2009 Conference USA Coach-of-the-Year
Tracey Kee, the reigning Conference USA Coach-of-the-Year, is a pillar of stability for the East Carolina softball program. She begins her 24th year with the Pirates in 2010, having spent four seasons as a standout player (1987-90) and six as an assistant (1991-96) before taking over the helm in 1997. Kee has built East Carolina into a model program for student-athletes as her teams have been recognized not only for their continued success on the field, but also for their outstanding academic achievements and community involvement. Victories have been in no short supply for the Pirates under Kee, who has led teams to 40 or more wins in five of the past six, and 10 of the past 13, seasons. Four times her squads passed the 50-win plateau, including the 2000 group Kee directed to a school-record 60 victories. The program received national attention in 2007 when CSTV listed East Carolina as the eighth-winningest program in the NCAA. Since Pirate fastpitch softball began in 1984, ECU has recorded 971 victories, with Kee being a part of 892 of those, including passing the 500-wins threshold as a coach in 2008. With her first victory in the 2010 season, Kee will record her 575th as a head coach. Kee's success as the Pirate leader is also evident in the program's ascent from a Big South member from 1996-1999, to a Southern Athletic Softball Alliance (SASA) institution in 2000 and 2001, to its current affiliation with Conference USA. The 1997 team set the benchmark for future success as it won 49 games and Kee was named the Big South Coach-of-the-Year. Two seasons later, in 1999, East Carolina won a then-school-record 50 games and made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The team played in the Tucson Regional that included nationally ranked Maryland and Arizona. At the end of the 1999 campaign, ECU standout Isonette Polonius received Third Team Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American recognition after being a second-team member in 1998. Polonius, a 2009 East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was the first all-American in program history and only two-time Academic All-America selection. The Pirates outgrew the Big South and became a SASA member for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. SASA comprised five Atlantic Coast Conference teams and ECU. Despite a higher level of competition, Kee excelled. In just four seasons as a head coach, she was the third-fastest in Division I to reach the 200-win plateau. In 2001, the Pirates again eclipsed the 50-victory mark with 51. Because SASA did not have a postseason tournament, ECU took part in the East Coast Athletic Conference Tournament and won its titles in 2000 and 2001. During the years in SASA, Kee coached ECU's other two-time all-America selection in Keisha Shepperson, who won the honor in 2000 and 2001. A move to Conference USA in 2002 gave Kee little trouble, despite entering a conference with perennial NCAA-qualifiers DePaul, Southern Miss and South Florida. The Pirates' debut season in the highly touted league was nothing short of extraordinary, as they made it to the C-USA Tournament by finishing in the top six during the regular season. In the seven seasons since joining the conference, ECU has tallied at least 10 league wins in each season but one. Just four seasons after becoming a C-USA member, in 2005, Kee was named the league's coach-of-the-year after orchestrating a seven-game turnaround from the previous year and guiding the Pirates to a 17-7 C-USA record. The past five years have seen the Pirates finish no lower than fifth in C-USA during the regular season while posting second-place finishes in 2007 and 2009. The 2007 squad also played in the league tournament title game against Houston, falling 1-0. In 2008, East Carolina made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a member of C-USA as it received an at-large bid. The team defeated Mississippi Valley State at the NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, La., giving the program its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Last season, the Pirates set the program record for most Conference USA wins in a season with 19 and league three-game series sweeps with four. Kee was named the C-USA Coach-of-the-Year for her team's efforts. In addition to her win total, a testament to Kee's coaching ability is apparent in the number of all-conference and all-region selections under her guidance. During her time in the Big South, Kee led 11 all-conference players, two rookie-of-the-year selections, the league's tournament MVP Denise Reagan in 1999 and the two-time league player-of-the-year in Polonius (1998 and 1999). Since joining Conference USA, the accolades have continued, as Kee's players have picked up nine first-team selections and 11 second-team honors. Additionally, 10 student-athletes have been named to the all-rookie team with two being named the league's rookie-of-the-year. Five players have also received all-region recognition under Kee. The victories, player honors and individual rankings demonstrate that perhaps her greatest attribute as a coach is her development of players. She is a teacher first, and her players benefit by learning the fundamentals and gaining a keen understanding of the game. To demonstrate how technically sound Kee's teams are, NCAA statistics show the Pirates have finished no lower than third in the country in fielding percentage over the past three years, coming in second nationally in 2007. Off the field, Kee takes pride in the fact that her teams excel academically. Since 2005, her teams have finished in the top 50 among all Division I institutions in grade-point average each year but one. In 2007, her team compiled the 20th-highest average in the country while last year's squad placed 40th. The Pirates have also claimed the past three Conference USA Sport Academic Awards for softball after having the league's highest GPA. Her players also spend countless hours participating in community service activities such as The American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life, the ECU Thanksgiving canned food drive, the Reindeer Dash for Cash 5K and 10-mile races, clinics held for area youth teams and numerous other community involvement projects. Pirate softball players embody the ideal student-athlete and the values instilled in them are passed from one team to the next. Before her coaching career, Kee was a standout student-athlete for ECU in the late 1980s. She was a four-year starter, two-time captain, outstanding defensive player and recipient of the Texas Gulf Outstanding Female Scholar-Athlete Award. As a coach, Kee has the same expectations of her players as she had for herself. A Richmond, Va., native, Kee has been in Greenville since 1986. During her playing days with the Pirates, she was a mainstay at catcher and third base. She graduated cum laude in May of 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and in 1995 earned her master's degree from ECU in exercise and sport science with a concentration in athletic administration. She also dedicated five years to teaching physical education at St. Peter's Catholic School in Greenville. Kee finally hung up her own cleats in the summer of 1996 after garnering three USSSA All-World accolades in slow-pitch. In January of 2009, Kee was inducted into the Saint Gertrude High School athletic Hall of Fame. She is the daughter of Jean Alford and has three sisters, two of whom played softball at East Carolina. |
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