Travis McCall enters his third season as an assistant coach andis part of the reigning Conference Carolinas regular seasonchampion Tornado softball team. McCall came to King in 2011 afterspending the previous season as assistant softball coach atColumbus State University in Columbus, Ga. Over his first twoseasons, the Tornado have had nine All-Conference Carolinasperformers, and nine student-athletes were named to theAll-Conference Carolinas academic team.
Under McCall's tutelage, the Tornado offense continued toimprove during the 2013 season that saw the Tornado capture theirfirst Conference Carolinas regular season title. King ranked nearthe top of every offensive category in Conference Carolinas. TheTornado ranked first in hits (419), second in doubles (62), secondin triples (9), thrid in home runs (27) second in runs batted in(191), first in total bases (580) and second in walks with 136.McCall also helped lead the a King defense that lead the conferencewith a .965 fielding percentage. He also helped lead a pitchingstaff that ranked third in the league with a 2.49 earned runaverage and five shutouts. Pitcher Hannah Light was namedConference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year and was selected to theDaktronics All-Southeast Region second team. Tornado pitchers alsoled the league with 291 strikeouts.
McCall’s knowledge of all aspects of the game has helpedhim gain a reputation as one of the region’s biggestup-and-coming coaches in the industry. Last year, he helped turnaround an offense in just one offseason, increasing theTornado’s team batting average by more than 40 points andmore than doubling its run production. Numbers rose across theboard, offensively, and the Tornado demonstrated a fieldingpercentage nearly 20 points better than the previous season.Improving the team’s hitting, fielding, and mindset helpedthe Tornado earn the College’s first ever TournamentChampionship since joining NCAA Division II and set a new teamrecord in single season wins (34).
In just one year with King, McCall has seen four of his playersearn All-Conference honors including two first team honorees, bothfreshmen in 2012. Four were named to the Conference CarolinasAll-Tournament team after clinching the title, including MostValuable Player and pitcher Hannah Light. Off of the field, McCallhas helped set a high standard of academic expectations and saw sixplayers named to the All-Academic team, last year.
Assisting with all aspects of the day-to-day operation of theCSU softball program, McCall helped lead the Lady Cougars to 37-16record in 2010-11, a 16-win improvement from the previous season.He helped the team post a record of 12-8 in the Peach BeltConference, finishing third in the regular season and advancing tothe PBC Tournament.
McCall helped the Lady Cougars finish the year ranked in thetop-3 of numerous conference offensive categories including battingaverage (.280, t-3rd), home runs (52, 2nd), hits (400, 3rd), andslugging percentage (.443, 3rd). The Lady Cougars pitching staffalso ranked in the top half of the conference in several categoriesincluding earned run average (2.10, 4th), opponents’ battingaverage (.250, 5th), and strikeouts (239, 6th). During histime at Columbus State, McCall also coached two first teamAll-Peach Belt Conference players and one member of the Peach BeltAll-Academic team.
Prior to CSU, McCall spent one season as a volunteer assistantbaseball coach at Lamar County High School in Barnesville, Ga.assisting with all aspects of practice, scouting, and fieldmaintenance. He helped lead the Trojans to the first round of theGeorgia High School Association State Playoffs and a 17-11record.
McCall was a four-year letter winner for the University of WestGeorgia baseball team and a member of the Gulf South ConferenceAcademic Honor Roll. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree inSports Management in 2008 and received his Master of BusinessAdministration in 2009, both from the University of West Georgia.He currently resides in Bristol (Tenn.).
