Kent State Softball Camps - Kent State University

Kent State Softball Camps

Karen Linder
Head Coach

With more victories than any coach in Kent State softball history, Karen Linder enters her 12th season in the Golden Flashes’ dugout. She has led KSU to three Mid-American Conference East Division titles in the last four years, including a MAC regular season championship (2007) and MAC Tournament crown (2006) during that span.

Linder has coached 22 seasons of fastpitch softball, boasting a 557-459-1 (.548) career record. In 11 years at Kent State, Linder has posted a 304-259 (.540) overall record, a 154-103 (.599) MAC mark and five 30-win seasons.

She has coached one All-American, five Academic All-Americans, six All-Mid-East region selections, 19 Academic All-District IV honorees, 33 Academic All-MAC picks, 31 All-MAC players, six MAC All-Tournament Team members and two MAC Pitchers of the Year.

With a doubleheader sweep over Toledo on March 31 last season, Linder surpassed Sue Lilley Nevar with the most career victories in school history (290). In 2007, the Golden Flashes also captured their first outright regular season championship during Linder’s tenure, posting a 15-3 mark in MAC play to match the best conference winning percentage in school history.

In 2006, Linder led the Golden Flashes to the first MAC Softball Tournament championship in school history and earned a victory at the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 1990. The 2006 squad set 24 conference and school records, including home runs (56), RBI (220) and pitching strikeouts (499). During the regular season, she won her 500th game as a fastpitch coach when the Golden Flashes defeated Tulsa, 6-0, on March 12. Linder and her father, the late Dick Fishbaugh, who was the head baseball coach at Otterbein College, are the only father and daughter in NCAA history to each win 500 games as head coaches. Fishbaugh won 617 games for the Cardinals during his 33 years. The Flashes also earned victories over Florida State and South Florida, who won an NCAA Regional in 2006.

The 2005 Kent State squad established then school records in home runs (33) and pitching strikeouts (318). The Golden Flashes faced one of their toughest schedules ever, including eight opponents that earned NCAA Tournament berths. The Flashes also posted victories over Purdue and Virginia.

In 2004, Linder grabbed her only MAC Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Flashes to a 27-20 overall record and a 15-6 mark for KSU’s first outright East Division championship since 1999 as well as its first appearance in the MAC Tournament since 2001. She became just the second Kent State softball coach to receive the award.

Additionally, both Carrie Eneix and Marci Ridenbaugh were named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team in 2004, making the Flashes the only team in the country with more than one first-teamer.

In 2003, KSU posted a 27-19 overall mark and an 14-10 conference record. Lea Dorto and Eneix were first-team All-MAC selections, while six Golden Flashes were named to the Academic All-MAC team. Dorto also was named to CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team.

In 2002, the Golden Flashes were ninth in team grade-point-average in the NFCA Academic Honor Roll. It was the ninth time that Kent State finished in the top-25 academically and the second year in a row that Kent State was in the top 10.

The Golden Flashes finished the 2001 season 32-22 and placed second in the MAC East Division. Linder also coached her first Kent State All-American as Ridenbaugh was named to the third team at shortstop.

Kent State finished the 1999 season with a 34-18 mark (20-8 MAC), posting the second-most victories in school history. The Flashes also recorded a 14-game home winning streak in 1999. Later that year, Linder was honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for achieving 300 wins during its annual convention in the winter of 1999.

Along with her 300th career win, she also recorded her 50th win at Kent State in 1998, when the Flashes blanked Marshall 9-0 April 25, becoming the first Kent State softball coach to reach 50 wins in only two years.

In Linder’s second season, Kent State advanced to the MAC Tournament finals after entering the field as the fifth seed. However, the dramatic run came to an end when the Flashes dropped an extra-inning battle with Ball State University.

In Linder’s first season, the Golden Flashes were 22-31 overall and placed fourth in the MAC with a 17-13 record. Kent State advanced to the 1997 MAC Tournament before falling to eventual champion Central Michigan. The Flashes were 20-19 during their last 39 games after starting the season 2-12.

"We want all of our team members to continually strive for excellence on and off the field," Linder said. "Academic and athletic excellence is our number-one goal."

Linder was named head coach at Kent State on Aug. 7, 1996, succeeding Sue Lilley Nevar. Prior to coming to Kent State, Linder was the head softball coach at Division II Ashland University for 11 seasons.

Each of her last four teams won more than 30 games and were nationally ranked, both academically and athletically. Her overall record at Ashland was 253-200-1 (.558), including a 124-55 mark (.693) during the last four seasons.

In 1996, Ashland won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in the Eagles’ first year in the league and placed second in the NCAA Division II regional. The 1996 squad climbed as high as seventh in the national poll.

Linder’s teams also won a conference title in 1990 when Ashland was a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Linder also served as head basketball coach at Ashland from 1985-93 and was a physical education instructor.

From 1982-1985, she was the head coach for softball (slowpitch) and women’s basketball at Union College in Barboursville, Kentucky.

During her tenure at KSU, Linder has served on the NFCA All-American Selection Committee, the NCAA Regional Ranking Committee and the MAC Executive Softball Committee. She currently serves as the Mid-American Conference representaive for the NFCA Top 25.

A native of Columbus, Linder earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Otterbein College in Westerville in 1980 and her master’s degree in physical education from Eastern Kentucky University in 1982. She co-captained the softball and volleyball teams while at Otterbein. She and her husband, Tom, reside in Tallmadge and have two sons, Thomas and Tucker.