by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Ty Singleton has high expectations for the UNM women's softball team.
With Singleton's reputation as a softball coach, expectations may be as high for him.
Singleton and UNM director of athletics Paul Krebs addressed the media to introduce Singleton as the new head coach at the Lobo softball field Tuesday.
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Krebs said he is thrilled about what Singleton brings to the table.
"We are extremely excited to have Ty join our athletics family," Krebs said. "He is an outstanding coach, and his track record speaks for itself. We are confident in his ability to build a program, and we feel he can take it to an elite and national level."
Singleton said he doesn't know how long it will take to fully mesh with his new team, but he wants to see positive results as soon as possible.
"My long-term goal is that we want to win conference championships, and we want to go to the postseason regularly and go to the World Series ultimately," Singleton said. "We'll just see what that time frame is."
Krebs originally announced the hiring of Singleton on Aug. 3, after former Lobo softball coach Kim Newbern resigned July 19. Singleton had spent the past four years coaching at the University of Missouri-Columbia, which is part of the prestigious Big 12 Conference.
While at Missouri-Columbia, Singleton led the team to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and an overall record of 130-88. In his first year in 2003, Singleton coached Missouri-Columbia to a 31-20 record - including 12-5 in the Big 12 - and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.
What's impressive about Singleton's success at Missouri-Columbia is the team was struggling before he got there. In the five seasons prior to Singleton's arrival, Missouri-Colombia never placed higher than fifth in the Big 12 standings and only made one appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In Singletons tenure, the team finished lower than fifth place only one time.
While all the success Singleton had at Missouri-Columbia looks good on paper, it doesn't assure success for the 2007 Lobos. However, Singleton said the experience of turning around a Big 12 program should help him improve the Lobos' chance of winning a Mountain West Conference title. While the Lobos finished 23-31 last season under Newbern, Singleton said he chose to come to UNM because he feels he can do more with the Lobos than with his former team, the Tigers.
"I feel like the ceiling is higher here than at Missouri," Singleton said. "Missouri's been great, but I think the potential here is greater."
One reason Singleton said UNM has more to offer is its location. He said something as simple as having an airport in town makes it easier to recruit players, travel and have big-name programs play UNM.
Singleton said one of the things he looks forward to most is the passion of Lobo fans.
"I'm real excited about that," Singleton said. "I want this to be a place that people want to be and come support Lobo softball. I think it's going to be a great spot where we can put a great team on the field and really have a home-field advantage. From what I've heard, you don't have that everywhere."
Singleton said another important aspect to building a successful team is creating chemistry with the players. One of those players is senior catcher Liz Young. Young said she is excited about the hiring of Singleton and hopes he can help bring a winning tradition to the Lobos.
"We just really want someone who is willing to work hard for us," Young said. "I know every girl on this team is willing to work hard for him. It's time for a new beginning, and we are looking forward to coach Singleton and his staff."
