Big college coaching news in the Peach State on Monday as North Georgia (UNG) Head Coach Mike Davenport resigned to take an assistant coaching  on the University of Georgia softball staff.

Per a release issued by the Univ. of North Georgia media relations staff, “a national search for the next softball head coach will launch immediately.”

Here is the rest of the article from the UNG website detailing the long-time coach’s successful tenure at the Division II school:  

The 27-year veteran coach won over 1,000 games at North Georgia and in the last decade led the North Georgia softball program to a pair of NCAA Division II national championships and 10 consecutive Peach Belt Conference (PBC) regular-season championships. 

“Coach Davenport has given over two and a half decades of distinguished service to the University of North Georgia and helped build the nation’s premier NCAA Division II softball program,” Director of Athletics Mary Rob Plunkett said. “His impact on our athletes and the legacy he leaves behind will not be forgotten.”

From 2014 to 2023, he coached numerous All-Americans, including two National Players of the Year in Courtney Poole (2015) and Kylee Smith (2018). The Nighthawks have won every PBC regular-season and tournament championship during that time, breaking the records for consecutive titles in both categories.

A nine-time PBC Coach of the Year, Davenport helped establish a culture of championships at North Georgia, winning 15 conference regular-season titles, 14 conference tournaments, eight NCAA Southeast Region championships and two NCAA DII national championships.

He established UNG as a powerhouse in NCAA Division II softball, taking North Georgia to three consecutive Division II Championship appearances twice from 2009-11 and again in 2021-23.

Davenport’s achievements were further accentuated with his induction into the Georgia Dugout Club Softball Hall of Fame in January 2020.

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Also on Monday, the Univ. of Georgia issued its own release titled “Baldwin Adds National Champion Coach Mike Davenport to Coaching Staff” on its softball webpage… here is the entirety of that article:

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Georgia head softball coach Tony Baldwin has announced the hiring of Mike Davenport as an assistant coach. Davenport comes to Athens from North Georgia, where he was the head coach for 24 seasons. He guided the Nighthawks to DII national championships in 2015 and 2023, accumulating over a thousand victories in his tenure at UNG.

His head coaching record is an astounding 1,094-280 (.796), and he is a member of the Georgia Dugout Club Softball Hall of Fame (January 2020). He’s coached numerous All-Americans, including two National Players of the Year in Courtney Poole (2015) and Kylee Smith (2018).

“We are excited and grateful to be able to add Mike Davenport to our program,” Baldwin said. “The coaching resume speaks for itself. We are excited to add someone with his recruiting experience, player development skills, and overall leadership ability. More so, we are excited to add someone with the highest of character to our staff. Welcome to Athens Mike, Melanie, Isabel and Harper!!”

“I am very excited and honored to join the UGA Softball program and ready to work alongside Tony, J.T. (D’Amico), and Chelsea (Wilkinson),” Davenport said.

“I can’t thank Tony, Josh Brooks (Athletic Director), and Stephanie Ransom (the UGA Deputy Athletic Director) enough for believing in me and welcoming me and my family to be a part of the Bulldog Family. This was a family decision for me, and through our Faith, we knew that this was an opportunity we all wanted to be a part of.”

“I would not be in this position without the support of the University of North Georgia Softball program and every young lady who believed in me for the past 24 seasons. I am indebted to every UNG softball student-athlete and their families who entrusted their daughters to be a part of something special.”

“We gave UNG our very best for 28 years (four in women’s basketball, 24 in softball), and that was easy to do because of the student-athletes we had the honor of coaching and the good people in the Lumpkin County/Dahlonega community who made calling the mountains of north Georgia home.”

“I am invested in supporting the UGA Softball staff to the best of my ability and to help each and every softball student-athlete reach their potential as not only a softball player but as a young person as well.”

A 10-time Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Davenport built a culture of championships at North Georgia, winning 17 conference regular season titles, 15 conference tournaments, nine NCAA Southeast Region Championships, and two NCAA DII National Championships.

He has established UNG as a powerhouse in NCAA Division II softball, taking North Georgia to three consecutive Division II Championship appearances twice from 2009-11 and again in 2021-23. 

Davenport has helped guide the program to two National Championships during his tenure, the first in 2015, as that team would bring the University of North Georgia its first National Championship in school history on May 25, 2015, in Oklahoma City.

In 2023, Davenport helped return UNG to the mountain top, giving the program its second 60-win season, breaking the program record for wins in a season with a 64-7 record, as the Nighthawks would win their second National Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee on May 31, 2023.

After winning the 2015 national championship in Oklahoma City, Davenport returned to the diamond almost immediately, serving as the head coach of the USSSA Florida Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch league. He led the Pride to an NPF regular-season title and an appearance in the Cowles Cup series.

In 2010, Davenport led North Georgia to a 51-game winning streak, the second longest in NCAA history. The then-Saints entered the World Series with a perfect record of 50-0 that season. UNG has reached perfection in conference play twice under Davenport’s guidance, posting 20-0 records in 2003 and 2010.

Davenport began his career at North Georgia with the women’s basketball team in 1996 as an assistant coach and served in that role until 2000, when he took over as head softball coach in August. He has served in that role as well as an instructor in the Health and Physical Education Department since. While with the North Georgia women’s basketball team, he helped guide the squad to three conference titles and three NAIA National Tournament appearances.

While growing up in central Illinois, he played basketball and baseball at Peoria’s Richwoods High School before moving to Central Oklahoma and graduating from Guthrie High School in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

After playing one year of junior college baseball, he focused his attention on coaching and joined the rich tradition of Cowboy Baseball at Oklahoma State University under head coach Gary Ward as a student-assistant. The opportunity to coach led him to Gainesville, Florida, where he spent three years as an assistant baseball coach at Santa Fe Community College under head coach Harry Tholen.

The DuQuoin, Illinois native is a 1994 graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation and a 1998 grad of North Georgia, where he earned his Master of Education.

Davenport and his wife, the former Melanie Ralston of Gainesville, reside in Dahlonega and are the proud parents of one daughter, Isabel, and one son, Harper.

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The Mike Davenport File

• 2 DII National Championships – 2015, 2023
• 13 PBC Regular Season Championships – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
• 12 PBC Tournament Championships – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
• 10-time PBC Coach of the Year – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024
• 8 DII World Series Appearances – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023
• 2 National Players of the Year
• 23 NFCA DII All-Americans
• 3 PBC Players of the Year
• 10 PBC Pitchers of the Year
• 3 PBC Freshmen of the Year