Florida's Tim Walton named D1Softball's 2024 Coach of the Year

D1Softball named Florida head coach Tim Walton the 2024 Coach of the Year Award on Monday, following a deep run in the Women’s College World Series that ended a win away from reaching the finals.

Although many were upset to see Oklahoma head coach Patty Grasso miss out on the award following a fourth-straight national championship, D1Softball argues that Florida’s transformation over the past year under Walton was more impressive.

Two seasons ago, Florida only had 38 wins. In 2023, they finished with an 11-13 record against the rest of the SEC and were knocked out of the playoffs relatively early in the Stanford Regional.

Walton made a few key additions from the transfer portal — Jocelyn Erickson and Korbe Otis — to an already strong freshman class, and Florida went 54-15 (17-7) in 2024. Whether the team building or the actual coaching mattered more is inconsequential. That big of a jump forward deserves some recognition.

Florida is pushing forward at full steam, too. Walton has remained active in the transfer portal this offseason to replace a six-woman senior class, including Gators great Skylar Wallace.

Through 19 seasons as Florida’s head coach, Walton has won 980 games with an 81% win rate.

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