Assistant Coach Candi Letts decided to make her way a little bit closer to her Midwestern roots after spending the past seven years in Oxford, MS, where she led the 2005 Ole Miss Rebels to their first-ever winning season in the nine-year history of the program and developed an ASA All-American. In seven seasons at Mississippi, Letts led the Rebels to many other firsts. With a win over No. 25 South Carolina in 2004, Ole Miss took a series from an SEC conference rival for the first time in the program[apos]s history. Also during the 2004 season, the Rebels knocked off No. 25 Auburn on the road only to return home and upset No. 16 Florida. While at Ole Miss, Letts earned over 150 victories during her tenure there and over 300 for her career.
Prior to her stop at Ole Miss, Letts served as the head coach of Colorado State University from 1994, when softball was reinstated at CSU, until 1998, accumulating over 150 wins. During that time, she quickly led the Rams to a No. 9 national-ranking in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Poll. During the school record 51-win season in 1997, she guided CSU to the Western Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament and only one out away from a trip to the Women[apos]s College World Series. For her efforts, she was named both the WAC and West Region Coach of the Year. While at Colorado State, Letts coached three All-American athletes, nine All-West Region picks, 14 All-WAC selections, one WAC Player of the Year and one WAC Freshman of the year.
Letts brings a wealth of postseason experience with her as a player as well, helping Creighton University to three consecutive trips to the College World Series as a pitcher. A 1983 graduate of Creighton, Letts pitched for four seasons and helped lead the Bluejays to three consecutive Women[apos]s College World Series appearances. During her playing career, Letts recorded a 0.76 ERA, 43 victories, 16 saves and 276 strikeouts. In 1982, Letts led the nation in saves with nine, which still ranks as the fifth highest single-season total in NCAA history.
For her first collegiate coaching experience, Letts started out at her alma mater as an assistant from 1988-1993. During that period, the Bluejays advanced to the NCAA Regionals twice, were ranked in the top-20 three times and had an All-American athlete.
A native of Manchester, Iowa, Letts was inducted into the Iowa High School Pitcher[apos]s Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Iowa High School Hall of Fame in 1996.
