Milan's Kirk Davis selected as Region Softball Coach of the Year

MILAN – Kirk Davis didn’t play any sports at Bedford.

The 1988 graduate gave up baseball when he entered high school. Riding BMX bikes was one of his few athletic activities.

“I was not really a stellar athlete,” he said.

More: Defending champs oust Milan in Division 3 state softball semifinals

It was his daughter who brought him to sports.

When Ashley Davis, now a 20-year-old studying physical therapy at the University of Toledo, became a softball player, her father started going to games and later joined the coaching staff for her travel team.

He eventually became the head coach.

“I enjoyed it,” he said. “I had a lot of good times. I really enjoy the sport.”

Davis enjoyed softball so much that he decided to seek a high school coaching job.

“I considered a few schools located near where I live,” he said. “I went into it just looking forward to being a coach.

“Milan was kind of an unknown. I heard they had a good pitcher, but other than that, I had no idea.”

The arrangement worked out well for both sides.

Davis has posted an 89-35 record over the past four seasons with two Huron League championships and a pair of district titles.

This year the Big Reds went 27-9, captured a regional crown and reached the Division 2 state semifinals.

Davis has been selected as the Monroe County Region Softball Coach of the Year by The Monroe News sports staff.

“I thought we could make a good run,” Davis said of his 2024 team. “This is one of the most rounded teams I’ve had. We had a lot of depth.”

Senior pitcher Mariah Stines, who is headed to Davenport next season, and junior catcher Leah Daniels, a Bradley recruit, gave the Big Reds a great battery.

And Milan featured solid defense with veterans all over the diamond.

Davis thought hitting would be the key for his squad.

“Last year, we hit about .260 as a team,” he said. “This year was .360.”

How did that transformation happen?

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my assistants,” said Davis, ticking off the names of Micah Higa, Jim Beal, Denise Knox and Kayla Finney. “They really worked on our hitting. Our approach at the plate this year changed a little bit. We focused on putting the ball in play.

“Our mindset going to the plate was to make the opponent get us out. We had a lot less strikeouts and a lot more balls in play.”

The Big Reds were able to do that while still hitting a lot of home runs.

“Everybody in the starting lineup had at least one home run, except one,” he said.

Daniels led the way with a school-record 14 homers. Stines added 11.

Davis teaches computer information systems and cyber security for the Lenawee County Intermediate School District Tech Center.

“I spend a lot of time with introverted kids during the days, and in the evenings, I am with athletes,” he said. “Both interest me. I love fast-pitch. It’s one of the best sports around. And I enjoy technology.”

Milan will lose four seniors who were with him when he started coaching at Milan – Stines, third baseman Tieraa Ronayne, second baseman Hailey Knox and outfielder Madison Mazea – to graduation, but Davis doesn’t see the team’s string of success ending.

“We have some really good players coming in,” the coach said. “We will have some really good, exciting competition at a few positions.

“We can’t be the same team, but the way it looks now, we should be competitive for the next several years.”

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Milan's Kirk Davis selected as Region Softball Coach of the Year