By Jim Henry

It’s been a whirlwind of telephone calls, zoom calls and text messages for new Pittsburg State softball coach Beau Schultz this week.

“I had over 270 texts (Monday),” he said Tuesday morning. “I had tears rolling on a few of them, and I’m not ashamed of that. The people who have reached out mean so much to me, and some of them hit me pretty hard.

“The kids who I’ve talked to in person or over the phone, they’re great. I’ve known them from the past, too, and that makes a big difference on this.”

Schultz, a former baseball player and assistant coach for the Gorillas, was named the new softball coach on Monday. He replaces Josh Barnes, who resigned to pursue other interests.

“It’s one of the greatest blessings I’ve had in my entire life,” Schultz said. “It’s still becoming more and more surreal. It’s been everything I’ve ever dreamed of. I had no idea something like this would present itself. I’ve been close a couple of times on a couple of jobs. I’ve turned down some jobs, but when Anthony Crespino (PSU athletics director) presented this to me, I realize how this is the last job I want to have. This is it. I’ve landed where I want to land. The opportunity is incredible what we’ve been offered. I’m so excited for my family, my kids, my wife, the program, the kids I’ve dealt with who are returning. I just cannot wait to get started.”

Schultz, who has been PSU’s assistant athletics director for facilities the last three years, has contacted most of the returning players.

“My priority right now is the returning players, making sure they feel good, making sure they feel comfortable on returning,” he said. “If there are any who end up deciding to enter the portal and (pursue) other options, I wish them the absolute best. I haven’t come across any of those yet – that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, I don’t know. But those kids who have a chance to return are my No. 1 priority.

“A very close second are the three kids who have signed from the previous staff. I visited with those girls … making them feel comfortable and know I am honoring their scholarships.

“Getting the coaching staff set up is No. 3 on the list right now. Then the recruiting takes place starting on Thursday. I have some kids located who I really, really like who I think will be immediate impact kids. But until I know everything about all our returners, I’m not making any offers.”

With players off campus, the timing isn’t the best, but Schultz said timing is not an issue.

“It’s early June,” he said. “We had a great team this past year (48-11 record, ranked No. 20 in final national poll). We have huge shoes to fill, and I’m glad we’re finding out as early as we have to be honest.

“There are a lot of great players out there. Recruiting has changed some as I’ve known for a while. The kids who have a chance to come back are all-in. I’ve had countless kids reaching out through all kinds of ways who are interested in transferring here or (saying) recruit me.”

All of Schultz’s coaching experience has been in baseball, and he admits he has things to learn about softball.

“I’m not going to hide it,” he said. “There are things I have to learn. It’s one of the reasons why I know I have to have a very good pitching coach. That’s the area I’m least prepared for, and I’ve told the girls that. I want to learn with them. I’ve already talked to one of them (Tuesday) morning … when you’re in the bullpen, I’m going to be in the bullpen with you. I’m going to watch and listen to how it’s taught … that’s how I learn.

“But other than the pitching side of it, I feel very, very good about all other aspects of the game. Obviously, there are not leadoffs (on the bases) in softball. There are some things I want to do with the run game that I think can be implemented. That creates a lot of chaos on the basepaths for the opposing team. We’re going to run a lot. We’re going to play hard; we’re going to play fast. We’re going to play small ball; we’re going to have kids who can drive the ball.

“Those things aren’t different from baseball at all. It’s the same game. It’s the same swing. You record the outs the same way. It’s confined to a smaller area, but it’s also hitting a bigger ball.”