East Texas A&M University Athletics

Gay McNutt joined the A&M-Commerce softball coaching staff in 2019, working as both the pitching and catching coach. McNutt brings more than 33 years of coaching experience to the Lion coaching staff, including 22 seasons as a Division I coach. In three seasons since McNutt's arrival on campus, the Lions have never had a team ERA over 3.00. In the five seasons prior, the team ERA had never dropped below 3.50.

In 2021, the Lions advanced to the regional final with a 33-18 overall record and 21-9 record in Lone Star Conference play. A&M-Commerce went 5-2 in regional play, pushing the regional to the final game before falling to the eventual national champions. Lion pitching led the LSC in shutouts (14) and finished in the top 10 nationally, and notched the lowest team ERA in a full season at 2.70 with opponents hitting only .230 during the season. The Lions also had the highest strikeout rate in a full season at 7.38 punchouts per seven innings, and crushed the previous total strikeout total in a season with 358 - 98 more than the previous season high. Alyssa LeBlanc earned second team all-South Central Region honors as a pitcher/utility player, and both LeBlanc and Emily Otto earned first team All-LSC accolades. Catcher Avery Boley earned the LSC Golden Glove award. 

The Lions completed the COVID-shortened 2020 season with a 16-7 record overall, and a 5-3 record in Lone Star Conference play. The Lions never lost to an unranked team during the 2020 year. The Lions finished the season as the second ranked team in the nation in fielding percentage, while also ranking in the top 25 in the nation in earned run average as well as walks and hits per innings pitched. The Lion pitching staff finished the year with a 2.55 ERA, with 171 strikeouts while holding hitters to a .182 batting average. 

During her inaugural season, McNutt helped lead the Lion pitching staff to unprecedented success. As a whole, the pitching staff set single-season records for lowest team ERA, lowest opponent batting average, fewest walks allowed, most strikeouts per seven innings, and most shutouts.
 
Under McNutt, Emily Otto had a record-setting sophomore campaign, earning Third Team All-America honors and was also a top-25 finalist for NFCA National Player of the Year. Otto was also named D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year, Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year, was a First Team All-LSC selection, and a gold glove recipient. She was twice named National Pitcher of the Week and four times named LSC Pitcher of the Week. Otto set single season records for wins, lowest ERA, fewest walks per seven innings, lowest opponent batting average, most appearances, most starts, most innings pitched, most strikeouts, most complete games, and most shutouts.
 
McNutt came to the Lions after two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of North Texas from 2017-18. Prior to coaching at UNT, McNutt served as the head coach at Stephen F. Austin, where she coached for nine seasons before resigning after the 2016 season. Under her guidance, the Lumberjacks made five Southland Conference postseason tournaments and won the 2008 tournament championship, the first in program history. Prior to her time at SFA, McNutt served as the head coach for seven seasons at Southern Mississippi, where she is the program’s all-time leader in wins, and was also the head coach at Northwestern State for six seasons. As a head coach, McNutt led her teams to seven conference championships and four NCAA Regional tournaments. She was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year four different times and also was named Conference USA Coach of the Year.
 
McNutt earned her bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Louisiana-Lafayette, where she began her coaching career. She also served on coaching staffs at the University of Houston, and Alvin Community College.
 
Prior to her coaching career, McNutt was an All-American at Texas A&M, where she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. She was a four-year starter (1982-85) behind the plate for the Aggies, earning All-American honors as a senior and All-Region awards in all four of her seasons. She was a two-year team captain and helped lead the Aggies to three consecutive National Championship games, winning two. As a freshman, she helped the team win the 1982 AIAW Women’s College World Series. As a sophomore, McNutt and the Aggies won the 1983 NCAA Women’s College World Series and the team finished as the national runner-up in 1984.

Head Coaching Career

Year	Team	Division	Wins	Losses	WL%
1995	Northwestern St.	D-I	13	37	.260
1996	Northwestern St.	D-I	10	41	.196
1997	Northwestern St.	D-I	26	29	.473
1998	Northwestern St. South Region Coaching Staff of the Year, Louisiana Coach of the Year, Southland Conference Coach of the Year, Southland Conference Champions, Southland Conference Tournament Champions, NCAA Regionals	D-I	40	18	.690
1999	Northwestern St. Southland Conference Coach of the Year, Southland Conference Champions	D-I	31	26	.544
2000	Northwestern St. Southland Conference Coach of the Year, Southland Conference Champions, Southland Conference Tournament Champions, NCAA Regionals	D-I	41	19	.683
2001	Southern Miss. Conference USA Champions, NCAA Regionals	D-I	46	21	.687
2002	Southern Miss.	D-I	28	35	.444
2003	Southern Miss.	D-I	28	30	.483
2004	Southern Miss. Conference USA Coach of the Year, Conference USA Regular Season Champions, NCAA Regionals	D-I	33	26	.559
2005	Southern Miss.	D-I	29	32	.475
2006	Southern Miss.	D-I	29	38	.433
2007	Southern Miss.	D-I	18	38	.321
2008	Stephen F. Austin Southland Conference Tournament Champions, NCAA Regionals	D-I	36	25	.590
2009	Stephen F. Austin	D-I	29	27	.518
2010	Stephen F. Austin Southland Conference Co-Champions, Southland Conference Coach of the Year	D-I	29	20	.592
2011	Stephen F. Austin	D-I	14	36	.280
2012	Stephen F. Austin	D-I	16	33	.327
2013	Stephen F. Austin	D-I	16	32	.333
2014	Stephen F. Austin	D-I	26	27	.491
2015	Stephen F. Austin	D-I	19	32	.373
2016	Stephen F. Austin	D-I	28	29	.491
	22 Season Career		585	651	.473
	6 Seasons at Northwestern St.		161	170	.486
	7 Seasons at Southern Miss.		211	220	.490
	9 Seasons at Stephen F. Austin		213	261	.449

 
Assistant Coach Career

Year	Team	Division	Wins	Losses	WL%
1986	Louisiana-Lafayette Southland Conference Champions	D-I	32	19	.627
1987	Louisiana-Lafayette Southland Conference Champions, Southland Conference Tournament Champions, National Invitational Tournament	D-I	31	18	.633
1988	Louisiana-Lafayette	D-I	29	16	.644
1989	Louisiana-Lafayette	D-I	48	16	.750
1994	Alvin CC	JC	28	11	.718
2018	North Texas	D-I	25	27	.481
2019	A&M-Commerce NCAA Regionals	D-II	40	16	.714
2020	A&M-Commerce	D-II	16	7	.696
2021	A&M-Commerce NCAA Regionals	D-II	33	18	.647

 
Playing Career

Year	Team	Division	Wins	Losses	WL%
1981-82	Texas A&M AIAW National Champions, All-Region	AIAW	84	9	.903
1983	Texas A&M NCAA National Champions, All-Region, All-WCWS	D-I	41	11	.788
1984	Texas A&M NCAA National Runner-Up, All-Region, All-WCWS	D-I	51	18	.739
1985	Texas A&M NCAA Regionals, All-American, All-Region	D-I	45	12	.789