Decker was named an assistant coach for the softball program on Oct. 4, 2018, working with the Owls' pitching staff.
The Owls went 23-28 in 2022, including 12-12 in conference play. KSU set a program record for wins to end the regular season, with seven including nine of the last 10. The Owls defeated Stetson in the ASUN tournament play-in game and earned a fourth-place finish in the conference after a 14-4 win over Jacksonville State.
On the field in 2022, third baseman Taylor Cates had one of the most prolific seasons in KSU softball history. She set KSU Division I program records for home runs (19), slugging percentage (.847) and total bases (133). Cates also earned ASUN All-Conference First Team and All-Academic honors in addition to CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team and NFCA All-Region Second Team.
In 2021, Decker helped lead the Owls to a groundbreaking year where KSU secured its first ever NCAA Division I Regional win after defeating Auburn 1-0 in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
The Owls went 27-27 overall and 10-5 in ASUN conference play. The Owls faced seven Power Five schools including Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Auburn. Recording upsets over the Yellow Jackets, Tigers and Knights.
KSU earned an at-large bid into the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament where they were seeded No. 4 in the Tallahassee Regional. The Owls entered NCAA regional play with a 56 RPI and the No. 29 strength of schedule according to D1Softball.
As a team, KSU finished the season ranked first in the conference in triples (11), second in hits (359), doubles (64), RBIs (188) and slugging percentage (.409) while ranking third in runs (198) and shutouts (8).
Decker coached one of the ASUN’s top pitchers Melanie Bennett. The sophomore led the league in wins (20), complete games (22) and tied for first in saves (3). She finished second in the conference with 165 strikeouts. Bennett was named ASUN Freshman of the year and earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference and All-Freshman team. Bennett tossed a complete game allowing no runs on one hit to secure the Owls first ever NCAA Regional win against Auburn.
In 2020, helped guide KSU to a historic start before the season was shortened by the NCAA due to COVID-19. The Owls raced out to a 21-4 record before ASUN Conference play, highlighted by wins at a Top-25 Auburn squad, Iowa State, Penn State, and a 13-1 home record. The Owls suffered just one loss in the Troy Invitational, I-75 Challenge, and Colorado State Classic. They swept the Phyllis Rafter and Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournaments. The victory at Auburn was the first home-opening loss in Tiger history. KSU also downed NCAA Tournament regulars Colorado State, Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Illinois.
KSU was top-50 with five shutouts, a 1.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 63rd with a 2.65 ERA. The Owls paced the ASUN with a .964 fielding percentage.
Freshman Melanie Bennett was off to a heralded start to her career with a 1.85 ERA, 8-2 record, and two saves with seven complete games. Decker quickly brought fellow freshmen Lyndsey Kyte and Kristen Davis to the collegiate game. Kyte was impressive with a 4-1 record and 2.51 ERA, while Davis went 3-0 with a save and a 3.57 ERA. Senior Abby Deane went from a 6.89 ERA and 2.19 WHIP to a 2.43 ERA and 1.25 WHIP as a senior.
Decker mentored one of the ASUN's top pitchers in his first year at KSU in Hailey Andrews. The senior led the league with 232 total strikeouts, becoming just the fifth Owl in program history to fan over 200 batters in a single-season. Andrews led the conference with 25 complete games while ranked tied for second with 18 wins and seventh with a 2.43 ERA.
Before joining KSU, Decker was an assistant coach at Delaware for one season in 2018.
Prior to his stint with the Blue Hens, Decker served three years at the University of Texas-Arlington where the Mavericks' pitching showed improvement each season. Under his tutelage, UTA lowered its team ERA by 1.73 runs per game over the previous two seasons and two pitchers were selected to the Sun Belt All-Conference team.
The UTA pitching staff was led by two-time all-league selection Samantha Clakley, who ranked third in school history with 26 wins in 2017. Additionally, Sam Montes tossed the fifth no-hitter in Mavericks history.
UTA increased its win total during all three of Decker's seasons in Arlington, while the 2016 squad set a school record by winning its first 19 games. Six Mavericks earned all-conference honors, while two were named all-region.
Prior to arriving in Arlington, Decker spent the 2014 season as a volunteer assistant at the University of Arkansas.
Decker previously spent time as an assistant at the Doug Gillis International Fastpitch Institute, where he helped in the instruction of pitching staffs at Evansville University and the University of Missouri. Gillis served as Kennesaw State's pitching coach in 2017 and 2018.
A native of Aurora, Ill., Decker was a two-year captain of the baseball team at Waubonsee Community College, where he was twice named an all-conference and all-region performer while leading Waubonsee to a seventh-place finish at the 2010 NJCAA Division III World Series.
He then transferred to Trinity International University, where he was a member of the baseball team and volunteer assistant with the softball squad. Decker, a former member for the USA Men's Fastpitch National Team, earned his bachelor's degree from Trinity International in May, 2013.
