BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University is continuing its look back at its 2021-22 athletic campaign. The final entry in our second countdown of the summer – the Top 10 Stories of the Year selected by the athletic administration – is our No. 1 highlight – Head Softball Coach John Byrne '82 registering his 900th career victory with program in March and then retiring after the season to cap 44 years at Moravian including 40 on the staff.
On Wednesday, March 2, Byrne became the fifth active and ninth overall NCAA Division III softball head coach to reach 900 career wins as he guided the Greyhounds to a 2-1 victory over No. 11 Milwaukee School of Engineering at the PFX Spring Games in Clermont, Florida. The triumph was the sixth in a row and part of a 12-0 start to the 2022 season for Moravian.
Read the original story on Byrne's 900th win at https://www.moraviansports.com/sports/sball/2021-22/releases/20220302skhexw
Byrne originally came to Moravian in the fall of 1978 as a freshman baseball student-athlete, and after 44 years on the Bethlehem campus that has seen the school go from a College to a University, Byrne called it a career, announcing his retirement as a Greyhound on May 23 after spending the last 29 years as Head Softball Coach. He finished his career with an overall record of 923-257, a .782 winning percentage that ranks as the eighth best in NCAA Division III history. Byrne led Moravian to the postseason in 27 seasons including three NCAA Division III Championships appearances with the program playing for the national championship in 2004, 18 NCAA Division III playoff berths, 25 conference playoff appearances and 17 conference championships during his tenure. He posted a 46-39 record in NCAA Tournament action. The only two seasons that Byrne failed to coach the Hounds into the postseason was his first year in 1994 and in 2020 when the postseason was cancelled by the pandemic.
Byrne and his staff of assistant coaches throughout the years were named the Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year in 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, and Byrne and his staff were named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2010. Byrne was the Commonwealth Conference Coach of the Year four times, and he was the ECAC Division III South Coach of the Year in 2016. Over the years, Byrne has coached eight players to a total of 12 NFCA Division III All-America honors, an NFCA Division III Catcher of the Year and 56 student-athletes to a total of 98 NFCA All-Region accolades. His tutelage also includes 16 Conference Pitchers of the Year, 11 Conference Players of the Year, 10 Conference Rookies of the Year and 191 All-Conference selections including 122 First Team honorees.
Read the original story on Byrne's retirement at https://www.moraviansports.com/sports/sball/2021-22/releases/20220523e300g0
