Bryan Cole / Collegian File Photo
At 10 years Margie Wright played in a summer softball league for the first time, marking the beginning of a journey that would set her up to become one of the most well-known coaches in the nation.
With 36 years of softball experience, Wright, the head coach of Fresno State’s softball team, will celebrate her 25th year on the Bulldog diamond this season.
In 1974, Wright graduated from Illinois State University, where she let¬tered in softball, basketball and field hockey. It was not the last time she would be on the diamond in Illinois. She returned to replace her college coach as head coach of the softball team for six years.
“When I got out of college I chose softball because I felt like I knew it better,” Wright said. “I was a head coach in volleyball and an assistant coach in softball before I went back to my alma mater and took my coach’s position as head softball coach.”
Through Wright’s career as a coach she has achieved great accolades and received many awards for her achievements.
In 1996, Wright led the Bulldogs to their first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title, she was named WAC and West Region Coach of the Year and set a school and WAC record 19-game winning streak.
Also, in 1996 Wright was named the women’s USA Olympic Softball Team assistant coach for the summer Olympic games. This was the first gold medal winning team for USA defeating China 3-1.“It was pretty cool having five players on the first Olympic team too,” Wright said. “When we won the gold medal, and they were playing the national anthem and you looked at those five kids and they were singing their national anthem with a gold medal, that was pretty awesome.”
In 2009, the program, under Wright, snatched the team’s 32 consecutive winning season making it the 21 conference title and second WAC Tournament title in three years. This was followed by its NCAA record 28 consecutive championship appearances.
Wright guided the team to a 38-20 overall record last season, celebrating the program’s 1,450 victory. She received her sixth WAC Coach of the Year honor marking 10 total conference coaching honors.
Wright has coached 53 All-Americans, 16 Academic All-Americans, 16 NCAA individuals and 11 NCAA team statistical champions, as well as eight professionals, 15 Olympians and two No. 1 professional draft picks.
Through all the coaching, Wright feels that the players are the ones that led her to success.
“It makes me feel like we have had some awfully good ball players. I have had the honor to coach, because I don’t play the game,” Wright said. “I think we have had some great players that have just really bought in and done a great job.”
This season Wright’s goals are the same as her players: to win.
“We want to go to the World Series,” Wright said. “As a coach I have been there ten times [at Fresno State] and 11 total, and there is nothing like it.”
“I am very used to being there, and that is always going to be our goal as long as I am here.”
For Wright, the Women’s College World Series is both a familiar and memorable place that she still holds deep inside her.
“Winning the College World Series was phenomenal. I have been lucky to have coached every international team there is and have gold medals in all of them, including the Olympics and nothing can really step up to the national championship,” Wright said. “You see those young women every day and some of them for four years and for them to finally get that award, it was huge.”
Last season Wright was only one game shy of winning 600 games at Bulldog Diamond. This season, Wright will continue her journey as head coach, where she is bound to continue breaking records.