OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 27, 2018) – An era of Oklahoma Christian softball ended when Tom Heath decided to retire in 2018, but the level of excellence he established shows every indication of continuing.

The transition from Heath – the founder of the program – to new OC coach Shanon Hays ranks as the No. 5 story in OC athletics in 2018.

Heath started the OC program in 1995 and decided early in 2018 that he would retire at season's end, although few knew until just days before the season ended. True to his humble personality, Heath asked for the official announcement not to be made until after the Lady Eagles had finished their campaign.

The Lady Eagles sent him out on a high note, posting a 32-25 record and advancing to the Heartland Conference Championship tournament title game for the first time.  He subsequently was named as Oklahoma's NCAA Division II coach of the year by the website OklahomaSports.net.

Heath finished with a career record of 744-518-1 over 24 seasons and is one of only five collegiate softball coaches in Oklahoma to have won at least 700 games. He was the driving force behind the fundraising for, and the design and construction of, OC's Lawson Softball Complex, one of the finest facilities in Division II.

In late June, Hays was named as OC's new head coach, bringing with him a long track record of building successful softball programs at different levels. In nine seasons as a softball coach, he has a career record of 469-150.

He won the NAIA title at Lubbock Christian (Texas) in the program's first season of existence, then spent five seasons at Texas Tech, guiding the Red Raiders to the NCAA Division I tournament three times and winning at least 30 games each season. Last season, he took Colorado Christian to the Division II tournament.

Hays will enter the 2019 season with a roster that includes (among others) six seniors, a talented group of incoming freshmen and a pair of transfers, one each from Colorado Christian and Oklahoma State.