Tobin Echo-Hawk Announced As Softball Head Coach
By: Patrick Murphy
GOLDEN, Colo. – Following a national search, Colorado School of Mines Director of Athletics David Hansburg has announced Tobin Echo-Hawk as the 13th head coach of the Orediggers softball program.
"We are excited to welcome Tobin Echo-Hawk to Mines as our new head softball coach," Hansburg said. "She brings a wealth of college head coaching experience to our program. A Colorado native herself, I look forward to seeing Tobin recruit local talent and take Mines softball to the next level."
A native of Louisville, Colorado, Echo-Hawk brings an abundance of experience at the collegiate level as a player and coach to Golden, having been a four-year letter winner at the University of Nebraska and making coaching stops at three Division I institutions. She was most recently the head softball coach at nearby Erie High School, where she was twice named Front Range League Coach of the Year and guided the Tigers to a CHSAA Class 5A runner-up result in 2023.
"I am incredibly honored and thrilled to lead the softball program at Colorado School of Mines," said Echo-Hawk. "I'm deeply grateful to Director of Athletics David Hansburg, Associate Athletic Director Dixie Cirillo and the entire athletic department for their confidence in me. This is a tremendous opportunity to work with outstanding student-athletes in a program with such a rich tradition of excellence. I'm excited to lead this team, develop our players both on and off the field, and contribute to the Orediggers' continued success."
Prior to her return to Colorado, Echo-Hawk spent two seasons on staff at New Mexico State University. There she helped the Aggies to the 2021 WAC Championship and coached Nikki Butler and Matalasi Faapito to WAC Player and Freshman of the Year honors respectively. During her time in Las Cruces, six players earned All-WAC honors and two were named NFCA All-Region selections.
Echo-Hawk's last head coaching stop at the collegiate level came at the University of Texas at El Paso, where she spent six seasons and led the Miners to 104 wins during that span. During the 2016 season she guided UTEP to a school-record 13 conference wins on their way to an appearance in that year's Conference USA Softball Championship. That year Courtney Clayton was named C-USA Player of the Year and was one of 10 players during Echo-Hawk's time in El Paso named All-Conference while three earned All-Region accolades.
Echo-Hawk made her head coaching debut at Portland State in 2009 following two seasons on staff as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In five seasons at the helm of the Vikings, she led the program to 146 wins including a pair of 30-win seasons, four NCAA tournament appearances and a bevy of other honors. During her time in Portland, she was named Conference Coach of the Year four times and won three Pacific Coast Softball Conference division titles, four PCSC championships, a regular season Big Sky Conference title, a Big Sky Conference tournament title and finished either first or tied for first in the standings in all five seasons as head coach. In PSU's debut season in the Big Sky Conference in 2013, Echo-Hawk was named Coach of the Year and saw eight of her players earn All-Conference honors. She coached three conference Players of the Year and four Pitchers of the Year while totaling 10 NFCA All-Region selections, 29 All-Conference selections, 50 weekly award winners and 41 Academic Honor Roll selections.
A four-year letter winner at Nebraska, Echo-Hawk was a two time All-American in her career as she was part of the Huskers' re-emergence as a national powerhouse in the mid-1990s. She batted .405 as a junior with a school record 22 doubles as part of a then-school record 43-win season and an NCAA Tournament appearance. In 1996, she batted .340 and scored what was a then-school record 61 runs to lead a second consecutive trip to the national tournament. Echo-Hawk still ranks among the all-time leaders at Nebraska in several career categories including batting average (2nd, .379) hits (1st, 266), runs scored (4th, 168), doubles (t2nd, 48) and total bases (6th, 378) along with numerous single-season records.
She completed a Bachelor's of Science in Education in 1996 before heading to Portland State for a Master's of Curriculum and Instruction which she earned in 2010.
Fans can keep up with Mines softball on Twitter at @MinesSoftball and on Instagram at @mines_sb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
