Odessa College has named Doug Eastman as the new head softball coach, the college announced in a press release Tuesday.
Eastman comes to Odessa College having previously coached at the Division II level at Texas A&M-Kingsville where he coached during the 2022-23 season.
However, he has plenty of experience of coaching at the NJCAA level.
Prior to Kingsville, Eastman was the head softball coach at Yavapai College from 2014-22.
His 2022 team at Yavapai was ranked number one in the NJCAA rankings.
Eastman received the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Mileston Achievement Award with 833 career wins and 333 wins in eight seasons at Yavapai College.
He also holds the honor of being the winningest softball coach in Yavapai College history. His teams had two national appearances in 2015-16 and 2020-21, two region championships, and four conference titles.
Before Yavapai, Coach Eastman was the head softball coach for 12 years at his alma mater, College of the Siskiyous in Northern California, where his teams’ overall record was 301-24 across the past seven seasons. Under his coaching, the college’s softball program ranked #1 in winning percentage in California and had seven consecutive conference championships and seven consecutive Final Four appearances.
During Coach Eastman’s college years as a student athlete, he played baseball at the College of the Siskiyous and received All-State and All-American honors. He was the youngest athlete to be inducted into the college’s Baseball Hall of Fame. He transferred to Sacramento State University where once again he achieved All-American honors and was inducted into the school’s Hornet’s Hall of Fame.
In 1984, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds where he played in the minor league organization and was awarded the Most Valuable Player honor in 1987. Later, a wrist injury changed his direction from player to coach.
He has an associate’s degree from College of the Siskiyous, in Weed, California, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California Coast University in Santa Ana, California.
Eastman replaces former Odessa College softball coach Jeff Jackson who left to take over as head coach at Stephen F. Austin last month after six years at OC.
