Story by Nelli Martirosyan, Brenau Sports Information

GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- Brenau's (Ga.) defeat of Emmanuel (Ga.), 11-1, on April 23 not only signified the team’s 27th win of the season, it also marked the 300th  career win of head coach Devon Thomas.

Thomas, who started the softball program at Brenau, reflects back on the journey, noting how far the program has come since its inception in 2004.

“Our first record was 2-37. I had to recruit constantly to stay competitive and to even field a full roster,” said Thomas. “In my third year, we won 37 games which was an incredible turnaround. But I never thought I would get to 300 wins”.

Over his ten-year career at Brenau, Thomas has coached 38 All-Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) selections, 58 SSAC all-academic selections, two SSAC Players of the Year, three SSAC Freshmen of the Year, four NAIA All-Americans and three NFCA All-Americans. Thomas was also an NAIA National Coach of the Year finalist in both 2009 and 2012.
 
When asked to talk about his journey to 300 wins, Thomas mentioned that his most memorable moment was not his team’s 2012 semifinal appearance in the NAIA national championship which secured a final No. 3 national ranking, but instead it was winning a regular season conference championship in 2009.

“That championship validated how far this program had come from its beginning,” said Thomas. “That was the moment I was most proud of because that represented all of our hard work”.

In his ten seasons, Thomas has a cumulative record of 300-174, with four seasons of 30-plus win and three seasons of 40-plus victories.