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For assistant coaches bios, click here ABOUT COACH KORTMANN Kortmann has coached 50 all-conference players, including five
Pitcher of the Year, four Newcomer of the Year, three Player
of the Year honorees and one All-American. His program has produced
13 all-region selections, including seven first-team members
and his teams have recorded four 30-plus win It is through this success that Kortmann is able to walk into some of the most prestigious amateur softball tournaments in the country and recruit and sign some of the nation’s best players. Not only are the future student-athletes among the cream of the crop but so is the schedule he and his staff put together each season. Kortmann continues to challenge his team by competing against nationally-ranked schools, lifting the Blackbirds into the national scene in collegiate softball. While Kortmann has amassed almost 28 victories per season and reached the 300-win milestone with a victory over Mississippi last season, he also expects the best from his players in the classroom and beyond. He expects the young women that set foot on the downtown Brooklyn campus to compete and succeed in the game of life. Last season, the Blackbirds finished with a team GPA of 3.2 and ranked in the upper echelon of NCAA Division I teams. The past four years have been some of the most successful in school history on the field, as the Blackbirds have won an average of 28 game per season, won the NEC regular and postseason titles three out of the four years and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of those three seasons. Last season, LIU defeated schools from several softball power conferences such as the Big Ten and the SEC. With the team successes comes individual player success, and last year was no different as Jenny Giles was named NEC Pitcher of the Year and Tournament MVP, while Randi Gillespie was named the league’s Player of the Year and was selected to the NFCA All-Region First Team after finishing one home run shy of the school’s all-time single season record. Kortmann already has left an
enduring mark on the program, however year in and year out
he and his staff are committed to winning
championships and bringing his team to the national stage. With
a top recruiting strategy and an overall philosophy based on
hard work, it becomes evident that while winning is an objective,
he believes the program will thrive with players who are the
embodiment of the true student-athlete. Coaching and recruiting
in such a unique setting, Kortmann has taken an honest approach
and has sold his team on the benefits of working hard and “Our kids have a special opportunity to not only play competitive Division I softball at LIU, but they are doing it in the heart of New York City where there will be countless opportunities for them after they graduate,” Kortmann said. “Education always comes first and with that, the need to balance academics and their responsibilities on the softball diamond.” A top fastpitch player in his own right, Kortmann is the third coach since the program’s inception in 1982 and its winningest with 333 triumphs. Kortmann directed LIU to a dominant 2002 performance with a 21-1 conference record. He led the Blackbirds to a school-record 37 wins and an NEC Tournament crown in 2001. In 1999, he also guided them to a conference tournament championship and an NCAA Regionals appearance. They became the first women’s team in conference history to win an NCAA event by defeating Manhattan, 4-3, on the tournament’s second day. In 1998, the Blackbirds won 33 games. LIU qualified for the ECAC Regionals and Kortmann gained his second NEC Coach of the Year honor along with garnering Mid-Atlantic Coaching Staff of the Year accolades with assistant Bill Gehrke. The 1996 season enabled him to win his first of seven NEC Coach of the Year awards. He guided his young team to a 10-6 conference mark and to a successful run in the NEC Tournament that nearly earned the Blackbirds a league title. For the past 10 years, his LIU teams have been among the top hitting and fielding squads in the NEC. Kortmann maintains a hands-on approach with all facets of his team. Elevated to full-time status in 1998, Kortmann also serves as business manager for the athletic department, handling the day-to-day operations of department budgets. He also was a member of the LIU Fiscal Integrity Committee. From 1999-2000, he was the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-American Committee Mid-Atlantic Region chair and part of the selection process of Division I All-Americans in Oklahoma at the College World Series. He also was a member of the NEC Sports Committee for softball. Kortmann is a former member of the NCAA Championship Cabinet Committee, responsible for the selection and seeding of teams that qualify for the NCAA Tournament and the College World Series. In 2004, Kortmann chaired the NCAA Championship Committee on Selection for the College World Series. He chaired the NCAA Format Committee and the East Region Advisory Committee. He is also once again on the NFCA/USA Today Top 25 Ranking Committee. Kortmann received a Bachelor of Science Degree in management
at Rider He resides in Manalapan, N.J. with his wife Monica and their four children: Fallon, Conor, Kerrie and Shannon. |
(718)
488-1523, rkortman@liu.edu