Heather Robyn Tarr (born October 5, 1974)[1] is an American, former collegiate softball third baseman, and is the current head coach at Washington. Tarr become one of five coaches/athletes to have played and coached in the Women's College World Series, playing in the 1996 Women's College World Series as well the 1997 Women's College World Series, and coaching the Huskies at the 2009 Women's College World Series. She was the first coach to win a title with her alma mater when the Huskies won the national championship in 2009.[2] Tarr has also assisted Team USA and helped coach the team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[3]
 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Washington |
| Conference | Pac-12 Conference |
| Record | 818–307–1 (.727) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 5, 1974 Kirkland, Washington |
| Playing career | |
| 1994–1997 | Washington |
| 1997–1998 | Tampa Bay FireStix |
| Position(s) | Infielder |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998 | Washington (student asst.) |
| 1999–2003 | Pacific (asst.) |
| 2004 | Pacific (AHC) |
| 2005–present | Washington |
| National Softball | |
| 2019–2020 | Team USA Women's Softball (asst.) |
| 2022–Present | Team USA Women's Softball |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 818–307–1 (.727) |
| Tournaments | NCAA Division I: 75–33 (.694) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
As player:
As head coach:
| |
| Awards | |
| As player: As assistant coach:
As head coach:
| |
Early life and education
editBorn in Kirkland, Washington, Tarr graduated from Redmond High School and played at infielder on the Washington Huskies softball team from 1994 to 1997 while attending the University of Washington.[1] Playing a total of 244 games at Washington,[1][4] Tarr was an honorable mention all-Pac-10 honoree from 1995 to 1997 and second-team NFCA All-Pacific Region honoree in 1997.[5] As a senior in 1997, Tarr batted .283 with 53 hits and 32 RBI.[4]
Professional softball career
editTarr played professionally with the Tampa Bay FireStix of the Women's Professional Softball League in 1997 and 1998, playing 64 games with 26 hits and 10 RBI.[6][7][8]
Coaching career
editCollege assistant (1998–2004)
editIn 1998, Tarr was an undergraduate assistant at Washington while completing her geography degree.[9]
From 1999 to 2004, Tarr was an assistant coach at Pacific under head coach Brian Kolze and was associate head coach during the 2004 season. With Tarr on staff, Pacific went 232–124 and 90–44 mark in the Big West Conference. In 2001, Tarr and Pacific head coach Brian Kolze was named 2001 NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Tigers to within one win of the Women's College World Series and finished the year at No. 18 in the final national ranking.[10]
Washington (2005–present)
editAfter the 2004 season at Pacific as an assistant, Heather Tarr was named head coach of the Washington Huskies softball team. In her first season Heather Tarr led the Huskies to a 35–22 overall record and led them to the NCAA Super Regionals where they lost to eventual national champion Michigan. In 2009, Tarr led Washington 51–12 overall record and won the 2009 Women's College World Series, Washington's first title in program history. She became the first coach to win a title with her alma mater.
[11] She led the Huskies to a runner-up finish in the 2018 Women's College World Series. Tarr has been a mentor to athletes Danielle Lawrie, Ali Aguilar and Taran Alvelo.
As of the end of the 2021 season, Tarr has an overall 704–260–1 record at Washington.[12]
Team USA
editTarr was named as an assistant coach for the United States women's softball team in 2019.[13] On October 25, 2021, Tarr became the head coach for Team USA.[14]
Statistics
edit| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 1994 | 35 | 67 | 10 | 13 | .194 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | .268% | 9 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| 1995 | 73 | 193 | 35 | 61 | .316 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 73 | .378% | 18 | 14 | 6 | 6 |
| 1996 | 68 | 174 | 34 | 54 | .310 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 65 | .373% | 21 | 21 | 5 | 6 |
| 1997 | 69 | 187 | 31 | 53 | .283 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 69 | .369% | 32 | 27 | 21 | 25 |
| TOTALS | 245 | 621 | 110 | 181 | .291 | 104 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 225 | .362% | 80 | 74 | 34 | 39 |
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Huskies (Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference) (2005–2024) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Washington | 35–22 | 10–11 | 6th | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2006 | Washington | 35–25 | 6–15 | 7th | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2007 | Washington | 42–19 | 12–9 | T–3rd | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2008 | Washington | 30–25–1 | 7–14 | T–5th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2009 | Washington | 51–12 | 14–7 | 2nd | WCWS Champions | ||||
| 2010 | Washington | 50–9 | 17–4 | 1st | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2011 | Washington | 37–16 | 9–12 | T–6th | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2012 | Washington | 39–19 | 7–16 | 8th | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2013 | Washington | 45–17 | 12–5 | T–2nd | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2014 | Washington | 37–15 | 13–9 | 4th | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2015 | Washington | 42–17 | 11–11 | 6th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2016 | Washington | 39–15 | 16–8 | 3rd | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2017 | Washington | 50–14 | 16–8 | 3rd | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2018 | Washington | 52–10 | 15–8 | 4th | WCWS Runners-Up | ||||
| 2019 | Washington | 52–9 | 20–4 | T–1st | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2020 | Washington | 23–2 | 0–0 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| 2021 | Washington | 45–14 | 18–5 | 2nd | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2022 | Washington | 38–17 | 14–10 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2023 | Washington | 41–13 | 16–8 | 2nd | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2024 | Washington | 32–15 | 13–10 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| Washington Huskies (Big Ten Conference) (2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Washington | ||||||||
| Washington: | 818–307–1 (.727) | 246–174 (.586) | |||||||
| Total: | 818–307–1 (.727) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
edit- ^ a b c "Heather Tarr". University of Washington. Archived from the original on June 18, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Washington WCWS Stats". Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ "Husky Softball Records & History" (PDF). Gohuskies.com. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ a b "FINAL 1997 Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2020.
- ^ "National & Regional Awards" (PDF), Washington Softball 2018, University of Washington, pp. 55–56, 2018
- ^ "Firestix Slip Past Wahoos, 3–1". Orlando Sentinel. July 2, 1998. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Softball's Kim DePaul Picked Eighth In The Women's Pro Softball League Senior Draft". University of Washington. December 5, 2000. Archived from the original on February 23, 2001. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Assistant Coach: Heather Tarr". University of the Pacific. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ "Heather Tarr Bio". gohuskies.com. University of Washington. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Heather Tarr Named Washington Softball Coach". University of Washington. July 6, 2004. Archived from the original on August 15, 2004. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ "2009 Washington Softball Schedule". gohuskies.com. University of Washington. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "NCAA Statistics: Heather Tarr". NCAA. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Heather Tarr Named To USA Olympic Coaching Staff". GoHuskies.com. University of Washington Athletics. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "HEATHER TARR NAMED HEAD COACH FOR THE 2022 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Year-by-year finishes" (PDF), Washington Softball 2018, University of Washington, p. 78, 2018