LIVONIA, Mich. – On Monday morning, Head Coach Ron Pezzoni announced the addition of Wally King to the Madonna Softball coaching staff.
Prior to Madonna, King was a part of the NCAA Division I Furman University (S.C.) softball program. King guided the Paladins to a 41-15 record in 2018 as interim coach, and was later named the program's head coach on June 11, 2018. King helped the Paladins improve its RPI by 23 spots and swipe more bases in 26 games than the team stole the previous season in 51 contests. The Paladins dropped their team ERA from 5.89 in 2019 to 4.03 in 2020 despite boasting a tougher strength of schedule. The 2020 season also featured wins over top 70 RPI teams Jacksonville and UAB.

The Paladins' 41 victories during the 2018 season ranked as the second highest total in school history and most by a Furman team since 1988.

Under King's leadership, Furman ranked among the top two in the Southern Conference in runs scored (256/ 2nd), triples (10/1st), homers (57/2nd), stolen bases (84/1st), earned run average (2.30/2nd) fewest walks allowed (96/1st) and strikeouts (404/1st) 

King, who spent the 2017 season as an assistant coach at the University of South Florida helped lead the Bulls to a 32-24 overall record and 9-8 mark in the American Athletic Conference after serving as head coach at Division II Ferris State (Mich.) the previous year. During his tenure with Ferris State, King guided the Bulldogs to a 36-18 mark and the school's first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tournament appearance in three years. Ferris State's 36 wins in King's lone season in charge represented a 20-win improvement from 2015. Only four programs in the nation boasted a 20+ win increase, putting the program in elite company.

King was the associate head softball coach at Syracuse University from 2008-13, helping to guide the Orange to four straight 30-win seasons and consecutive Big East Conference Championship bids. Syracuse made its deepest postseason run ever in 2012 as the Orange advanced to the NCAA Regional finals and defeated its highest nationally-ranked opponent ever with a 1-0 victory against second-ranked Arizona State in the NCAA Tournament. SU finished the year listed among the nation's top 25-ranked teams for the first time.

Prior to joining the Syracuse staff, King served as the assistant coach at Trine University in Angola, Ind. While with the Thunder, King helped guide the squad to the most wins in school history (31) and its first national tournament appearance. The team set school records in runs (251), doubles (70), home runs (24), RBI (212) and had a league-best ERA.

Before his time at Trine, King served as a volunteer assistant coach and hitting instructor in 2006 at Bowling Green State University.

A National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) member, King began his coaching career on the collegiate level at Grand Rapids Community College as the assistant softball coach and head recruiter. During his three seasons with GRCC, King helped develop the program into a national title contender with back-to-back World Series appearances.

King also brings an extensive playing background with two of the world's top five teams in a fastpitch softball career that spanned from 1985-2003. Between 1998 and 2002, King was the starting centerfielder for the Midland Explorers, the fourth-ranked team in the world, and he spent 2003 with the third-ranked Waterloo Hallman Twins. He was a first-team All-American, as well as state and national tournament MVP with the Kamphuis Pipeline in 1997. 

A former prep standout at Forest Hills Central High School, King played collegiate baseball for Hope College from 1985-88 where he earned bachelor's degrees in both sociology and psychology. He later earned his master's degree in social work from Grand Valley State University in 1994.

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