Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced Thursday that Pete D'Amour (pronounced DUH-MORE) has agreed to become the next head coach of the Virginia Tech softball program. D'Amour joins the Hokies after two seasons as the head coach at Kennesaw State, where he led the Owls to a 79-37 record and two postseason appearances. Before taking over the Kennesaw State program in 2017, he earned a reputation as one of the nation's premier recruiters during his 10-year tenure as assistant coach at the University of Missouri, a perennial NCAA tournament participant.
"We are excited to welcome Pete to our talented group of head coaches at Virginia Tech," Babcock said. "After watching Pete firsthand for five seasons as an assistant at the University of Missouri, it came as no surprise to me the immediate impact he made as a head coach at Kennesaw State. Pete understands the tradition and high standards for softball at Virginia Tech that were set by Scot Thomas and the many student-athletes, coaches and staff who built this program since its inception.
"I'm confident that Pete has the values, skills and talent to lead our softball program into the future. His demonstrated commitment to academic success and on-field performance, as well as his proven ability as a recruiter and leader were all attributes that appealed to us as our search process evolved. I would like to thank our senior associate athletics director Chris Helms for his exemplary work leading our search that has brought Coach D'Amour to Blacksburg."
D'Amour coached Kennesaw State to the 2018 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season and tournament championships en route to the program's first NCAA Regional appearance since transitioning to the Division I level in 2006, as the Owls finished the year with a 39-17 record. In his inaugural year as head coach at Kennesaw State in 2017, he guided the Owls to a 40-20 overall record and a berth in the National Invitational Softball Championship.
Prior to accepting the head coaching job at Kennesaw State, D'Amour spent a decade at Missouri as an assistant coach, serving as associate head coach for his final two seasons in 2015-16. During his tenure in Columbia, the Tigers qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of his 10 seasons on the staff, reaching five NCAA super regionals and earning three consecutive trips to the Women's College World Series from 2009-11.
"I am honored and humbled to accept this tremendous opportunity to lead the softball program at Virginia Tech," D'Amour said. "Scot Thomas built this program from the ground up, and I admired the tradition he established at Tech from afar. Our objective will be to uphold the foundation of consistent success and the winning culture that Scot instilled in the program, while bringing some new concepts to the team, as we start this new chapter for Tech softball.
"I'm also excited to return to a region where I grew up and a number of members of my family still call home. In addition to inheriting a program that has been to the Women's College World Series, the chance to lead a team that boasts fabulous facilities – including a new indoor facility – that also happens to be located in a region full of talent was very appealing to me. I'm eager to meet the team and get to work in Blacksburg."
A formal press conference to introduce D'Amour as the second softball coach in Virginia Tech history is slated for Thursday, June 6. More specifics will follow once details for that event are finalized.
Kennesaw State went 39-17 and 14-3 in the ASUN this past season and earned a No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional. D'Amour was named ASUN Coach of the Year and seven Owls earned ASUN all-conference accolades, including ASUN Pitcher of the Year Alley Cutting and ASUN Freshman of the Year Patricia Awald. Awald was one of 25 finalists up for NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award. Kennesaw State entered this year's NCAA tournament ranked No. 34 in the RPI, a program-best, while competing in arguably the best mid-major conference in the country.
In D'Amour's first season at Kennesaw State, the Owls went 40-20, the program's first ever 40-win season, and reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Softball Championship. The Owls peaked at No. 47 in the RPI and led the ASUN in all major offensive categories, including batting average (.303), runs scored (302), hits (505), doubles (83), triples (19), home runs (45) and slugging percentage (.456). D'Amour also helped Courtney Sutter and seven other student-athletes earn ASUN postseason accolades.
The Monrovia, Maryland native made a name for himself nationally as a staunch recruiter and a developer of pitchers and catchers in his decade on the coaching staff at Missouri. D'Amour, who called pitches for 11 no-hitters with the Tigers, mentored 11 NCAA Division I All-Americans, two SEC Freshmen of the Year, three conference pitchers of the year, a national earned run average leader and a defensive player of the year. The Tigers won two Big 12 championships in 2009 and 2012 and finished in the top three of the SEC twice thanks in large part to D'Amour's connections in the fertile recruiting grounds of California. In two seasons as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, D'Amour put together FloSoftball's third-ranked recruiting class in 2017, and the Tigers went to back-to-back super regionals. D'Amour was a part of three coaching staffs that earned NFCA Midwest Staff of the Year honors.
D'Amour earned a bachelor's degree in general studies with an emphasis in business, English and history, and a master's degree in sports psychology from the University of Missouri. He started throwing underhand at the age of four while serving as batboy for his father's fast-pitch team. He played shortstop and pitched men's fast pitch for seven seasons, including three in the ISC Travel League and was the MVP of the NSA World Series in 2007. During his last ASA National Tournament, D'Amour hit .500 (7-for-14) with three home runs. He also played one year of college baseball at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, where he was an infielder, in addition to a one-year stint at Frostburg State.