Photo by Kai Millette
Kennesaw State announced on Monday it will not be renewing the contract of head softball coach Tripp MacKay.
KSU Athletic Director Milton Overton made the announcement that Coach MacKay and the Owls would be going their separate ways.
“Coach MacKay has made a significant impact on our softball program and KSU,” he said. “We are grateful for his dedication and the contributions he made to Kennesaw State softball. He led the team to memorable achievements on and off the field over his seven years here. We wish him and his family the best in their future endeavors.”
Mackay’s tenure as head coach at KSU began in 2019, where he finished the year with a 26-29 record, good for fifth place in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The 2020 season looked much better for him and his team, led by key wins against Auburn, Iowa State and Penn State. However, COVID cut the season short when the Owls had a record of 21-4.
The 2021 and 2022 seasons saw the team once again hovering around the .500 mark, with records of 27-27 and 23-28.
The Owls ended the 2022 season with a program record seven-game win streak and won nine of the last ten games. They finished fourth in the conference after defeating Jacksonville State 14-4.
The 2023 season, plagued by injuries, wasn’t nearly as successful. The team finished 20-32 overall and 11-13 in conference play.
Despite this, Coach MacKay earned the achievement of his 100th career win, coming on Feb. 19 against Troy University, becoming only the second softball head coach in KSU history to boast this accomplishment.
The struggles for the team continued in 2024, finishing with a 16-37 record. The Owls won three series in total against Stetson, Bellarmine and Florida Gulf Coast in their final season in the ASUN conference.
Coach MacKay’s last season with the Owls was also the first season coaching in Conference USA, and his team finished the year at 12-41. The Owls went 3-24 against conference opponents and were only able to find one win on the road. Coach MacKay finished with an overall record of 145-198 at KSU.
Mackay began his coaching career in 2007 as an assistant coach with the University of Oklahoma and was a part of the championship team in 2013.
He left Oklahoma after the 2015 season for the University of Texas, where he was the assistant coach for two seasons and finished both with winning records before being hired by KSU in the summer of 2018.
