Jon Sanders has been named the head coach of Asbury University’s softball program athletics director Mark Perdue said Wednesday July 20. Sanders becomes the second coach of the program since it was resurrected in 2009 following a five-year hiatus.
Sanders was previously an assistant at Wheaton College (NCAA Division-III) in Illinois, where he led the recruiting efforts for the class of 2011-12. He was also responsible for training players and scouting opponents. He takes over an Asbury program that went 20-13 last season and qualified for the NAIA Softball National Championship Tournament by winning the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.
“We are very excited that Jon Sanders is taking over our softball program and confident he will continue the recent success,” Perdue said. “He is highly energetic and enthusiastic and has the perfect mindset that correlates with the mission of Asbury University.”
Prior to working at Wheaton, Sanders was a successful coach on the Indiana high school and travel-team levels. He led Hamilton Heights High School (Arcadia, Ind.) to two conference titles (2009 and 2010) and was named the coach of the year in the conference in 2009. Sanders spent four years (2005-2008) leading Daleville High School and Bloomington North High School, where he won two more conference titles and one sectional title. He amassed a record of 186-57 (.765 winning percentage) in six years as a high-school head coach.
Sanders has also enjoyed success on the travel-team circuit, starting the Indiana Huskies program and leading it to consecutive state runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2009. The Huskies made one appearance in the national tournament in 2009.
“I’m really excited to be here and ready to continue the successes of this program,” Sanders said. “I love being part of a Christ-centered school and look forward to helping our kids grow spiritually. I can’t wait to meet the girls and get started with pre-season in the fall.”
Asbury parted ways with former coach Larry McCullough on May 25 as the program decided to “move in a new direction for the 2011-12 season.”
“We want to thank Larry for his contribution and effort to reinstate the program four years ago,” said former Asbury athletics director Gary Kempf said in a statement at the time. “We are excited and look forward to the next chapter in the softball program.”
