NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head softball coach Melinda Fischer announced the promotion of Tina Kramos to senior associate head coach on Monday.
"Tina is extremely deserving of this promotion because of her loyalty to the program, knowledge of the game, and overall performance these last 17 seasons," Fischer said. "This move is extremely natural and I am so happy for this opportunity for her."
As the third-longest tenured coach at Illinois State, Kramos has helped manage every aspect of the program while primarily working with Illinois State hitters. Entering her 18th season on the Redbird softball staff, Kramos has coached three All-Americans and three MVC Players of the Year, in addition to numerous all-conference selections.
This past season, Kramos coached seven Redbirds to MVC all-conference honors, totaling eight for the year, which was the third most in program history. She guided Jordan de los Reyes to the top of the ISU record book as one of the best hitters in program history. The Redbirds led the Valley in runs scored, hits, RBIs and home runs.
In 2013, Kramos guided the Redbird offense to Valley-best marks in runs per game, batting average, and on-base percentage, the latter of which was also a single-season program record. The campaign also saw Elizabeth Kay and Jhavon Hamilton culminate their careers after four years of teaching from Kramos. Kay left as the program's all-time RBI leader, with 166, while Hamilton became only the program's fourth member of the 200-hit club, with 206.
Under her guidance in 2011, the Redbirds led the Missouri Valley Conference in nine offensive categories by smashing 70 home runs, the second-most in league history, and posting a single-season school record .515 slugging percentage.
In 2008, Kramos coached the Redbird batters to the program's third-highest single-season slugging percentage of .435. Kramos coached Amber Smith, who owned five of Illinois State's career hitting records before she graduated in 2009, while Nelson set the ISU single-season marks in hits and runs scored.
Kramos led Illinois State to one of the most successful offensive seasons in Missouri Valley Conference history in 2007, when the Redbirds established the league's single-season home run record with 83 round-trippers.
Prior to her coaching career, Kramos was a member of the Missouri State softball team from 1990-95 and a two-time All-Valley First-Team selection. A strong hitter and fielder with the Bears, Kramos was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
Kramos has continued her softball career beyond coaching, as she was selected to the Greek National Team in the summer 2002. Earning multiple championships, Kramos played for the team that won the 2003 European Championship in Italy, while the Greek National Team took second-place honors in 2005 at the European Championships in Prague. She played with the Greek Olympic softball team in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the 2006 Women's Softball World Championships.
Before arriving at Illinois State, Kramos coached softball from 1995-97 at Colorado-Colorado Springs before she spent three years on the coaching staff at Nicholls State. Kramos also played for the Michigan Cruise, an ASA women's major team.
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