LOUISVILLE, Ky. --- Former Moravian University Head Softball Coach John Byrne '82, who retired in May after 29 years leading the Greyhound softball program and 44 years at the school has been selected as a 2023 inductee into National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Byrne's induction will take place on Friday, December 8, 2023, during the NFCA's 40th Anniversary Convention in the NFCA's home base of Louisville, Kentucky.
Joining Byrne in the 2023 NFCA Hall of Fame Class are NFCA Executive Director Carol Bruggeman, Florida State University Head Coach Lonni Alameda and Rowan University Head Coach Kim Wilson.
Byrne retired this past spring after becoming the fifth active and ninth overall NCAA Division III coach to reach 900 career victories, surpassing the milestone on March 2 with a 2-1 win over No. 11 Milwaukee School of Engineering. He completed his career with a 923-257 overall record, a .782 winning percentage that ranks as the eighth best in NCAA Division III history. Byrne led the Hounds to the postseason in 27 seasons including three NCAA Division III Championships appearances with the Blue & Grey playing for the national championship in 2004, 18 NCAA Division III playoff berths, 25 conference playoff appearances and 17 conference championships. Byrne recorded a 46-39 slate in NCAA Tournament action, and the only two seasons that Moravian failed to reach the postseason in his tenure was his first year in 1994 and in 2020 when the postseason was cancelled by the pandemic.
Byrne and his staff of assistants were selected the Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year in 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, and Byrne and his staff were honored as 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 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 included 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.
Byrne, a 1982 graduate of Moravian, served as Athletic Recruiting Coordinator from 1985 to 1998. He also served as an Associate Athletics Director for the Greyhounds. A four-year starter on the baseball team, Byrne was an assistant baseball coach from 1983 to 1992, head volleyball coach in 1988 while leading the Hounds to a 24-16 record with a pair of First Team All-Middle Atlantic Conference Southeast League selections and assistant football coach from 1989 to 1997.
Byrne served as associate head coach of the Philadelphia Force in the National Pro Fastpitch League in 2007 and worked as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds.
For more information on the NFCA Hall of Fame, visit https://nfca.org/awards/nfca-hall-of-fame.
