FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton softball Associate Head Coach Dee Dee Kingsbury has accepted the head coaching position at Whittier College, it was announced Tuesday by Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of Whittier Athletics, Robert Coleman. Kingsbury becomes the ninth coach in Whittier College history to lead the Poet softball program.
"I am so excited about this amazing opportunity for career growth and a new challenge while the opportunity to be a head coach and work on the administrative level has been a goal of mine for a long time," said Kingsbury. "The past 12-plus years of my life here at CSF have been amazing. I have watched my kids grow up and be inspired by the student-athletes that they come into contact with day in and day out. I could not have asked for a better group of players and coaches to spend my days with. I am sad to leave mostly because of the people that I worked with on a day-to-day basis. I will miss them tremendously along with the women on the team.
"I am so proud to say that I was a Titan and equally as proud of what this program represents. I wanted to thank everybody for making an impact on not only my life, but my entire family. I will miss Fullerton terribly, but will be back to proudly support the Titans in their quest for a national championship."
Along with leading the softball program, Kingsbury will also be the Senior Woman Administrator conducting compliance/eligibility duties for the athletic department. She will depart the Titans after completing her 12th season as a coach at Cal State Fullerton. Hired prior to the 2003 season, Kingsbury was promoted to the associate head coaching position in July 2008, where she has focused her efforts on the development of the Cal State Fullerton pitching staff and coordinating the Titans' recruiting efforts.
"Dee Dee Kingsbury is simply one of the most amazing people I have ever had the privilege to work with, exhibiting true professionalism while being an expert technician and inspiration to all that cross her path," stated Fullerton softball Head Coach Kelly Ford. "It is a tremendous loss for our program, but coach Kingsbury has left us with so many gifts that our coaches and student-athletes will have plenty to cherish both on the field and well into the game of life. She will do great things as an administrator and head coach at Whittier College. On behalf of our administration, support staff, coaches and student-athletes, we all wish Dee Dee much success in the next chapter of her life."
Whittier wrapped up its 2014 campaign with the second most wins in the program's history going 27-16, 16-12 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). The Poets were eliminated from the SCIAC postseason tournament after dropping a 7-4 decision to the University of Redlands, falling out of contention for the conference title.
During her tenure in Orange County, Kingsbury helped develop four NFCA All-Americans in Missy Taukeiaho, Ki Ki Munoz, Gina Oaks and Jodie Cox. She had five players earn a total of six NFCA All-West Region honors, and had 13 of her pitchers be named to the All-Big West Conference squad - including seven first-team honorees and most recently Jasmine Antunez receiving the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year Award in 2013.
Prior to joining the Titans, Kingsbury spent three seasons as an assistant at Wisconsin, helping the Badgers to three Big Ten Tournaments and appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and 2002.
Kingsbury coached the Badgers' first ever first-team All-Big Ten pitcher in Andrea Kirchberg, who is in the top-five in nearly every pitching record at Wisconsin. In 2002, Kingsbury, Head Coach Karen Gallagher and Assistant Coach Ali Viola were named the Speedline/NFCA Division I Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year, sharing the honor with Notre Dame. She also shared that accomplishment while at Cal State Fullerton.
Kingsbury has also produced more than 10 pitching videos, assisted writing several chapters in the book Softball Skills and Drills by Judi Garman, has spoken at several coaching and player clinics all around the country, and continues to reach out to the youth through clinics during the year.
As a player, Kingsbury was a member of the 1990 and 1992 UCLA national championship-winning squads while earning All-Pacific-10 Conference honors twice in her career and first-team All-America honors as a senior in 1994. A Honda Broderick Award nominee in 1994, Kingsbury finished her Bruin career with a 59-13 overall record, a 0.79 ERA, 746 career strikeouts and 16 no-hitters.
She continued her playing career for the USA national team and in the Women's Professional Softball League, playing four seasons (1997-00) after being drafted as the 10th selection of the second round of the 1996 Amateur Draft. Kingsbury won the 1999 WPSL championship with the Tampa Bay Firestix and recorded the first strikeout, complete game, victory, save and shutout in team history. She was also the first pitcher to throw a perfect game in WPSL history, shutting down the Carolina Diamonds, 2-0, on Aug. 1, 1998. She was also a two-time WPSL All-Star selection in 1998 and 1999.
Kingsbury graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1994. She received her Master's Degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration the fall of 2013 from Concordia University of Irvine. The former Dee Dee Weiman and her husband, Mike, have a son, Tyler, and daughters, Isabella and Brooklyn, and reside in Buena Park, Calif.