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Harding University Athletics

Phil Berry

Phil Berry

Phil Berry is in his eighth season as head coach of the softball team at Harding. In his first seven seasons, Berry has had five seasons with 30 wins or more and holds a 229-152 overall record.

Berry, a native of Woodstock, Georgia, and Harding graduate, restarted the Lady Bison softball program in 2014, which was canceled in 1985 after a five-year run due to a lack of collegiate competition. His teams have qualified for the Great American Conference Tournament every season since the program restarted.

Last season, Harding was 12-12 when the season was canceled. In 2019, his team went 35-23 overall, earned the No. 3 seed at the Great American Conference Tournament and reached the tournament semifinals.

In 2017, Berry's Lady Bisons compiled a 58-9 record, won the GAC regular season and tournament championships, the Central Region 1 tournament championship and concluded the season ranked ninth in Division II. Berry received GAC Coach of the Year.

Berry led the Lady Bisons to a runner-up finish in the 2016 GAC conference tournament. 

Berry has had 26 players named All-GAC in the first seven years of the program and has had two GAC Freshmen of the Year and one GAC Player of the Year. His student-athletes have earned 37 Academic All-GAC honors, 13 GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors, one GAC Elite Scholar Athlete honor, 38 NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors, four CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and one CoSIDA Academic All-America honor. 
Berry is an active member of the NFCA, has served on the Division II Top 25 Ranking Committee and on the Playing Rules Committee.  He is currently serving on the Head Coaches Committee.

Prior to coming to Harding, Berry was instrumental in developing the Atlanta Vipers Fastpitch Club and served as a head coach, member of the advisory board and chairman. He compiled a 768-319-24 record as a travel ball coach and had five top-25 national finishes. Twenty-six players from the two teams Berry coached went on to play in college, including 22 at the NCAA Division I level.
 
In 2005, Berry revived a dormant softball program at North Cobb Christian School in Kennesaw, Ga., and served as the head middle school coach until 2009. He was the assistant coach for the high school team from 2010-11.
 
Berry worked as an employment consultant with the PGA of American, a position he has took in 2001. He served PGA professionals, their employers and the Association by providing employment referral services.
 
Berry graduated magna cum laude from Harding in 1984 with a B.B.A. in business information systems. He earned an A.A. degree in golf complex operations and management in 1989.
 
Berry and his wife, Debbie, have two daughters: Stephanie and Amanda, both Harding graduates.
 
Overall Conference
Year W L Pct. W L Pct. Finish
2014 32 26 .551 22 18 .555 4th
2015 23 32 .418 15 15 .500 5th
2016 37 24 .606 26 18 .590 4th
2017 58 9 .866 40 4 .909 1st
2018 32 26 .552 22 22 .500 6th
2019 35 23 .603 26 18 .591 3rd
2020 12 12 .500 5 7 .417
Total 229 152 .601 156 102 .605


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