Bio:
A native of Lee’s Summit, Mo., Wieligman takes over the Comet program after serving as the head coach at Oklahoma State for the past nine seasons. While with OSU, Wieligman led the Cowgirls to three NCAA Division I appearances, including a trip to the 2011 Women’s College World Series. Over his nine seasons, Wieligman boasted a 275-227 record while coaching 24 all-conference selections, 19 all-region players and one All-American. In addition, he mentored 51 academic all-conference players and two Academic All-Americans. “Rich is highly regarded as a top teacher of the game of softball and his success at Oklahoma State showed he can win at a high level,” said Petitt. “He has taken the time to understand the Division III philosophy and is committed to providing a quality experience for our student-athletes. I felt that his nine years of experience as a head coach and his connections to Texas softball made him the top candidate for a quality pool of candidates.” No stranger to Texas, Wieligman played collegiate baseball at Lubock Christian College (now University), earning his bachelor’s degree in education in 1985, and later served as assistant softball coach at Baylor (1998-2000), Texas Tech (2000-02) and Texas A&M; (2002-06). While at LCC, Wieligman helped the Chaparrals to an NAIA National Championship in 1983 and was named an NAIA All-American in 1984. Upon graduation, he spent four years in the farm system of the Detroit Tigers as a first baseman/outfielder, reaching the AAA level. Wieligman would later play in both Japan and the Dominican Republic before starting his coaching career. Wieligman began his coaching career as an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater before taking over as head baseball coach at Lubbock Christian High School. After working with the Boys & Girls Club of Midland, he began his softball coaching career as the head coach at Midland High School in 1993 before moving to the collegiate ranks. After serving as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for Baylor, he made his first NCAA appearance in 2001 while at Texas Tech and then helped coach Texas A&M; to four straight national tournament appearances from 2003-06, including a trip to the super regionals in 2005. In 2005, Texas A&M; led NCAA D-I in team batting average. "I’m excited to take over the program here at UT Dallas,” said Wieligman. “From the interview process, I learned that UTD is a great institution and the campus community is friendly and welcoming. I am ready to work with a new team and face new challenges and take this program to the next level. Softball is softball, and I believe I can give the current players what they want, a chance to play for a championship. If they are willing to put in the work and effort, the sky’s the limit in what we can achieve.” Wieligman is married to the former Jill Hodge. The couple has one daughter, Ashby, and one son, Ryan. The Comet softball program began in 2002 when Tricia Hoffman started the squad and coached through the 2005 season. Kim Sotomayor led the team from 2006-10 before Cassie Crabtree coached the Comets in 2011. Brad Posner coached the Comets from 2012-15, leaving as the program’s all-time winningest coach. UTD has made four appearances in American Southwest Conference Softball Championship Tournament (2004, 2005, 2013, 2014).