Kennesaw State University Athletics

Tory Acheson is in his fourth season with the Kennesaw State softball program and enters his second full season as the Owls' head coach in 2017, after serving as the interim head coach during the 2015 campaign. Acheson's interim tag was lifted midway through the season on April 21, 2015 as he became the fifth head coach in the history of the KSU softball program.

Entering his 23rd season as a head coach, Acheson has compiled an overall record of 856-482-1 (.640), and has led his teams to eight NCAA postseason appearances while coaching at Wisconsin-Parkside and Tennessee Tech.

During his time as the Owls' head coach, Acheson has worked tirelessly to create a postive and winning culture, while he and his staff have worked to upgrade the program's recruiting efforts.

On the field, Acheson has led Kennesaw State to a 62-47 (.569) record that includes a pair of 30-win seasons, and a third-place showing at the 2016 Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Tournament.

Individually, eight players have earned ASUN Conference all-conference honors, two individuals have received conference all-academic recognition, and 10 student-athletes have been named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athletes.

The 2016 season opened with the Owls winning six in a row and 10 of their first 11 games and concluded with the club capturing five of its final seven games en route to a 30-28 overall record.

The year's first big moment came on Feb. 28 when junior Logan Viers tossed a perfect game against Alabama A&M and more history was made by junior utility player Taylor Denton, who set the Kennesaw State single-season stolen base record against at USC Upstate on April 24 and then became the program's all-time career stolen base leader against Lipscomb on May 6.

Viers and Denton, along with junior Courtney Sutter and senior Kara Chambers were named All-ASUN Conference second team. Viers and Denton, along with Emily Bishop, Hillary Kartman and Missy Perkowski were tabbed NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes.    

In his first season at the helm of the Owls, Acheson led the team to a 32-19 record, including finishing third in the ASUN Conference with a 13-10 mark and advanced to conference tournament for the sixth consecutive season. KSU's 32 wins mark the first time since 2013 that the Owls have won that many games in a season. Highlights of Acheson's first season include a 7-2 win over Ohio in the season opener, a 9-8 victory over then-No. 5/6 Kentucky on Feb. 14, with the Wildcats representing the highest ranked opponent KSU has defeated since moving to the Division I level, and five-straight conference series wins that saw the Owls go on a 10-game winning streak in league action. 

Acheson spent the 2014 season as an assistant coach and was primarily involved with hitting, outfield and recruiting for the softball program.

Acheson comes to KSU after spending 14 successful seasons as the head softball coach at Tennessee Tech from 1999 to 2012. While at TTU, Acheson compiled a 507-353 (.590) mark, recording at least 25 wins in 13 of his 14 seasons at the helm and averaging 36 wins per season during that span.    
 
A two-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year (2003, 2006), Acheson led the Golden Eagles to four regular season titles and five OVC tournament championships, as well as four NCAA regional appearances.
 
Prior to his time at TTU, Acheson served as the head softball coach at Wisconsin-Parkside for six seasons, leading Parkside to three NCAA Division II national tournament top 10 finishes, including a runner-up showing in 1995. Acheson was twice named the Regional Coach of the Year while at Parkside, with 13 of his players earning All-American status during his time.
 
He started his coaching career as the head softball coach at Whitnall (Wis.) High School, leading the program to three-consecutive Parkland Conference championships.
 
Acheson earned both his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Wisconsin-Milwaukee.