Shane Winkler - Softball Coach - George Washington University Athletics

Shane Winkler

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
winkler@gwu.edu

Shane Winkler was named head softball coach at George Washington on Aug. 9, 2018, and immediately lifted the program to new heights.

Through two seasons under Winkler, the Colonials own a 54-32 record.

In 2019, the Buff and Blue won a program-record 44 games in their first season under Winkler en route to a share of their first Atlantic 10 title and an appearance in the National Invitational Softball Championship Liberty Regional.

At the A-10 Championship, GW carried over momentum from a strong finish to the regular season, starting the week with three straight one-run victories. The Colonials ultimately shared the title with Fordham after the winner-take-all final was rained out, claiming their first conference banner in the program's 17th season.

GW's historic run was sparked by a nationally-ranked offense and excellent pitching from Sierra Lange, who was named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team and the NFCA All Mid-Atlantic Region First Team. Jenna Cone (.381/20 HR/67 RBI) led the way offensively being named A-10 Player of the Year and a Softball America Honorable Mention All-American.

The Colonials ranked third in the country with a .341 batting average, piling up 582 hits over 64 games, 89 more than the previous program record set last season. The Buff and Blue ended the spring among the national leaders in doubles per game (1.68, eighth), triples per game (0.31, 21th), on-base percentage (.405, 15th), scoring (6.02, 20th) and slugging percentage (.502, 22nd).

GW was honored for that memorable run with Cone pacing five All-Conference honorees. The Colonials also picked up a program-record four NFCA All-Region accolades with Cone, Lange, Jessica Linquist and Alessandra Ponce recognized.

Before coming to GW, Winkler had spent the past decade leading Charleston Southern, building the Buccaneers into a Big South contender. He totaled a program-record 261 wins with the Buccaneers and guided them to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 2014. He also has experience in the pro game as a former head coach and assistant in the National Pro Fastpitch league.

"I am excited to welcome Shane to the GW Family," Vogel said. "His plan to build a program based on discipline and respect fits in extraordinarily well with our values.

"His experience at Charleston Southern is marked by his commitment to student-athlete welfare and the development of leaders on and off the field, while his vision for excellence is in line with ours as we will immediately compete for Atlantic 10 Championships and make a move on the national level."

A former Division I college and professional baseball player, Winkler made his mark at Charleston Southern with three 30-win seasons and two Big South Championship final appearances highlighted by their breakthrough victory in 2014.

The Buccaneers, who hadn't been to a Big South final in two decades prior to his arrival, claimed the conference title that year with a win over top-seeded Coastal Carolina before advancing to the Knoxville NCAA Regional. They ranked in the top 10 in the nation in home runs in 2017 and this past season, they were one of just two clubs in the country, along with national champion Florida State, to rank in the top 30 in both home runs and steals.

"I am proud and honored to be the next head softball coach at George Washington," Winkler said. "I would like to thank Tanya Vogel and Chandra Bierwirth for this incredible opportunity to lead the Colonial softball program.

"It's obvious that GW provides an outstanding student-athlete experience, and I'm looking forward to meeting the student-athletes and building a championship culture here. The future is extremely bright for GW softball, and I'm ready to get to work."

Winkler's Charleston Southern teams produced 35 All-Big South honorees, including five in the 2018 season. In addition, the Buccaneers were honored with their first ever NFCA All-Region pick last spring.

During Winkler's run, Charleston Southern also produced the program's first Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year and 10 All-Academic selections. It also has had a recipient of the Christenberry Award for top academic student-athletes in the conference each of the past two seasons.

Winkler has also been active with National Pro Fastpitch, including a summer season as the head coach of the Chicago Bandits in 2014. He worked with numerous Olympians and NCAA champions, including Jennie Finch, in his work on the pro circuit, which has also included stints as an assistant with the Bandits (2009) and the Akron Racers (2007).

Prior to his tenure at Charleston Southern, Winkler served three seasons as an assistant coach at Marshall where he was responsible for the outfielders and the offense. The Thundering Herd broke the program home run record twice on his watch and consistently ranked among the top offenses in Conference USA led by a four-time All-American catcher.

Winkler's first collegiate job came as co-head coach at Danville Area Community College in Illinois for the 2005 season in which the Jaguars produced their first winning campaign in 12 years. He got his start coaching softball while in college working with a summer program in his hometown of Kentland, Indiana.

On the baseball field, Winkler was an outfielder who played collegiately at Illinois Central College, Purdue and Butler. He earned his associate's degree in general education from Illinois Central in 2002 before earning a bachelor of arts degree in communication studies from Butler in 2004.

Winkler moved on to play professionally with the Florence Freedom (2004) and Washington Wild Things (2006) of the Frontier League and the Amarillo Dillas (2006) of the United Baseball League.