Tom Heath

Tom Heath started OC’s softball program in 1995 and quickly developed one of the state’s top small-college programs. In 23 seasons with the Lady Eagles, he has posted a 712-493-1 career record, reaching the 600-win threshold with a win over Rogers State on March 29, 2014, and the 700-win mark with a win at Texas A&M International on March 24, 2017.

Among college softball coaches who have worked primarily at an Oklahoma four-year university, Heath’s career wins total ranks fifth. He was inducted into the OC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 1998, Heath and assistant coach Steve Gault were selected as the Regional Coaching Staff for the NAIA Southwest Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. In 1999, Heath was named Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and in 2014 and 2015, Heath received National Christian College Athletic Association Central Region coach-of-the-year honors.

He led the Lady Eagles to a berth in the 2002 and 2003 NAIA national tournaments. His 2003 team finished No. 11 in the NAIA’s final regular-season poll. In 2013, OC’s first season in the NCAA Division II Heartland Conference, the Lady Eagles would have finished third had the conference chosen to count their games in the league standings.

In 2014, OC finished third in the Heartland Conference standings, then made a memorable postseason run, winning the NCCAA Central Region title -- the program's first postseason championship -- and advancing to the NCCAA national-title game before falling to Shorter (Ga.). In 2015, OC finished fourth in the Heartland and won a second straight NCCAA regional championship, again reaching the national-title game before losing to Simpson (Calif.).

OC's first season of Division II postseason eligiblity was 2016 and the Lady Eagles finished third in the Heartland to qualify for the conference tournament. OC again finished third in the Heartland in 2017, going 33-23 overall and reaching the conference tournament despite having only 11 active players on the roster all season.

Heath’s longtime dream of a first-class stadium for the Lady Eagles was realized starting with the 2014 season and the university honored him by naming the facility “Tom Heath Field at Lawson Plaza.” The facility gained national prominence in 2015, when it served as the site of the semifinals and final of the NCAA Division II Championship, which was moved to OC after heavy rains made the fields at nearby ASA Hall of Fame Stadium unplayable.

A 1971 Oklahoma Christian graduate, Heath was a baseball letterman as an undergraduate and also played on the OC basketball team. He earned a master’s degree from Central State University (now the University of Central Oklahoma) in 1973 and joined the OC staff as director of intramurals.

He served as assistant baseball coach for five years and as interim head coach for one year, in 1981, guiding the Eagles to a 23-26 record.

The Oklahoma City native coached Amateur Softball Association softball for 12 years and has been active in the sport at all levels of competition.

The 68-year-old Heath is married to Susan (Eggers) of Sacramento, Calif. They have a son, Nathan, and a daughter, Kristin. Heath’s brother, Randy Heath, was OC’s longtime track and field coach before retiring in 2015.