Bethune-Cookman University Athletics

The winningest head coach in Bethune-Cookman Athletics history, Laura Watten is set to embark upon her 17th season overall as head coach of Bethune-Cookman Softball entering into the 2024 campaign. Throughout her career, she has been a Coach of the Year in three different conferences, in addition to coaching numerous Player of the Year student-athletes across those leagues as well.
 
Having achieved almost every accolade imaginable, Watten helped Bethune-Cookman to another first in 2022 – guiding the Wildcats to their first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Eastern Division title in the Wildcats first season as part of the league. Previously, BCU spent more than three decades participating as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
 
In all, Watten enters the 2024 season with a 32-16 record in SWAC play and holds a785-706 all-time record as a head coach (494-443 at Bethune-Cookman). She needs just six wins to achieve 500 career victories as a head coach with the Maroon and Gold.
 
After the 2023 season, Wildcats Softball continued to hold one of the highest team grade point averages (GPA) at Bethune-Cookman. The academic success of the program comes from study hall hours mandated by the head coach, making sure her team knows the importance of winning in the classroom as well as on the field.
 
During the 2022 campaign, Watten helped the Wildcats to a 17-7 SWAC record and the top seed in the SWAC Tournament. Along the way, she was named the 2022 SWAC Coach of the Year. The Wildcats finished the season as the top pitching and fielding team in the league, as Hannah Ortega was tabbed SWAC Pitcher of the Year turning in a 2.10 earned run average (ERA) for the season. Additionally, Ortega would take home Freshman of the Year honors for the conference, while teammate Halyne Gonzalez earned an All-SWAC First Team nod as a pitcher as well.
 
In 2020 – Bethune-Cookman’s final season as a member of the MEAC, the campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing BCU to end the season midway through March having failed to play a league contest.
 
The 2019 season saw Watten and the Wildcats’ dominance of the MEAC continue as BCU went 13-2 during the regular season, winning the MEAC Southern Division title on its way to claiming the SWAC Tournament title for the second consecutive season.
 
The first MEAC crown back at the helm of the program for Watten came in 2018, as the Wildcats won 12 of their final 13 games of the campaign, including sweeping through the MEAC Tournament in Ormond Beach, Florida. During that span, BCU defeated in-state opponent Florida A&M five times en route to what would be Watten’s sixth overall MEAC title.
 
Laura Watten officially returned to BCU on August 12, 2014. The BCU Athletics Hall of Fame member spent the previous nine years at the University of Maryland holding a similar position, taking the Terrapins program to new heights with three postseason appearances.
 
Before leaving for Maryland, Watten had registered a total of five (5) MEAC Coach of the Year awards – 2001, ’02, ’03 and ’05, before then bringing instant success to the University Maryland, where she served as head coach of the Terrapins program from 2006-14. The Texas native first transformed the culture surrounding the Maryland program, then brought an exciting brand of softball to College Park, enjoying success never before experienced for the longtime Atlantic Coast Conference member institution.
 
Considered one of the nation’s best recruiters and most determined coaches, Watten accumulated a record of 291-263 at Maryland, securing three consecutive NCAA Regionals appearances – a feat never before accomplished in College Park.
 
Her biggest challenge came in 2014, when she had more than four players go down with injury during the course of the year. The Terrapins had four players bat above .300 on the campaign, including Shannon Bustillos who enjoyed a .336 average with a team-leading five home runs and 33 RBI. On Watten’s staff as an assistant coach was former B-CU All-American and All-ACC selection (via Maryland) Amber Jackson.
 
The 2013 edition of the Terrapins saw Watten lead the program to their most successful stint ever in the ACC, posting series victories against six-of-eight opponents, and finishing third overall in the final league standings. The Terps won more games in the league that season than ever before, while freshman Lindsey Schmeiser shattered the school’s record for single-season RBI (59). Schmeiser went on to lead the conference in that category on her way to winning ACC Rookie of the Year honors and collecting All-ACC First Team accolades.
 
In 2012, Watten and her staff helped lead the Terrapins to a 34-22 overall mark (10-8 ACC), and a third-straight NCAA Regionals appearance. The Terps won 14-of-16 games to end the regular season to earn the postseason bid. Three of the Terrapins' seniors – Vangie Galindo, Kendra Knight and Kathy McLaughlin, were named to the All-ACC Team. The trio – members of Watten’s original recruiting class at Maryland – were consistent performers for the Terps. Watten and the Terrapins were sent to Seattle to take on 16th-seeded Washington, No. 23 Texas Tech and Ivy League champion Harvard in the Seattle [Wash.] Regional.
 
The 2011 season saw Watten once again lead the Terps to the postseason and an NCAA Regional appearance. In fact, Maryland hosted the College Park [Md.] Regional for a second consecutive year, finishing the campaign with a 40-19 overall mark, as well as a 12-7 record in the ACC. For Maryland, the 40 wins marked the most for a season since 1999, while the 12 league games marked the most conference wins in school history – until the 2013 season drew 13 wins. Following the year, four Maryland players earned spots on the All-ACC Team, headlined by Kerry Hickey being named ACC Pitcher of the Year.
 
During her fifth year at the helm in 2010, Watten helped lead the University of Maryland to its first NCAA Regionals appearance in more than a decade. Not only were the Terps playing in Regionals, but the NCAA came to College Park as Maryland hosted Regionals for the first time in school history, with Maryland welcoming teams from Fordham, Syracuse and Oklahoma to campus.
 
The 2009 campaign saw Watten’s Terrapins finish the ACC regular season fourth in the final standings, which was the highest finish under her guidance at the time. The team picked up a 9-11 league record, setting the bar for a new season-high in ACC wins under Watten, which would later be broken a season later.
 
In 2008, just three years into her tenure with the Terrapins, Watten helped Maryland post a record of 36-23, a record that still stands as the fourth-most wins in school history. Along the way, the Terps set a school-record for consecutive wins (16), early-on in the year. Maryland used a blazing 19-1 start to achieve national rankings in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 and the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 polls for the first time since 1999.
 
In 2007, the Maryland program reaped the full benefits of Watten's recruiting efforts. Nine newcomers joined the team, including five transfers, and Maryland's lineup was transformed into an offensive juggernaut. The Terps shattered previous team records for home runs with 59 and stolen bases with 98 and set numerous individual records. Former B-CU All-American and three-time MEAC Player of the Year Amber Jackson produced one of the best offensive seasons in school and conference history after sitting out the 2006 campaign due to transfer rules. The California native set single-season Maryland records for batting average (.408), runs (61), home runs (24), RBIs (56) and walks (55). Jackson led the NCAA in home runs and was a first-team All-America selection by Easton.
 
Prior to joining the Maryland Terrapins in 2006, Watten spent eight years at the helm of the BCU program in Daytona Beach, vaulting the Wildcats onto the national stage from a mid-major program.
 
Watten registered an impressive 125-20 league record during her time in Daytona Beach, including unbeaten conference marks in 2003 (18-0) and 2005 (16-0). The Cats won five consecutive league titles (2000-04), while Watten received MEAC Coach of the Year honors in three of those seasons (2001-03). She would go on to collect the award again in 2005, on her way to being named National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Southeast Region Coach of the Year.
 
The 2005 edition of BCU Softball still stands as the greatest season in school history, as the Wildcats became the first school in MEAC history to win an NCAA Regional. The Wildcats swept through the NCAA South Regional in Gainesville, Florida, advancing to the NCAA Super Regional in Austin, Texas. Bethune-Cookman received an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional after stumbling in the MEAC Tournament for just the second time in the previous seven years.
 
Throughout her illustrious career, Watten has coached a total of 15 NFCA All-Region players, as well as 15 All-ACC selections – eight of which landed on the first team. She has coached more than 20 All-MEAC selections, with three MEAC Player of the Year student-athletes and two MEAC Pitcher of the Year selections. The list of accomplishments continues with 20 All-ACC Academic Team members and three ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Team members.
 
In September 2012, Watten was inducted into the Bethune-Cookman University Athletics Hall of Fame, alongside former assistant coach and student-athlete Amber Jackson – having played for Watten at both BCU and Maryland. In her prior time at BCU, she registered a record of 322-207 and averaged more than 40 wins per season.

On June 27, 2024, Watten was elevated to the position of Senior Woman Administrator for the Wildcats, adding to her normal duties as head softball coach.
 
Laura Watten is a 1992 graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree, before going on to earn her Master of Education in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management from Texas Woman’s University.

2001 USA TODAY: Coach Laura Watten turns Bethune-Cookman into a surprise winner

2005 BLACK ATHLETE SPORTS NETWORK: Race Is Full Of Hurdles: Bethune-Cookman Coach Took Heat For Her Color, But Helping Mom In Time Was Watten’s Main Concern