Kirk Walker enters his 16th year as head coach of the Oregon State softball program, a program that has made a monumental turnaround under his direction.

Walker reigns as Oregon State's all-time winningest softball coach with a 515-408-3 career record. He earned his 500th career coaching victory on March 1, 2009, in a 4-1 decision over Minnesota at the CSUF DiMarini Invitational, hosted by Cal State Fullerton.

The Beavers have routinely beaten nationally-ranked teams and have shown improvement every season since Walker's arrival. His teams have finished with 25-plus wins in the last 12 seasons and have won 40-plus games eight times.

Despite leading another young squad in 2009, Walker led the Beavers to their 12th 25-plus win season, upsetting a handful of ranked teams along the way, including the defending national champion, Arizona State in the closing weekend.

In 2008, Walker guided a young team to a 28-win season, causing multiple upsets along the way, and helping lead Paige Lowe to her first All-Region honor.

The 2007 season was no exception. Walker led the Beavers to another 40-plus win season, finishing 41-23, coaching two players to All-American status in Brianne McGowan and Cambria Miranda. The team was a steady force in the top 25, making its ninth straight trip to the NCAA postseason, falling to No. 10 Michigan in the regional title game.

Turning Oregon State into a perennial national contender, Walker led the Beavers to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Women's College World Series during the 2006 campaign. One of the best teams in Oregon State history, Walker's 2006 squad reeled off a school record 28-game winning streak (the longest for any team in the nation on the season), catapulted to a program-best #5 national ranking, and won both the NCAA Regional and Super Regional to earn a WCWS berth. Oregon State faced a pair of Pacific-10 Conference opponents (eventual national champion Arizona and Arizona State) in the World Series before finishing the year with a 43-16 record.

Walker earned his second Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year award after leading the 2005 Beavers to their first-ever Pac-10 title and the automatic berth to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Pac-10 championship was the first regular season title for any women's sports program in Oregon State history. OSU compiled a 43-16 record and was ranked as high as #6 nationally in a year that saw the Beavers win the season series against five conference opponents (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Washington). The team won 22 consecutive games in the middle of the season and earned a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament championship game before falling to DePaul University.

Walker's 2004 youthful squad came within a few innings of earning Oregon State's inaugural berth in the College World Series. The Beavers finished the year with a 44-28 record, falling to No. 6 ranked Michigan in the NCAA Regional Championship game.

In 2003, Walker led the Beavers to a 36-31 overall record and fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament. In the process, the Beavers knocked off 12 Top 25 opponents and reached the Regional Championship game for the first time since 2000.

Walker guided the 2002 Beavers to a 40-25 overall record and 7-14 mark in Pacific-10 Conference action. Oregon State made its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament and won 40-plus games for the fourth straight year.

In 2001, Walker led the Beavers to a 44-24-1 overall record and 10-10 finish in Pac-10 action. OSU reached the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year

During the 2000 campaign Walker guided the Beavers to a 40-21-1 record and their second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Oregon State finished one game shy, for the second consecutive season, of making its inaugural trip to the NCAA Women's College World Series. Oregon State ended the 2000 campaign ranked 12th in the final NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll.

Walker guided Oregon State to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1999, when the team finished with a school-record 47 wins and had its first winning season since 1984. OSU also posted a school-record 14 Pacific-10 victories and finished fourth in the league standings - at the time, the highest for any Beaver squad in the history of the conference.

In addition to setting the school record for wins, the Beavers set nearly 20 other single-season team and individual records as well in 1999.

Oregon State finished one game shy of making its first appearance at the 1999 Women's College World Series and was ranked 10th in the final NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll for OSU's highest season-ending ranking since joining the Pac-10. OSU was ranked as high as eighth during the regular season.

For his team's success, Walker was named the 1999 Pacific-10 Co-Coach of the Year and the Beaver coaching staff also was named the Speedline Pacific Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. Walker was honored as Oregon State's Coach of the Year in 1999 as well.

His 1998 Beavers posted a record of 27-28 - and up until 1999 that was the closest OSU had come to a winning season since 1984. OSU also captured a then-school-record eight Pac-10 victories in 1998. The 1997 team won 29 games, the third most in OSU softball history at the time.

The pitching staff's earned run average has dropped by nearly 70 percent over a six-year span. In 1995, the pitchers combined for a 5.35 ERA, a far cry from the 1.59 ERA that the 1999 squad put together. In addition, the 2005 Beavers set a school record with a .976 team fielding percentage, notching nearly a 35-point improvement from his first season. OSU's team batting average also improved 41 points between his first and third seasons.

Gaining recognition for his involvement and success in coaching, Walker was named one of 12 coaches to form the USA Softball National Team Coaches Pool through the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Walker served as assistant coach for the USA Elite Team during the summers of 2002, 2003 and 2004 while serving as an assistant coach for the USA Red National team at various tournaments during the summer of 2001.

Walker came to Oregon State after spending 11 seasons at national powerhouse UCLA as a manager and assistant coach. During his time in Westwood, the Bruins won six NCAA titles and made 10 appearances in the College World Series. The Bruins recorded an impressive 111-17 (.867) record and won five Pac-10 titles during his stint. As the head pitching instructor, Walker produced several All-Americans, including Lisa Fernandez and Dee Dee Weiman.

Walker is also very involved in the offseason by working at many camps and coaching in the Amateur Softball Association. He has served as the head coach of the California Commotion team, which has won the women's major fastpitch national title four consecutive years.

Walker resides in Portland, Ore., with his partner of 12 years, Randy Baltimore, and has one daughter, Ava. He is a native of Woodland Hills, Calif., and earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from UCLA in 1988.