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Anyone trying to understand the reason behind Virginia Tech’s unprecedented success on the softball diamond doesn’t have to look any further than head coach Scot Thomas. Since taking the job on July 5, 1995, Thomas has personally handled every element of building the program from buying the first pieces of equipment, to hiring the assistants and recruiting the players. The results are nothing short of phenomenal.

Since 1996, the first season Virginia Tech fielded a softball team, Thomas has had 17 winning or .500 seasons in 22 campaigns, has led the Hokies to eight NCAA appearances, two ACC titles, and took Tech to the pinnacle of the sport in 2008, the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Thomas grew up in Blacksburg where he dreamed of one day becoming a coach at Tech. Having faithfully watched Hokie athletics his entire life, along with having parents who worked at Virginia Tech, he understood the dedication to excellence and the commitment to quality the University demanded, and he was a perfect match for the program’s philosophy.

Thomas dreamed of building a nationally recognized program from the beginning. People warned him that it would take years for Virginia Tech to become a player in the region, not to mention on the national scene. Now entering his 23rd season with 771 wins entering the 2018 campaign, Thomas has positioned Hokie softball as one of the most respected programs, not only in the state and region, but has put it on the national map as well.

The Hokies narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament in 2016 after going up against one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Tech finished the season ranked 44th in the RPI with a 29-28 overall mark and a 9-12 record in conference play.

Prior to 2016, the Hokies appeared in four-consecutive NCAA Regionals from 2012-15 and compiled an overall record of 150-88. Tech’s last NCAA Tournament team in 2015 re-wrote the program’s offensive record book, breaking the school record with 65 home runs. That total included a school-record 17 home runs from Kelsey Mericka.

Tech reached its seventh NCAA Tournament in 2014 after finishing third in the ACC with a 19-9 record, its most league wins since joining the conference in 2005. All-ACC performers Lauren Gaskill, Kylie McGoldrick and Katie Smith were coupled with a pitching staff, led by first-year pitching coach Angela Tincher-O’Brien, that posted the second-most strikeouts in the ACC with 362.

In 2013, the team picked up early wins over nationally ranked UCLA, Arizona and Michigan en route to earning a spot back in the top 25 for the first time since 2009 and later knocked off No. 17 Kentucky at the NCAA Championship to advance back to the Regional Final. The Hokies picked up 38 wins and Thomas and his staff were awarded their fourth regional coaching staff of the year honor.

In 2012, his team was picked sixth in the preseason ACC Poll, finished fourth, advanced to the championship game of the ACC Tournament and was one win away from making it back to the Super Regionals. In all, Tech went 42-21 and placed four players on the all-region squad despite not starting a senior regularly down the stretch. The results earned Thomas and his staff their third NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honor.

In 2008, with the best player in the country, he led the Hokies to new levels, culminating with a trip to Oklahoma City for the WCWS. After finishing second in the regular season, the Hokies rolled through the ACC Tournament for the second time in a row, guaranteeing them their fourth-straight NCAA Regional appearance. A 49-19 record, as well as the National Player of the Year in Angela Tincher, secured a special place in the history of Hokie softball. He also led his team to a historic upset of the U.S. National Team, breaking the Red, White & Blue’s 185-game, pre-Olympic exhibition tour winning streak with a 1-0 win. This is the same program that had won the previous three Olympic gold medals in the sport and took silver in Beijing. Thomas and his staff were honored for the second-straight year as the Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year for the way they led the team in 2008.

In 2007, he saw his team post 49 wins, including the ACC’s regular season and conference tournament championships. Those titles were the first in the program’s history and helped him earn ACC Coach of the Year honors. He also picked up his 400th career win, a 3-0 victory over Stetson, and saw his team finish ranked 14th in the country. Additionally, Thomas - along with his three assistants - were named the Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year by the NFCA.

The Hokies finished a spectacular 1999 season ranked 25th in the nation with a 54-16 record. In just its fourth year as a varsity sport, the team placed second at the A-10 tournament and Thomas was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. Tech’s hopes for a regional at-large bid were denied, but it did receive the national attention it had been working for. An upset of No. 4 Michigan highlighted the season. Tech finished the year undefeated at home and 14-2 in Atlantic 10 play, losing only to UMass. The Hokies had the third-longest winning streak in the nation at 26, and at one point won 35 of 36 games.

Thomas became Tech’s first head softball coach when he was hired in 1995. Since then, he has recorded 771 wins, averaged 35 wins per season and has made the conference tournament championship game eight times. He and his staff has earned four NFCA Regional Staff of the Year honors (2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013).

While success on the field is important, Thomas also places a strong emphasis on success in the classroom. Michelle Johnson made the 1998 second-team squad while Meadows was a three-time selection, the last two being on the first team. Following the 2002 season, Ashlee Dobbe earned first-team honors and Angela Tincher was a three-time Academic All-American, including Academic All-American of the Year for softball in 2008. Those classroom honors went along with three NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-America honors, including the National Player of the Year honor in 2008, the Honda Award, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and an NCAA Top VIII honor. In 2009, Rhodes earned second-team academic honors, in addition to the third-team All-America honors on the field as given by the NFCA.

As time passes and the program grows, so does his players’ impact in the pro league and internationally. Thomas has had four former players play in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF): Tincher and Kelsey Hoffman with the Akron Racers; Rhodes with the Rockford Thunder/Tennessee Diamonds and Courtney Liddle with the NY/NJ Comets/Pennsylvania Rebellion.

He has also had six current or former players represent their country in international events: Tincher (USA), Shanel Garofalo (Italy), Charisse Mariconda (Puerto Rico), Richelle McGarva, Ashlee Dobbe and Jess Hodge (Canada).

Respected by many, Thomas has been named the Virginia State Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) a record six times (1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2012). He has had 39 different players named to the all-state team 72 different times, including at least three on each of the last 11 teams. Three players have earned state player of the year honors and three were named rookie of the year, while Tincher was named the pitcher of the year three times and Jasmin Harrell won the award in 2012.

Thomas graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1991 with a bachelor’s in physical education. He was also selected to be the head coach of a group of local collegiate all-stars who took on the U.S. Olympic Softball Team in Salem, Va., in the summer of 2004 and did so again in the summer of 2008.

Thomas was an active ballplayer in the fastpitch world, playing in the ASA Men's B Nationals in 2003 and the NSA World Series in 2004 and 2005 and was chosen to play with a team that took on the USA men's national team as part of its tour to prepare for the 2009 ISF World Championships.

Thomas is a Cold War veteran of the United States Naval Reserve, serving from 1989 to 1997. He was attached to the USS Butte out of Naval Weapons Station in Earle, New Jersey and the USS Boulder of Little Creek, Virginia. Thomas was a member of the Cargo Handling Battalion 10 out of Cheatham Annex near Williamsburg, Virginia during his time in the Navy.

Thomas graduated from Blacksburg High where he was a member of the football and baseball teams.

His mother, Judy Ridinger, worked at Virginia Tech for over 40 years, and his late stepfather, Jack Ridinger, was captain of the Virginia Tech Police Department.

Thomas has a son, Andrew Scot, and a daughter, Eliza Leigh.