Kirk Walker Position: Head Coach Experience: 18th Season Alma Mater: UCLA '88

Kirk Walker enters his 18th year as head coach of the Oregon State softball program, which has made a monumental turnaround under his direction.

Walker reigns as Oregon State's all-time winningest softball coach with a 558-467-3 career record. He earned his 500th career coaching victory on March 1, 2009, in a 4-1 decision over Minnesota at the CSUF DeMarini Invitational, hosted by Cal State Fullerton.

The Beavers have routinely beaten nationally-ranked teams and have shown improvement every season since Walker's arrival. His teams have finished with 25-plus wins in the 13 of the last 15 seasons and have won 40 or more games eight times.

In 2011 the Beavers posted a 19-28 overall record, featuring upsets of No. 5 Arizona and No. 14 Washington. Under Walker's guidance, Oregon State had a stellar season in the circle, especially to start off the year. Marina Demore and Paige Hall combined to throw a no-hitter in the team's first game, an 8-0 victory against Appalachian State on Feb. 10. The next day, Hall tossed the third perfect game in program history when she blanked Western Michigan, striking out six.

His 2010 squad finished with 23 wins and posted the fourth highest team batting average in program history (.273). Lea Cavestany and Audrey Roderfeld were selected to the All-Pac-10 Second Team and Dani Chisholm, Paige Hall and Ally Kutz received honorable mention nods. Roderfeld keyed the Beavers' offensive dominance, batting .310 with 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 45 RBI. Her performance that season scattered her name throughout the Oregon State single-season record book, as her 14 home runs are third all-time, her 45 RBI good enough to tie for fifth and her 12 doubles placed her in a tie for 10th in program history.

Leading a young squad in 2009, Walker led the Beavers to their 13th 25-plus win season, upsetting a handful of ranked teams along the way, including the defending national champion, Arizona State, in the closing weekend. In 2010, the Beavers gave the No. 7 Sun Devils more fits, taking the series at home, while nabbing single wins off of top-25 teams, Stanford and Oregon.

In 2008, Walker guided another young team to a 28-win season, causing multiple upsets along the way, and helping lead Paige Lowe to her first all-region honor.

The 2007 season saw Walker steer the Beavers to their fourth consecutive 40-plus win season, finishing 41-23, and Brianne McGowan and Cambria Miranda earn All-American status. The team was a steady force in the top 25, making its ninth straight trip to the NCAA postseason, falling to No. 10 Michigan in the regional title game.

Turning Oregon State into a perennial national contender, Walker led the Beavers to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Women's College World Series during the 2006 campaign. One of the best teams in Oregon State history, Walker's 2006 squad reeled off a school record 28-game winning streak (the longest for any team in the nation on the season), catapulted to a program-best No. 5 national ranking, and won both the NCAA Regional and Super Regional to earn a WCWS berth. Oregon State faced a pair of Pac-10 Conference opponents (eventual national champion Arizona and Arizona State) in the World Series before finishing the year with a 43-16 record.

Walker earned his second Pac-10 Conference Coach of the Year award after leading the 2005 Beavers to their first-ever conference title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Pac-10 championship was the first regular-season title for any women's sports program in Oregon State history. OSU compiled a 43-16 record and was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally in a year that saw the Beavers win the season series against five conference opponents (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Washington). The team won 22 consecutive games in the middle of the season and earned a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament championship game before falling to DePaul University.

Walker's youthful 2004 squad came within a few innings of earning Oregon State's inaugural berth in the College World Series. The Beavers finished the year with a 44-28 record, falling to No. 6 Michigan in the NCAA Regional Championship game.

In 2003, Walker led the Beavers to a 36-31 overall record and fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament. In the process, the Beavers knocked off 12 top-25 opponents and reached the NCAA Regional Championship game for the first time since 2000.

Walker guided the 2002 Beavers to a 40-25 overall record and 7-14 mark in Pac-10 Conference action. Oregon State made its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament and won 40-plus games for the fourth straight year.

In 2001, Walker led the Beavers to a 44-24-1 overall record and 10-10 finish in Pac-10 action. OSU reached the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year

During the 2000 campaign he guided the Beavers to a 40-21-1 record and their second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Oregon State finished one game shy, for the second consecutive season, of making its inaugural trip to the NCAA Women's College World Series. The Beavers ended the 2000 campaign ranked 12th in the final NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll.

Walker guided Oregon State to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1999, when the team finished with a school-record 47 wins and had its first winning season since 1984. OSU also posted a school-record 14 Pac-10 victories and finished fourth in the league standings - at the time, the highest for any Beaver squad in the history of the conference.

In addition to setting the school record for wins, the Beavers set nearly 20 other single-season team and individual records as well in 1999.

Oregon State finished one game shy of making its first appearance at the 1999 Women's College World Series and was ranked 10th in the final NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll for OSU's highest season-ending ranking since joining the Pac-10. OSU was ranked as high as eighth during the regular season.

For his team's success, Walker was named the 1999 Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year and the Beaver coaching staff also was named the Speedline Pacific Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. Walker was honored as Oregon State's Coach of the Year in 1999 as well.

His 1998 Beavers posted a record of 27-28 - and up until 1999 that was the closest OSU had come to a winning season since 1984. OSU also captured a then-school-record eight Pac-10 victories in 1998. The 1997 team won 29 games, the third most in OSU softball history at the time.

The pitching staff's earned run average had dropped by nearly 70 percent over a six-year span. In 1995, the pitchers combined for a 5.35 ERA, a far cry from the 1.59 ERA that the 1999 squad put together. In addition, the 2005 Beavers set a school record with a .976 team fielding percentage, notching nearly a 35-point improvement from his first season. OSU's team batting average also improved 41 points between his first and third seasons.

Gaining recognition for his involvement and success in coaching, Walker was named one of 12 coaches to form the USA Softball National Team Coaches Pool through the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Walker served as assistant coach for the USA Elite Team during the summers of 2002, 2003 and 2004 while serving as an assistant coach for the USA Red National team at various tournaments during the summer of 2001.

Walker came to Oregon State after spending 11 seasons at national powerhouse UCLA as a manager and assistant coach. During his time in Westwood, the Bruins won six NCAA titles and made 10 appearances in the College World Series. The Bruins recorded an impressive 111-17 (.867) record and won five Pac-10 titles during his stint. As the head pitching instructor, Walker produced several All-Americans, including Lisa Fernandez and Dee Dee Weiman.

Walker is also very involved in the offseason by working at many camps and coaching in the Amateur Softball Association. He has served as the head coach of the California Commotion team, which won the women's major fastpitch national title four consecutive years from 1996-99.

Walker resides in Portland, Ore., with his partner of 14 years, Randy Baltimore, and has one daughter, Ava. He is a native of Woodland Hills, Calif., and earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from UCLA in 1988.