BlytheBytes: Blythe Neal sits down with softball coach John Rittman |
CLEMSON - Clemson softball coach John Rittman is building the Tiger program from scratch, and our Blythe Neal recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Rittman about his first few months on the job.
Rittman, a longtime head coach and member of the USA Softball Women’s National Team coaching staff, was named the first head coach of Clemson softball in February of 2017. Rittman will lead the program in preparation for its first competitive game in February 2020. Rittman comes to Clemson after serving as associate head coach at the University of Kansas for the past two seasons. Rittman joined the Jayhawks after 18 seasons as the head coach at Stanford University and 10 years on the United States National Team coaching staff (2001-08, 2016-present). Under Rittman, the Cardinal recorded 18-consecutive winning seasons, made 16-straight NCAA appearances, notched 13 40-win seasons and produced at least one All-American in 15 of his last 17 seasons. As head coach, Rittman accumulated a 750-351-3 overall mark, coached a national player of the year, 16 All-Americans, earned five Super Regional appearances, two Women's College World Series appearances and maintained a spot in every regular-season National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll for more than a decade. This is the first in a series of interviews Neal will do with Clemson coaches and players. Stay tuned for more!
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
