NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Trevecca Nazarene University
announces the hiring of Ben Tyree as the seventh head coach in the history of
the Trojan softball program.
Tyree recently completed his second
season as the non-faculty softball coach at Page High School and his fourth
season as the co-head coach of the Silver Bullets, a women's 23-U Fastpitch
team. Tyree was also non-faculty coach at Brentwood High in 2005 and coached the
Brentwood Blues travel team from 1995-2004. His overall high school record is
98-29.
He has more than 350 ASA/NSA
victories, a World Series runner-up finish, and five Top-10 finishes. On the
state level he has eight ASA/NSA state championships and two runner-up teams.
More than 20 of his players have earned college scholarships at the junior
College, NAIA, and NCAA levels. Among the current and former Trevecca players he
has coached are Ashley McCool, Brittiany Johnson, Stephanie Fisher, Megan Suggs,
Ashley Camp, and incoming freshman Riley Mashburn. He has also served as an
instructor at the University of Tennessee softball camp.
The softball coaching position
became available when Ernie Reynolds resigned on June 25, 2008. Reynolds had
been the Trojans' coach for four seasons and is the winningest coach in program
history.
In his comments about the hiring of
Ben Tyree as the Trojan softball head coach, President Dan Boone noted that
"Trevecca is excited about the addition of Ben Tyree to our coaching staff. He
steps into the nationally recognized program built by Ernie Reynolds. Under
Coach Tyree, we anticipate continued emphasis on Christian character, academic
excellence, and competitive performance. Trevecca continues to be one the top
small college athletic programs in the NAIA. And the future looks very good from
here."
Trevecca director of athletics
Brenda Patterson added, "Ben is no stranger to the Middle
Tennessee sports scene as he has coached softball at Brentwood and Page High
Schools as well as several summer travel teams. We are blessed to have one of
the premiere softball programs in the NAIA. Ben understands the mission of the
university and I firmly believe he will continue to build on the strong softball
tradition that Coach Ernie Reynolds has built here at
Trevecca."
Many Trevecca and area fans will be
familiar with Tyree for his 30 years of work as a basketball referee. He worked
both the high school and college ranks from 1976-2005. He was selected to work
postseason tournaments in high school for TSSAA (District, Region, Sub-state,
and State), in the NAIA for the TranSouth Athletic Conference (Semi-finals), and
in Junior College (District and Region). He was also named Middle Tennessee
Basketball Officials Association President and Official of the
Year.
Tyree attended Middle Tennessee
State University, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration. He
played basketball for Coach Jimmy Earle.
He graduated from Nashville's John
Overton High School, where he was the basketball team captain and played on the
tennis team.
He has worked for the Tennessee
Department of Transportation as a transportation manager since 1975.
Tyree has been married to his wife,
Susan, for 32 years. She is an elementary teacher in Williamson County and a
graduate of Lipscomb University. The couple resides in Brentwood and has two
grown daughters, Tracy and Allison. They attend Concord Road Church of Christ
where Ben was a deacon for 15 years.