a founding vice president of the American Diving Coaches Association and served as the United States coach at the Pan American Games in 1967. In 1987, he was named a recipient of the U.S. Diving Committee's Fred A. Cady Memorial Diving Coaches Perpetual Trophy, the highest award given to U.S. diving coaches.
LINDA VOLLSTEDT/WOMEN'S GOLF/1980-2001/PAC-12 COACH OF THE CENTURY
Linda Vollstedt, one of the most successful and storied coaches in Sun Devil athletics and collegiate golf history, coached the Sun Devils to a record six national titles in 21 seasons, named National Coach of the Year five times. She was inducted into the 1994 National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame, earned the PGA Anser Award which annually honors someone who has positively influenced golf history in Arizona, and was named by Golf World as one of the Top 10 College Coaches of the 20th century. During her coaching career, Vollstedt coached 41 All-Americans, 12 conference medalists, 71 All-Conference golfers, nine U.S. Curtis Cup Team members, six U.S. Public Links winners, four U.S. Amateur Champions and four NCAA individual champions. Continuing her legacy, current head coach Missy Farr-Kaye and assistant coach Michelle Estill competed for the Sun Devils under Vollstedt's leadership.
CHARLI TURNER THORNE/WOMEN'S BASKETBALL/1996-97-PRESENT
The winningest coach in Sun Devil women's basketball history and No. 2 in the Pac-12 in most career wins, Charli Turner Thorne is at the helm of an Arizona State program that has made it to the postseason 17 of the last 18 years, including a school record five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2005-09), two Elite Eight appearances and a pair of Sweet 16 finishes. ASU's 12 NCAA Tournament appearances under Turner Thorne are nine more than what ASU had in the 15 years prior to her arrival in Tempe. Has also earned a pair of gold medals with USA Basketball. The 2017-18 season is the 21st for Turner Thorne who recorded the 450th victory of her career (includes 40 wins at Northern Arizona) on December 29, 2017 at Colorado. Turner Thorne was named the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year (coaches and media), the second time she has been recognized with the honor (2001), after leading the Sun Devils to their second regular season Pac-12 championship. From an academic standpoint, ASU's No. 5 finish (3.672) on the WBCA's 2017 Academic Honor Roll represented the second time in three seasons the Sun Devils have been among the top 10 programs in the country after placing seventh (3.558) for the 2014-15 academic year. Since the 1996-97 season, Turner Thorne's first season at ASU, the Sun Devils lead the Pac-12 in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (21) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (43).
NED WULK, MEN'S BASKETBALL/1957-82 Ned Wulk led the Sun Devil basketball team for 25 years and was 406-272 (.599) including a 94-24 (.797) mark in Wells Fargo Arena, as the Sun Devils won their first 20 games in its new building in 1974-75. He had 17 winning seasons and led ASU to nine NCAA Tournaments as his teams were one game away from the Final Four three times (1961, 1963 and 1975). His 1962-63 team won a school record 26 games, including 18 straight, and reached as high as third in the national polls. His 1981 team defeated top-ranked and undefeated Oregon State on the final day of the regular season 87-67. His 1979-80 season earned him Pac-10 Coach of the Year as ASU went 21-6 and 15-3 in the Pac-10 en route to the NCAA Tournament.
MARY LITTLEWOOD, SOFTBALL/1967, 1970-89
Mary Littlewood, the first coach of Sun Devil softball, led the team for 21 years. Littlewood was one of just two coaches in program history to date to reach the 500 wins plateau and led the team to back-to-back WCWS national championship titles (before the program entered the NCAA) in 1972 and 1973. Littlewood had winning seasons each of her 21 years with the team and compiled a record of 551-222-1. Each year since 2006, the Sun Devils have honored the founder of the program by hosting the Littlewood Classic.
SHEILA MCINERNEY, WOMEN'S TENNIS/1984-CURRENT
In the past 34 years, Sheila McInerney has seen a vast amount of change at Arizona State, from new athletic directors, new head coaches, schools added to the conference, and numerous renovations to athletic facilities. Through the countless changes across Arizona State, McInerney has continued to lead the women's tennis program in a successful direction heading into her 34th season. In Arizona State's history, no tennis coach has the amount of accolades that Sheila McInerney has accumulated during her tenure as a Sun Devil. Since her first season as head coach in 1985, Sun Devil women's tennis has won 499 matches, advanced to 32 of 33 NCAA Tournaments, including 30 straight, and has finished each season in the top-38 nationally. That's the fifth-most wins by any Arizona State coach in school history. In the 2016 season, McInerney was named the Southwest Region Coach of the Year by the ITA, as well as the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. She also was awarded the 2016 ITA Meritorious Service Award, which is given to an ITA coach who has gone "above and beyond" in their commitment and contributions to the ITA and college tennis in general.
GREG KRAFT, TRACK AND FIELD/1996-CURRENT
Sun Devil director of track and field and cross country Greg Kraft has been one of the most successful track and field coaches not only in ASU history, but in the NCAA as he has won four NCAA titles, coached numerous athletes to individual championships and even sent Sun Devils to the world championships and Olympic Games. Kraft revitalized the historic track and field program when he joined the Sun Devils in 1996, and has since brought dozens of trophies back to Tempe, including 12 top-four finishes at NCAA Championships and three Pac-10/12 team titles to go along with his four NCAA team titles. The four-time USTFCCCA Coach of the Year has also had athletes win 34 individual titles with the most recent coming in 2017.
JIM BROCK/BASEBALL/1972-1994
Jim Brock spent 23 years at the helm of the Sun Devil baseball team, and led the team to a pair of national championships in 1977 and 1981. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. During his time as head coach, Brock posted a 1,100-440 record and led the team to 13 College World Series appearances. During his time, he coach many Sun Devil legends, including multiple first-round draft picks and three Golden Spikes Award winners. In 1998 Brock was inducted into the ABCA College Baseball Hall of Fame, and was the 1977 and 1981 NCAA Coach of the Year. Additionally, Brock was a five-time winner of the Pac-10 Coach of the Year award.
ANNE PITTMAN/WOMEN'S TENNIS/1954-1984
Anne Pittman, women's tennis coach for 30 years, guided the Sun Devils to a 337-71 record from 1954 through 1984. She directed the team to three USLTA National Championships and four conference titles. In 1976, Pittman led the Devil's to the most wins in school history (31). In 1975 and 1976 she was named the Lady Champion women's tennis coach of the year, and in her final season she was named ITCA national coach of the year. In 1995 Pittman was selected as one of the charter members into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.
LOU BELKEN/MEN'S TENNIS/1981-2008
Lou Belken spent 26 years at the helm of the Sun Devil men's tennis program. He posted a 312-309 record and coached 14 All-Americans and 28 Pac-10 All Conference selections. Belken was a two-time Pac-10 coach of the year. In 2017 he was selected as a member of the UTSA Hall of Fame.
MARGARET KLANN/MEN'S & WOMEN'S ARCHERY/1952-1975
Margaret Klann played an instrumental role in establishing collegiate archery and established the National Archery Association College Division. During her 22 years at Arizona State she coached 45 All-Americans. Additionally, her team won 16 national team titles and seven individual championships. Klann was inducted into ASU's Hall of Distinction.
DON ROBINSON/MEN'S GYMNASTICS/1968-1993
Don Robinson, who was inducted into the ASU Hall of Distinction in 1992, led the ASU men's gymnastics team for 25 years, from 1969 until 1993. He guided the team to 13 top 10 national finishes and six conference titles. ASU had a pair of national runner-up finishes in 1974 and 1978 before breaking through and winning the NCAA Championship in 1986. That same year Robinson earned national coach of the year honors. Under Robinson's tutelage 24 different Sun Devil student-athletes earned a combined 43 All-America awards. In 2000 Robinson was the first recipient of the USA Gymnastics Lifetime Achievement Award.
JOHN SPINI/WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS/1980-2014
In his 34 seasons as head coach of the Arizona State gymnastics program, John Spini sent his Sun Devil teams to 21 NCAA Championships and has had a least one Sun Devil represent ASU at the NCAA Championships 26 out of 34 seasons. Spini coaches 27 All-Americans for a total of 81 All-American accolades. Six women have won individual NCAA titles under Spini. Additionally, nine of Spini's Sun Devil squads have finished in the top five at the NCAA Championships, including four teams who were runner-up. A four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Spini's athletes were awarded a total of 27 perfect 10.0 in his career. He had win streaks of 15(22 opponents), 16 (28 opponents) and 25 (39 opponents) in his career. In 2010, he was named to the USAG Arizona Hall of Fame.
BALDY CASTILLO/TRACK & FIELD/1954-1979
Baldy Castillo, leader of the Sun Devil track and field team for 26 years, led his squad to one NCAA title and 34 All-America accolades. In the 1977 season Castillo's team captured their first national team title and nine athletes combined to collect seven individual All-America honors and two more in relays. During his time, his athletes also collected 10 individual NCAA titles. Castillo saw 24 of his athletes compete in eight Summer Olympiads and collect seven gold medals. In 2000, Castillo was inducted into the United States Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
MONA PLUMMER/WOMEN'S SWIMMING/1957-1979
Mona Plummer coached the Sun Devil swim team for 23 years. During her time the Devils won eight national championships. Plummer also coached nine Olympians and four dozen All-Americans. In 1984 she was inducted into the ASU Sports Hall of Fame and in 1985 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Sun Devil Athletics' head coaches fall into three classes.
Seventeen of the 22 have been hired within the last three years, making up the new guard. Water polo coach Todd Clapper (2005) is the small middle guard, but in an era of rampant movement and heightened expectations, four coaches have stood the test of time, graduating to the old guard with 20-plus years on the job.
Women's tennis coach Sheila McInerney leads the way as she heads into her 33rd season. Track and Field coach Greg Kraft is in his 22nd season, and women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne and diving coach Mark Bradshaw are in 21st season.
"Hopefully, that's a good thing," McInerney said with a laugh. "This is a great place to live, to work and Arizona State has been great to me. Hopefully, I've reciprocated."
In their lengthy tenures, each of the four coaches has posted major achievements. In 32 seasons, McInerney has advanced to 31 NCAA Tournaments, including 29 straight. Her teams have made 18 Sweet Sixteens, eight Elite Eights, posted 13 top-10 finishes in the final team rankings, her players have achieved 45 All-American honors and she was named the ITA's Southwest Region Coach of the Year and the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2016.
Under Kraft, the track and field program has posted four national championships, three Pac-10/12 crowns since 2004-05, and his athletes have won 33 individual national titles. Kraft is a four-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coach of the Year, and a three-time conference coach of the year.
Turner Thorne has the second most career wins in conference (400) history and has made it to the postseason in 17 of the last 18 years, including a school record five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2005-09, four Sweet 16 finishes and two Elite Eight appearances. ASU's 12 NCAA Tournament appearances under Turner Thorne are nine more than ASU had in the 15 years prior to her arrival in Tempe.
Bradshaw coached NCAA champion Joona Puhakka and six-time All-Americans Micky Benedetti and Trisha Tumlinson. ASU has had nine divers earn four NCAA individual titles and 29 All-American honors in his tenure. In addition, Bradshaw has been named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year twice (2003, 2005), and Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year nine times between men and women.
"When you sit back and say 'wow, you're in your 21st year,' it seems a bit crazy to me," Turner Thorne said. "I'm literally standing in front of groups that are younger in years than the years I've been at ASU. I feel really fortunate and blessed that I've had some great leadership that has appreciated our staff and the collective efforts of our program."
While winning is always the goal -- "we all know we have to win or we're not going to be here," Turner Thorne said -- all four coaches said their greatest joy is not found in victories.
"My life exists on a college campus around people mostly aged 18-22 and I absolutely love working with that age group," Bradshaw said. "They're adults but they're so energized and they've been through battles in athletics and school and they want to keep climbing that ladder. To be around that cream of the crop that has such motivation -- not just to get their degree but to excel and win -- I love being around that because it energizes you."
Like Bradshaw, McInerney, Kraft and Turner Thorne said they still keep in contact with some of the athletes from their first years of coaching.
"Those relationships are the things that keep pushing you and driving you," Turner Thorne, 51, said.
In his lengthy tenure, Kraft, 62, said there have been widespread changes in the way he approaches his job, and in the people he coaches.
"It's been a tremendous growing experience for all of us and growth is the only way you can survive because the student-athletes are different than they were when I started coaching 38 years ago (total Division I tenure)," he said.
"There are so many more distractions that it definitely challenges a coach to keep them on task, but we have to because our sports is still measured to the hundredth of a second, to the nearest centimeter. The reward for taking on that challenge is that when they're hitting on all cylinders in our sport it's breathtaking -- to see Bryan McBride jump that high or Shelby Houlihan run that fast or Amy Hastings get a medal at the World Championships. Early in their careers, they always embraced the process. It wasn't about a finish line. The just tried to get better and it paid off."
While technology and training advances have made the four coaches jobs easier in some regards, the heightened expectations and year-round training have placed greater demands on them than ever before.
Thirty-four years ago, you thought you ran a good practice because your kids had hit forehands and backhands cross-court and you had a stop watch so every three minutes you'd switch," McInerney said. "That was efficiency.
"Now, you've got to do individual coaching and hitting with certain kids. You've got to keep learning, transforming your methods, staying current. You've got to know about Instagram and Snapchat and texting and not get ticked off if they don't answer the phone when I call them because if I text them they're going to answer that text.
"You've got to evolve with them."
There are times when the demands take their toll on coaches. Turner Thorne took a one-year sabbatical to mitigate that toll.
"There have been sacrifices," she said. "I never had maternity leave and I've been gone for a lot of my kids' stuff because I have this second family that needs attending to every day of the year.
"But that's what separates our program. We tell them 'we're going to take care of you as a woman first, and a basketball player second. We are going to push you and make you uncomfortable but we are going to be there for you every step of the way.' It's a huge life change when they go to college and they're not grown up yet. They're going to cry a lot their first year. They're going to go through a lot of issues, learning how to communicate, how to work through being uncomfortable. We need to be there for them."
To shape her student-athletes into well-rounded adults who appreciate the opportunity they've been given, Turner Thorne pushes her team into off-campus community service. Kraft called that an imperative.
"We have 30 scholarships here in track and field -- 12 for the men and 18 for the women -- and with that we spend in travel and gear, I tell them we're a poor business model," he said, laughing. "No one receives more from Arizona State University and the community of Tempe than our student-athletes so we have to give back. That's why I talk to them about community service. As I've aged that vision has become a little broader."
All four coaches admitted to thinking about their final days on the job. None of them expects to be a coaching lifer, but none of them is thinking about calling it quits just yet.
"At 55 and with 20 years here, I'm as excited as I've ever been, if not more, about the upcoming season," Bradshaw said. "There are so many positive things happening around this university, this department and with what coach [Bob] Bowman is building with the swimming program. We're in this together, and there's an energy and a process in what we're doing and where we're going."
McInerney will turn 60 in February but she said a group of three incoming freshmen from England, Slovenia and the Czech Republic has "invigorated" her for the season ahead.
"That's the beauty of college athletics," she said. "I'm sure some of the kids on the team think I'm an old geezer but this old geezer is going to last a little bit longer."
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20-YEAR COACHES AT ARIZONA STATE
FRANK KUSH/FOOTBALL/1958-1979/1982 INDUCTEE INTO SUN DEVIL HALL OF DISTINCTION
In 1955, Hall of Fame coach Dan Devine hired Frank Kush as one of his assistants at Arizona State. It was his first coaching job. Just three years later Kush succeeded Devine as head coach. On December 12, 1995 he joined his mentor and friend in the College Football Hall of Fame. As a coach, the late great Coach Kush ranks in the top-20 all-time winningest coaches with a 176-54-1 record (.764). In his 22 years at the helm of Arizona State, Kush had 19 winning seasons, won nine conference championships and ran up a 6-1 bowl record. He had undefeated teams in 1970 and 1975 and was named Coach of the Year in 1975 by the American Football Coaches Association of the Walter Camp Foundation and his team was ranked number two nationally by AP and UPI. He had unbeaten and untied winning streaks of 21, 13 and 12 (twice) at Arizona State. Kush also coached 129 college players who made it in the pros. He coached the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats to an Eastern Conference first-place and spent three seasons with the Baltimore Colts before moving back to Arizona to coach the USFL Phoenix team. After the USFL folded, Kush stayed in Arizona and became active in public relations and community work. He also served as executive director of the Arizona Boys Ranch, a center for reforming juvenile offenders. He passed away in the summer of 2017.
MARK BRADSHAW/DIVING/1997-PRESENT
In his 20th season at the helm of the ASU men's and women's diving teams, Mark Bradshaw has coached some of the NCAA's best divers, including four-time NCAA champion Joona Puhakka and six-time All-Americans Micky Benedetti and Trisha Tumlinson. Under his guidance, ASU has had nine divers earn four NCAA individual titles and 29 All-American honors and he has been named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year twice (2003, 2005). With a combined nine Pac-10/12 Diving Coach of the Year honors, Bradshaw has earned more Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year honors than any other coach in conference history. His divers have earned a total of nine Pac-10 Diver of the Year and six Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year awards and he's coached 24 Pac-10 champions, most recently Mara Aiacoboae (platform) in 2017. In international competition, Bradshaw served as Finland's head diving coach for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
WARD O'CONNELL/DIVING/1974-1997
Ward O'Connell was ASU's head diving coach from 1974-1997 during which 11 Sun Devils earned All-American honors for a total of 15 accolades. Under O'Connell's leadership, ASU diving accumulated 10 individual Pac-10 Conference titles, three Western Athletic Conference titles, and one Western Collegiate Athletic Association champion. O'Connell's divers were a key factor in the women's 1977 and 1978 AIAW National Championships and in 1994, he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. On the international diving scene, O'Connell was a founding vice president of the American Diving Coaches Association and served as the United States coach at the Pan American Games in 1967. In 1987, he was named a recipient of the U.S. Diving Committee's Fred A. Cady Memorial Diving Coaches Perpetual Trophy, the highest award given to U.S. diving coaches.
LINDA VOLLSTEDT/WOMEN'S GOLF/1980-2001/PAC-12 COACH OF THE CENTURY
Linda Vollstedt, one of the most successful and storied coaches in Sun Devil athletics and collegiate golf history, coached the Sun Devils to a record six national titles in 21 seasons, named National Coach of the Year five times. She was inducted into the 1994 National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame, earned the PGA Anser Award which annually honors someone who has positively influenced golf history in Arizona, and was named by Golf World as one of the Top 10 College Coaches of the 20th century. During her coaching career, Vollstedt coached 41 All-Americans, 12 conference medalists, 71 All-Conference golfers, nine U.S. Curtis Cup Team members, six U.S. Public Links winners, four U.S. Amateur Champions and four NCAA individual champions. Continuing her legacy, current head coach Missy Farr-Kaye and assistant coach Michelle Estill competed for the Sun Devils under Vollstedt's leadership.
CHARLI TURNER THORNE/WOMEN'S BASKETBALL/1996-97-PRESENT
The winningest coach in Sun Devil women's basketball history and No. 2 in the Pac-12 in most career wins, Charli Turner Thorne is at the helm of an Arizona State program that has made it to the postseason 17 of the last 18 years, including a school record five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2005-09), two Elite Eight appearances and a pair of Sweet 16 finishes. ASU's 12 NCAA Tournament appearances under Turner Thorne are nine more than what ASU had in the 15 years prior to her arrival in Tempe. Has also earned a pair of gold medals with USA Basketball. The 2017-18 season is the 21st for Turner Thorne who recorded the 450th victory of her career (includes 40 wins at Northern Arizona) on December 29, 2017 at Colorado. Turner Thorne was named the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year (coaches and media), the second time she has been recognized with the honor (2001), after leading the Sun Devils to their second regular season Pac-12 championship. From an academic standpoint, ASU's No. 5 finish (3.672) on the WBCA's 2017 Academic Honor Roll represented the second time in three seasons the Sun Devils have been among the top 10 programs in the country after placing seventh (3.558) for the 2014-15 academic year. Since the 1996-97 season, Turner Thorne's first season at ASU, the Sun Devils lead the Pac-12 in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (21) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (43).
NED WULK, MEN'S BASKETBALL/1957-82 Ned Wulk led the Sun Devil basketball team for 25 years and was 406-272 (.599) including a 94-24 (.797) mark in Wells Fargo Arena, as the Sun Devils won their first 20 games in its new building in 1974-75. He had 17 winning seasons and led ASU to nine NCAA Tournaments as his teams were one game away from the Final Four three times (1961, 1963 and 1975). His 1962-63 team won a school record 26 games, including 18 straight, and reached as high as third in the national polls. His 1981 team defeated top-ranked and undefeated Oregon State on the final day of the regular season 87-67. His 1979-80 season earned him Pac-10 Coach of the Year as ASU went 21-6 and 15-3 in the Pac-10 en route to the NCAA Tournament.
MARY LITTLEWOOD, SOFTBALL/1967, 1970-89
Mary Littlewood, the first coach of Sun Devil softball, led the team for 21 years. Littlewood was one of just two coaches in program history to date to reach the 500 wins plateau and led the team to back-to-back WCWS national championship titles (before the program entered the NCAA) in 1972 and 1973. Littlewood had winning seasons each of her 21 years with the team and compiled a record of 551-222-1. Each year since 2006, the Sun Devils have honored the founder of the program by hosting the Littlewood Classic.
SHEILA MCINERNEY, WOMEN'S TENNIS/1984-CURRENT
In the past 34 years, Sheila McInerney has seen a vast amount of change at Arizona State, from new athletic directors, new head coaches, schools added to the conference, and numerous renovations to athletic facilities. Through the countless changes across Arizona State, McInerney has continued to lead the women's tennis program in a successful direction heading into her 34th season. In Arizona State's history, no tennis coach has the amount of accolades that Sheila McInerney has accumulated during her tenure as a Sun Devil. Since her first season as head coach in 1985, Sun Devil women's tennis has won 499 matches, advanced to 32 of 33 NCAA Tournaments, including 30 straight, and has finished each season in the top-38 nationally. That's the fifth-most wins by any Arizona State coach in school history. In the 2016 season, McInerney was named the Southwest Region Coach of the Year by the ITA, as well as the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. She also was awarded the 2016 ITA Meritorious Service Award, which is given to an ITA coach who has gone "above and beyond" in their commitment and contributions to the ITA and college tennis in general.
GREG KRAFT, TRACK AND FIELD/1996-CURRENT
Sun Devil director of track and field and cross country Greg Kraft has been one of the most successful track and field coaches not only in ASU history, but in the NCAA as he has won four NCAA titles, coached numerous athletes to individual championships and even sent Sun Devils to the world championships and Olympic Games. Kraft revitalized the historic track and field program when he joined the Sun Devils in 1996, and has since brought dozens of trophies back to Tempe, including 12 top-four finishes at NCAA Championships and three Pac-10/12 team titles to go along with his four NCAA team titles. The four-time USTFCCCA Coach of the Year has also had athletes win 34 individual titles with the most recent coming in 2017.
JIM BROCK/BASEBALL/1972-1994
Jim Brock spent 23 years at the helm of the Sun Devil baseball team, and led the team to a pair of national championships in 1977 and 1981. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. During his time as head coach, Brock posted a 1,100-440 record and led the team to 13 College World Series appearances. During his time, he coach many Sun Devil legends, including multiple first-round draft picks and three Golden Spikes Award winners. In 1998 Brock was inducted into the ABCA College Baseball Hall of Fame, and was the 1977 and 1981 NCAA Coach of the Year. Additionally, Brock was a five-time winner of the Pac-10 Coach of the Year award.
ANNE PITTMAN/WOMEN'S TENNIS/1954-1984
Anne Pittman, women's tennis coach for 30 years, guided the Sun Devils to a 337-71 record from 1954 through 1984. She directed the team to three USLTA National Championships and four conference titles. In 1976, Pittman led the Devil's to the most wins in school history (31). In 1975 and 1976 she was named the Lady Champion women's tennis coach of the year, and in her final season she was named ITCA national coach of the year. In 1995 Pittman was selected as one of the charter members into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.
LOU BELKEN/MEN'S TENNIS/1981-2008
Lou Belken spent 26 years at the helm of the Sun Devil men's tennis program. He posted a 312-309 record and coached 14 All-Americans and 28 Pac-10 All Conference selections. Belken was a two-time Pac-10 coach of the year. In 2017 he was selected as a member of the UTSA Hall of Fame.
MARGARET KLANN/MEN'S & WOMEN'S ARCHERY/1952-1975
Margaret Klann played an instrumental role in establishing collegiate archery and established the National Archery Association College Division. During her 22 years at Arizona State she coached 45 All-Americans. Additionally, her team won 16 national team titles and seven individual championships. Klann was inducted into ASU's Hall of Distinction.
DON ROBINSON/MEN'S GYMNASTICS/1968-1993
Don Robinson, who was inducted into the ASU Hall of Distinction in 1992, led the ASU men's gymnastics team for 25 years, from 1969 until 1993. He guided the team to 13 top 10 national finishes and six conference titles. ASU had a pair of national runner-up finishes in 1974 and 1978 before breaking through and winning the NCAA Championship in 1986. That same year Robinson earned national coach of the year honors. Under Robinson's tutelage 24 different Sun Devil student-athletes earned a combined 43 All-America awards. In 2000 Robinson was the first recipient of the USA Gymnastics Lifetime Achievement Award.
JOHN SPINI/WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS/1980-2014
In his 34 seasons as head coach of the Arizona State gymnastics program, John Spini sent his Sun Devil teams to 21 NCAA Championships and has had a least one Sun Devil represent ASU at the NCAA Championships 26 out of 34 seasons. Spini coaches 27 All-Americans for a total of 81 All-American accolades. Six women have won individual NCAA titles under Spini. Additionally, nine of Spini's Sun Devil squads have finished in the top five at the NCAA Championships, including four teams who were runner-up. A four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Spini's athletes were awarded a total of 27 perfect 10.0 in his career. He had win streaks of 15(22 opponents), 16 (28 opponents) and 25 (39 opponents) in his career. In 2010, he was named to the USAG Arizona Hall of Fame.
BALDY CASTILLO/TRACK & FIELD/1954-1979
Baldy Castillo, leader of the Sun Devil track and field team for 26 years, led his squad to one NCAA title and 34 All-America accolades. In the 1977 season Castillo's team captured their first national team title and nine athletes combined to collect seven individual All-America honors and two more in relays. During his time, his athletes also collected 10 individual NCAA titles. Castillo saw 24 of his athletes compete in eight Summer Olympiads and collect seven gold medals. In 2000, Castillo was inducted into the United States Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
MONA PLUMMER/WOMEN'S SWIMMING/1957-1979
Mona Plummer coached the Sun Devil swim team for 23 years. During her time the Devils won eight national championships. Plummer also coached nine Olympians and four dozen All-Americans. In 1984 she was inducted into the ASU Sports Hall of Fame and in 1985 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.