Whitney Way enters her first season as the head coach of the Delta State University softball program after being announced as the next leader of the program by Director of Athletics
Mike Kinnison on July 13, 2022.
"We are excited to add Whitney to our Delta State coaching staff," said Kinnison. "She has an extensive background in softball serving under coaches with solid credentials that have influenced her coaching values and beliefs."
Way joins the #DSUFamily after serving as an assistant at Great American Conference foe Arkansas Tech University, where she helped lead the Golden Suns to a 40-19 overall record and a 26-7 mark in regular-season GAC play.
"I would like to thank Mike Kinnison and the hiring committee for giving me the opportunity to serve as the head softball coach at Delta State University," said Way. "I am excited to begin coaching and mentoring this talented group of student-athletes and to take Delta State softball to the next level."
The regular season GAC Champions, Arkansas Tech clinched the school's fourth consecutive conference tournament championship with wins over No. 8 seed Arkansas Monticello, No. 4 seed Southern Nazarene, and No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas.
The Golden Suns also defeated Southern Arkansas as the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
Numerous players under the direction of Way have been recognized with outstanding athletic and academic honors. While at Arkansas Tech, Way helped coach the GAC Player of the Year (Tymber Riley) and GAC Pitcher of the Year (Shannon Lasey), as well as three First Team All-GAC performers (including Caitlyn Wells) and one Second Team All-GAC peformer (Bailey Buffington).
The trio of Riley, Lasey, and Wells also brought home three D2CCA All-American honors, and three NFCA All-American honors.
"I look forward to being in Cleveland and growing this Lady Statesmen program, which will be based on hard work, perseverance, and a great team culture," Way said.
In addition to her stellar work with Arkansas Tech, Way also served as the co-head coach for Tulsa Elite - Arkansas softball, where she served as the director for summer tournaments and practices, recruiting camps, and was also responsible for skill development and growth of student-athletes.
"Whitney was impressive in the search process and established herself as a positive leader who we feel will instill a competitive spirit and strong work ethic in our program," Kinnison remarked. "We feel she will add value to our student-athletes and provide great direction for our program."
Before her time in Arkansas, Way served as the assistant softball coach at Andover High School in Andover, Kansas, where she was the varsity assistant coach and the head junior varsity coach. Way helped lead the Trojans to a pair of regional appearances, including Region Runner-Up in 2021.
Way played softball at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas before transferring to Wichita State University, where she earned a B.S. in Biology with a minor in chemistry and an emphasis in biomedical studies. She was also a Dean's List student.
