SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Jerry Breaux, who racked up nearly 900 career victories and is Drury’s all-time leader in winning percentage for the Panthers softball program, announced his retirement as head coach, effective on Aug. 11, 2023.
Breaux completed his 30th season as a collegiate softball head coach and his sixth year at Drury in 2023. He steps away with a career coaching record of 895-519-2 and a mark of 135-97 in six years with the Panthers. Breaux’s teams went 76-58 in conference play at Drury and put together a 53-27 mark in the GLVC during the last three years.
Breaux turned around a Drury program that had gone 6-24 in the GLVC and finished last among 16 teams in the conference the year before he arrived, to a squad that reached the league tournament and won their first postseason games in team history just two years later. He went on to guide the Panthers to a program-record 37 wins in 2022, and in the same year, earned the team’s first-ever bid to the NCAA-II Tournament.
“Coaching college softball for 30 years has been a privilege,” said Breaux. “I’ve been blessed to have experienced many great competitive moments and achievements on the field. But the greatest memory I will cherish and take away are the relationships and friendships I have developed along the way. From the 700 players I have coached, to the assistant coaches and athletic administration personnel I have worked for – it has been a blessing and privilege.
“I want to thank athletic director Nyla Milleson and her front office staff for their terrific support of Panthers softball and of me as their coach. We have been able to accomplish a lot of great things for the Panthers program because of the quality staff, support and help they provide. Thank you!”
In his six years at Drury, Breaux coached 14 all-conference performers, had five named all-region, and had the program’s first All-American. Pitcher Kristina Bettis was the GLVC Pitcher of the Year, the Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year and was named an NCAA-II All-American in 2022. In 2019, outfielder Jacy Ummel was Drury’s first all-region selection in eight years.
“I want to thank Jerry Breaux for his work at Drury and the dedication to the sport of softball that endured for three decades,” said Drury Vice President and Director of Athletics Nyla Milleson. “At Drury, and at each of the head coaching positions he held, his teams excelled on the field and in the classroom. He mentored hundreds of young women during his time as a head coach and positively impacted countless lives. All of us with Drury Athletics congratulate coach Breaux on his retirement and I appreciate the opportunity we have at Drury to celebrate his career!”
Breaux came to Drury after two seasons at Louisiana State-Alexandria, where he went 99-22. He led the Generals to back-to-back conference championships and appearances in the NAIA National Tournament both seasons. His 2017 squad reached the NAIA World Series and finished third in the nation.
22 of his 30 head coaching seasons were in Springfield at Evangel University. Breaux posted a record of 640-382-2 at Evangel, winning 10 conference championships. They made nine appearances in NAIA Regional Tournaments and reached the NAIA World Series in 2006. He was the head coach for 640 of the program’s 661 wins in the team’s first 28 years of existence, was named the NAIA Region V Coach of the Year twice, and the Heart of America Athletic Conference Coach of the Year six times. Breaux was inducted into the Evangel Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Breaux’s teams were also successful in the classroom. Each of his Drury teams won a GLVC Team Academic Award, his most recent squad posted a 3.52 grade point average in 2022-23, and they won Drury’s Academic Cup for the top GPA among the women’s NCAA sports at DU. His LSU-A squad also earned academic honors in the NAIA, and his 2008 Evangel team won honors for having the sport’s top grade point average in the NAIA with a 3.68 GPA.
“The unexpected happenings of losing two quality assistants in Kevin Kennedy and Ricky Broxson played a big role in my decision,” added Breaux. “You work so hard to develop a like-minded staff of how things should work and I had two of the best assistants you could ask for. You don’t want to lose them, but yet you want to see and expect quality assistants to get promoted. Both had recent coaching job offers that were hard for them to pass up. The timing is not great, but it was opportunistic for both coaches to move on to these offers.
“It has been a great privilege and pleasure to work for such an esteemed university like Drury. It is a school of great athletic tradition and academic excellence and I am proud and honored to have been a part of it. Thank you Drury! And go Panthers!”
Drury assistant coach Kevin Kennedy, who worked as an assistant with Breaux for 10 years at Evangel, another two at LSU-A, and has been on Drury’s staff throughout Breaux’s tenure at Drury, recently accepted a coaching position at Meridian Community College in Mississippi. Part-time assistant Ricky Broxson, who completed his first season on the Panthers staff in 2023, has taken a baseball coaching job in Florida.
A search for Drury’s next head coach is underway.
