In just eight years as Saluki head coach, Kerri Blaylock has moved the Southern Illinois softball program onto the national stage. Under her watch, SIU has made history, especially over the past five seasons.

Since Blaylock began at SIU, it has consistently improved and made winning more of an expectation. In Valley play, the Salukis finished sixth, fourth, third, and second, respectively, in Blaylock's first four years at SIU.

The Salukis finished third in 2006 after first-place finishes in 2004 and 2005.

The 2007 squad maintained the winning ways that have become expected around the Saluki softball program.

SIU spent a school-record 13-straight weeks ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Twice during that 13-week stretch, the Salukis earned their highest-ever national ranking, coming in at No. 18.

The Salukis finished the season with a 41-16 record (17-7 MVC) and took a historic step as it earned an at-large bid to advance to its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament.

Southern Illinois went 1-2 in the Carbondale Regional, beating Mississippi Valley State 7-0 and hanging with Missouri before falling to the Tigers 7-4.

Entering her ninth year, Blaylock and her coaching staff have been recognized by their peers for SIU's consistent improvement. The SIU coaching staff earned MVC Staff of the year for four-straight years from 2002-05.

As she begins her 18th overall season at SIU, it's no secret that Blaylock has made some history of her own.

In eight years as head coach, she has compiled an impressive 315-132 record overall, ranking her in the top-20 nationally in winning percentage (.705) among all Division I coaches with five years service or more.

Blaylock's 135-52 MVC record (.718) is impressive as well.

She reached the 100-win plateau in just 153 games over three seasons and the 150-win mark in 224 games in just over four years, the fastest those marks have been reached in SIU history.

A 3-1 win over Bethune-Cookman in the fifth game of the 2004 season gave Blaylock her 150th win. She reached the 200-win mark after beating Kansas 4-2 on March 6, 2005.

In 2006, Blaylock shut out the team that gave her a start in coaching for her 250th career win, beating Southeast Missouri State 4-0 on March 7.

As a first-year head coach (2000), she led SIU to a 41-22 record, the first 41-win season since 1997 (41-16), which came under her mentor, Kay Brechtelsbauer, who coached SIU for 32 years. Blaylock served as pitching coach for five years and an assistant coach for nine total years under Brechtelsbauer.

Since then, Blaylock has posted three more seasons with 40 or more wins (2004, 2005 & 2007).

Although she's a very successful head coach, Blaylock's specialty is pitching. Her staff led the MVC in overall ERA from 1997 to 2003, falling to second in 2004, but reclaiming the top spot in the conference in 2005 with a 1.16 team ERA.

In 2006, the team kept that tradition alive as the squad led the Valley again in ERA with a 1.67.

The 1.67 ERA was also good enough to finish 21st nationally.

Blaylock has coached both of SIU's All-American pitchers, starting with Jamie Schuttek, 10 years ago.

Schuttek became softball's most recent Hall of Fame inductee on Jan. 30, 2004. She was named a third-team All-American as well as the MVC Player of the Year in 1997. She led the Valley with a 28-2 record, a 0.87 ERA and nine shutouts in 210 innings pitched.

Blaylock also coached Erin Stremsterfer, one of the top pitchers in MVC history. Stremsterfer, a third-team All-American in 2001, was also named MVC Pitcher of the Year that same season.

She earned first-team all-conference accolades in three of her four years at SIU. Stresmterfer also was a MVC Scholar Athlete in 2000 and 2001.

Blaylock also mentored Amy Harre through her four years as a Saluki. Harre now pitches for the Chicago Bandits of the National Professional Fastpitch Softball League.

Harre, twice named an academic All-American, was a four-time first-team All-MVC selection and a three-time All-Great Lakes Region selection.

She ended her SIU career as the all-time leader in innings pitched (820.1), appearances (151), wins (84), complete games (90) and shutouts (49). She is second in careeer ERA (1.06) and sixth in winning percentage (.700).

In all, Blaylock has coached two All-American pitchers, 16 All-MVC First Team performers, 11 All-Great Lakes Region selections and four MVC Pitchers of the Year.

Blaylock also mentored another Saluki pitcher that painted her name all over the record books.

Cassidy Scoggins, the MVC Pitcher of the Year in 2006, finished her Saluki career last year ranked fourth in innings pitched (707.2), third in appearances (138), second in wins (81), second in complete games (79), sixth in winning percentage (.723), third in strikeouts (713), 10th in ERA (1.35) and second in shutouts (35).

Scoggins was a three-time All-MVC First Team selection and two-time All-Great Lakes Region First Team pick.

Blaylock's teams and athletes have continued a tradition of success in the classroom on a conference and national level. In the fall of 2007, the Salukis earned the NFCA Academic Top 15 Award among Division I schools for the seventh straight year, finishing second with a 3.557 GPA.

The award follows consecutive fourth-place finishes in 2001 and 2002 (3.39 GPA each year), a sixth-place finish in 2003 (3.43 GPA), a fifth-place finish in 2004 (3.42 GPA) and 10th-place finishes in 2005 (3.42) and 2006 (3.37).

In 2007, SIU placed six athletes on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team (Amanda Clifton, Tiffanie Dismore, Lauren Haas, Ashley Hamby, Cassidy Scoggins, Krystal Stein) and four on the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Team (Clifton, Dismore, Haas and Hamby).

Clifton and Hamby went on to become the ninth and 10th Salukis all-time to earn CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors.

ABOUT COACH BLAYLOCK
Blaylock had a stellar playing career in addition to her coaching successes. She was considered one of the top three pitchers in the state as a prep, according to the Chicago Tribune, compiling a record of 65-7 from 1980-84.

She set marks for wins and strikeouts for Herrin High School and, in 1992, became the first female athlete ever selected to the Herrin High School Hall of Fame.

Following her successful prep career, Blaylock attended the University of Evansville, where she developed into one of the Aces' all-time leading hurlers. During her career, she put together a dazzling record of 77-48 with a 1.54 ERA and struck out 365 hitters in 857.2 innings of work.

To this day, Blaylock still holds virtually all of Evansville's pitching records. In February of 1995, Evansville recognized Blaylock's success on the diamond by inducting her into the school's Hall of Fame.

Both on and off the field, Blaylock excelled as a student-athlete. As a junior, she was named a GTE Academic All-American, and in 1988 she was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year.

Blaylock also organizes four softball camps, which attract an average of 300 participants from various age groups all over the area, in addition to her duties as head coach.

After graduating from Evansville in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in accounting, Blaylock attended Southeast Missouri State University where she began her coaching career as a graduate assistant. She later received a master's degree in 1991 in business administration.

Blaylock, a native of nearby Herrin, lives in Carbondale, Ill.