WSC Softball
Head Coach
K
rista Wood
Head Coach
Krista (Unger) Wood enters her sixth season as the head softball coach at Wayne State College. In five seasons, (Unger) Wood has turned the Wildcat program into a winner, inheriting a program that was 10-34 in 2006 to a new school record 43 wins in 2010 and Wayne State's first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II Super Regional.
(Unger) Wood has a record of 179-97 overall and 83-30 in the Northern Sun Conference as head coach of the Wildcats. She became Wayne State's all time wins leader early in the 2011 season following an 8-0 win over Regis on February 18, 2011, surpassing Marilyn Strate who was 142-78 from 1984-88.
In 2011 (Unger) Wood led the Wildcats to a 37-17 record and the school's third straight trip to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. WSC finished second in the Northern Sun Conference with a 22-4 league mark. The Wildcats achieved the school's highest ever national ranking at #7 in the pre-season NFCA Coaches Poll and a #10 regular season national ranking. Wood coached the Wildcats to a perfect 18-0 record at home during the season, extending the Wildcats unbeaten streak at the Pete Chapman Softball Complex to 26 straight wins.
The Wildcats finished the 2010 season with a 43-14 mark, the second straight season the Wildcats broke the school record for wins. (Unger) Wood coached the Wildcats to the school's first ever NSIC Tournament Title which led to WSC hosting the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament. The Wildcats went on to win the regional advancing to super regionals at Metro State in Colorado. WSC recorded a school record 16 consecutive wins during the season and finished the year ranked 14th in NCAA Division II, the highest ever national ranking for a Wildcat softball team to end the season.
(Unger) Wood added international coaching experience to her resume in the summer of 2009, coaching a United States team to a 6-1-1 record and a first place finish at the Oldenzaal Invitational in Holland. The team was sponsored by USA Athletes International and featured 11 players, including WSC catcher Sam Earleywine. She also coached against teams from Sweden and Holland during the 10-day trip in July, 2009.
The Wildcats were 41-21 in 2009 under (Unger) Wood, setting a new school record at the time for wins while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. WSC finished 19-6 in the NSIC, good for a fourth place finish. In their first trip to the NCAA Tournament, WSC won two games and advanced to the Central Region Bracket #1 title game before falling to top-seed Winona State 2-0. Winona State went on to the NCAA Division II Softball College World Series.
The 2009 team set seven new school records, including a .982 fielding percentage that led NCAA Division II. The Wildcats also earned back-to-back national rankings in March (16th on 3-4-09 and 17th on 3-11-09), believed to be the first time a WSC softball team has been ranked in the Top 25.
(Unger) Wood coached the Wildcats to a 30-22 record in 2008. The 30 wins in 2008 were the most by a Wildcat softball team since 1990 when WSC posted a school-record 34 wins (34-22). The Wildcats were also ranked in the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Rankings for the second straight season.
In 2007, the Wildcats recorded a 28-22 record in her first season, an 18-game improvement from the previous season. It was the first winning season for WSC softball since 2001 and just the second winning record since 1992. The Wildcats had a seven-game win streak for the first time since the 1992 season and were regionally ranked for the first time since joining NCAA Division II. WSC also hit a then-new school record 29 home runs in 2007, more than doubling the previous school mark of 13. The Wildcats finished seventh in the NSIC with a 9-9 league mark.
The former Krista Unger came to Wayne State after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. She helped SCSU to records of 34-25 in 2005 and 33-24 in 2006 as the Huskies finished second and third respectively in the North Central Conference during her stay.
A native of Missouri Valley, Iowa, (Unger) Wood was a standout player at the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 1999-2003. She helped the Mavericks to the NCAA Division II national championship in 2001 as a sophomore and finished her career as the all-time winningest pitcher in Maverick softball history with 106 wins and 530 career strikeouts. In the 2001 national championship game, (Unger) Wood tossed a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Lewis University. She also ranks second in career shutouts with 43. (Unger) Wood earned numerous honors as a player at UNO, earning First Team All-NCC honors three times while also collecting three All-NCC Academic Team awards. She was named to the NFCA All-Region First Team in 2002 and was a Second Team All-Region selection in 2001. Wood was also selected the North Central Conference Freshman of the Year in 2000.
(Unger) Wood also has coaching experience at the high school level, serving as the JV-Varsity pitching coach at Omaha Gross High School in the fall of 2003 and at state-qualifying Omaha Westside High School in 2004.
Krista earned her bachelor's degree of science in physical education K-12 with an endorsement in coaching from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2004 and received her master's degree in sport management in May, 2006 from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
Krista Unger was married on July 2, 2011 to Alex Wood, an assistant football coach and equipment coordinator at Wayne State.
