Chris Hawkins is an institution at an Upstate higher learning institution. Hawkins is an alumnus of USC-Upstate and has been with the softball program for over 30 years. He started as an Assistant Coach there in 1989 and was named Head Coach in 1993. While longevity is always a factor in career achievement, it has been "quality over quantity" that has propelled him into rarefied air. When the Spartans downed Florida International Sunday afternoon, it marked the 1,000th career victory for Coach Hawkins.
The Seneca, SC native has been key in the elevation of the USC-Upstate Softball program. He was at the helm when the program made the move up to Division-I. While the school was still in Division-II, Hawkins led them to the NCAA Tournament four straight times between 2004-2007.
For many programs and coaches the move up to D-I comes with growing pains. It often takes a program a few years at least to be ultra-competitive in Division-I. Not Chris Hawkins and Spartan Softball though, they won the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2008, their 1st season at the D-I level. They would go on to win for five years straight from 2013 through 2017. They made 5 consecutive trips to the NCAA D-1 tournament during that stretch.
USC-Upstate has 12 seasons of 40 wins or more in the history of their Softball program. Chris Hawkins has been a part of 11 of those 12 milestone seasons. This year Hawkins is hoping for the program's 1st title in the Big South Conference. The Spartans are off to a hot start on the season thus far, as they are 18-1 with their lone loss coming to ACC program Pittsburgh.
