By WJBC Staff

BLOOMINGTON – Kat McCreery, who led the Illinois Wesleyan softball team to a seventh-place finish in the NCAA Division III national finals this spring and three straight NCAA tournament appearances and, has announced she will leave IWU after three highly successful seasons as the Titans’ head coach.

McCreery, a 2004 Illinois Wesleyan graduate and former all-conference catcher, will be moving with her two children and husband Shane, an attorney at Illinois State University who has accepted a new position at the University of Kansas.

McCreery, who became IWU’s head coach in July 2013, had a three-year overall record of 112-30, coached three regular season College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin champions and CCIW postseason tournament champs in 2014 and 2015. IWU had a 35-7 CCIW regular season mark the past three years. McCreery and her staff were named Division III Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year this spring and earned CCIW “Staff of the Year” honors in 2014.

“When Kat Mason-McCreery was named softball coach at IWU we thought she would be a perfect match – she was and then some,” said IWU athletic director Mike Wagner. “Not only did she consistently field one of the top Division III softball teams in the country every year, including a return to the DIII national championship in 2016, but her student-athletes were equally as successful off the field.

“Her players annually carried one of the highest team grade-point averages in the nation and also participated in a significant amount of community service. Kat was truly committed to the primary values of Titan athletics: academics excellence, community service, and victory with honor. We will miss her greatly.”

Wagner indicated that a nationwide search for a successor will begin immediately.

“I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to coach at my alma mater and grateful for the support of the entire IWU community,” said McCreery. “From my fellow coaches and athletics department staff, faculty, staff to the students and alumni. I am especially thankful for the wonderful direction and leadership in (former athletic director) Dennie Bridges and Mike Wagner.

“Most of all, I am grateful to have had such amazing student-athletes. They are truly my second family – wonderful people that will do so much good in their lives. I am humbled to have been their coach.

“My husband and I are excited for this new adventure in our lives but will miss this community we have loved so much. I will always bleed green!”
This past spring, the Titans went 35-13 and advanced to the NCAA Division III final round for the first time since 2003 after capturing the regional and super regional titles and were CCIW regular season champions.

In 2015, the Titans were 36-10, won the CCIW regular season and tournament titles and played in the NCAA regional. As a team the Titans set school records for most runs (283) and runs batted in (256) and had eight all-conference players.

In her first season, McCreery led IWU to a 41-7 record, a school mark for wins in a season. IWU won the CCIW regular season and tourney titles and played in the NCAA regional and super regionals. As a team the 2014 Titans set school records for doubles (84), home runs (37), pitcher strikeouts (387) and had a school-record 21 game winning streak.

A native of Galesburg, Ill., McCreery was a four-year letterwinner at IWU and was a three-time all-CCIW selection (2002, 2003, 2004). She played on teams that went to three NCAA Division III tournaments, including the 2003 team that finished third in the nation. She was chosen to all-tournament team for the 2003 national championship round.

She finished her 166-game career with a .270 batting average, 20 doubles, four home runs and 57 runs batted in.