John Rittman enters his fourth season at the helm of the Stanford
women’s softball program after being named head coach on July 12,
1996. In just three years on the Farm, Rittman has brought the Stanford
softball program from a non-scholarship club-level program to a fully-funded
championship contender. A year ago the Cardinal went 40-25 overall
and earned a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament. Despite
the fact that the Cardinal had never been nationally ranked prior
to the 1998 season, Stanford spent every week of 1999 in the top 25,
and won the Easton Showcase Tournament by outscoring its opponents
55-2. Rittman’s team broke 34 individual and team school records and
recorded numerous firsts. Among them were the first three perfect
games in school history, the first-ever win over Arizona, and the
program’s initial first-team All-American, Jessica Mendoza.
One season earlier, Rittman presided over the Stanford softball’s
team first NCAA appearance, where the squad advanced to the regional
championship game. In addition, the squad finished third in the Pac-10,
its highest finish ever, while consistently appearing in the Top 25
of the NFCA Coaches Poll, where it finished ranked 12th in the country.
Three Stanford players were named third-team All-American, All-Pac-10
and All-Tournament at the NCAA Regionals. For his efforts, Rittman
was named the 1998 NCAA Pacific Region Coach of the Year.
In his first season at Stanford in 1997, Rittman lead Stanford to
its first 30-win season ever, posting a 30-27-1 record. Although Stanford
fell just short of earning an NCAA berth, the Cardinal received postseason
consideration following a solid performance down the stretch. Over
the course of the 1997 season, Rittman’s squad recorded nine wins
over ranked opponents, including four over teams ranked in the top
10. Stanford defeated conference and national powerhouses UCLA and
Washington for the first time in school history. The Cardinal also
defeated two ranked squads en route to a second-place finish at the
Campbell/Cartier Softball Classic. Two of Rittman’s players earned
Pac-10 All-Conference recognition in 1997, while two individuals were
named to the All-Pacific Region team.
Prior to being named head coach at Stanford, Rittman spent four seasons
as the assistant coach at Washington. With the Huskies, he was responsible
for teaching the fundamentals of hitting as well as defensive play.
In just four seasons, the Husky team earned a No. 1 national ranking,
the 1996 Pac-10 championship, three NCAA Tournament appearances, and
a second-place finish in its first College World Series appearance.
Washington became the first team since Texas A&M in 1983 to advance
to the championship game in its first appearance at the WCWS. When
Rittman was in Seattle the Huskies finished no lower than third in
the league in batting each of his four seasons. In 1996, the Huskies
set team records with a .343 batting average, 433 runs scored, 218
walks, a .419 on-base percentage and a .466 slugging percentage en
route to the NCAA title game. Washington’s .343 batting average ranked
fourth in the country and is among the top twenty batting marks in
NCAA history. Rittman coached 15 All Pac-10 players and six All-Americans
in his four years at UW.
Prior to his appointment at Washington, Rittman spent two seasons
as an assistant at Minnesota. During his second year, the Gophers
won the Big Ten with a 20-4 conference record. The team batting average
jumped from .235 to .269 while the Gophers set team and individual
records for almost every offensive category. The Minnesota squad also
led the nation in hits and total bases en route to a No. 15 ranking.
Rittman also helped produce an All-American in his two years there.
Rittman
also had a three-stay as assistant coach at Oregon from 1988-’90.
While in Eugene, the Ducks played in the 1989 College Series. During
Rittman’s stay, the Ducks set several team and individual offense
records while Rittman again saw one of his pupils earn All-American
recognition.
Rittman graduated from New Mexico State with a degree in journalism
in 1986. He was a three-year letterwinner in baseball as an outfielder
at NMSU, after transferring from Yavapai Junior College in Prescott,
Arizona. Rittman played two years of semi-pro baseball and fastpitch
softball after his college career. Rittman and his wife Lorie, a former
All-American softball player at Oklahoma, are the parents of Justin
Riley, born Oct. 17, 1995, and Jacob Dean, born Sept. 15, 1999.