NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University Head Softball Coach Keith Parr and his assistants were honored Tuesday as the NCAA Division III Coaching Staff of the Year following the program's first National Championship. The announcement was made by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

The Captains, led by Parr and assistants Savannah Couch, Wayne Vick, and Mary Kennedy, went 47-1 this season, including a perfect 12-0 record in the postseason. CNU won its first 23 games of the season, and concluded the storybook year by winning its last 24 games.

It is the first national honor for Parr, who has led the Captains to 635 victories over the last 19 seasons. Parr was named the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year as well as the NFCA's Region VI Coach of the Year.  

Christopher Newport defeated Salisbury in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament to advance to its 15th straight NCAA berth. The Captains then hosted an NCAA Regional, winning three straight games...leading to two hard-fought triumphs over local rival Virginia Wesleyan in the Super Regionals to move into the NCAA Finals for the third time in the 38-year history of the program. The Captains then won five straight games in the NCAA Finals in Salem, Va., to claim the National Championship. 

Parr's squad defeated two top 10-ranked teams at the NCAA Finals — Berry, 6-2, in their second game, and Texas Lutheran, 4-3 in nine innings, in their third game to reach the best-of-three championship series. The Captains topped then-unranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 8-6, in their finals opener, and took two straight from Trine, 6-3 and 3-0, in the championship series. Trine ended the season ranked second, while Texas Lutheran finished third and Berry was fourth in the last Top 25 poll of the season.

Christopher Newport was also the regular-season Coast-to-Coast titlist and won the NFCA's Leadoff Classic in March in Columbus, Ga., becoming the third straight Division III squad to win both the Leadoff and the National Championship in the same season.

The Captains were the top-ranked team in the country for the final nine weeks, and looked the part throughout, dropping just one contest all season, and winning their final 24 games. They averaged 8.6 runs per game while allowing just 84 runs all season (1.75 per game).

Christopher Newport represented Region VI among the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year winners announced on June 7th. Other regional winners were Tufts (Region I), Eastern Connecticut State (Region II), SUNY Geneseo (Region III),  Kean (Region IV), Susquehanna (Region V), Case Western Reserve (Region VII), Millikin (Region VIII), Bethel (Region IX) and Texas Lutheran (Region X).

The Regional and National Coaching Staffs of the Year are voted by NCAA Division III member coaches. All will be recognized at the 2022 NFCA Convention Awards Brunch on December 10th in San Antonio, Texas.