Mike Davenport enters his ninth season as head softball coach of the Saints Softball Program.  He has been a familiar name to the North Georgia family where he begins his 12th year in the Athletic Department.

In 2008, Davenport led his team to a 38-15 record, a third place regular season finish in the PBC, a runner-up finished in the Peach Belt Conference tournament, a runner-up finish in the NCAA South Atlantic Regional, and a final NCAA Division II ranking of 12. During the 2008 season, Davenport also picked up his 300th career win with a 3-2 extra-inning victory over Lander University on April 2.

Davenport began his career at NGCSU with the Lady Saints Basketball Team in 1996 as Assistant Coach and served in that role until 2000.  He became the Head Softball Coach in August of 2000 and has served in that role as well as instructor in the Health-Physical Education Department. While at North Georgia, he has been part of seven conference titles and five National Tournament (NAIA) appearances.  Most recently, Davenport led the North Georgia Softball Program to a 36-19 (NCAA DII) and 12-8 (Peach Belt Conference) records in the 2007 season.  During the 2005 season, he led the Saints to the Southern States Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship and the SSAC Tournament Championship.  This marked the Saints fourth consecutive Conference Championship in a row and the program’s  third consecutive Tournament Championship.  He led the 2005 Saints to the program’s second consecutive National Tournament (NAIA) in Decatur, Ala.  At the National Tournament, NGCSU finished its membership in the NAIA with the Saints moving through the first round of the tournament with wins over the University of Mary, Point Loma University, and Aquinas College.  The Saints advanced all the way to the quarterfinals with a first round win over Houston Baptist.  North Georgia finished the season fifth in the NAIA National Tournament – the highest finish of any NGCSU Athletic Program since 1987. Under Davenport’s guidance, the softball program attributes much of its success to building a strong team atmosphere – opening each school year with “RBI WEEK”, (Respect-Balance-Intensity).  Team members come together and participate in team building exercises as well as a pre-season conditioning program.  Team members are challenged mentally and physically as they finish the week at the Pine Valley Ropes Course traversing both low and high elements.  “RBI WEEK” has allowed the team to build each other’s trust and respect before entering each school year.

Davenport was born on December 23, 1968 in DuQuoin, Illinois. 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 (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. Davenport received the degree of Bachelor of Science in Recreation from the University of Florida in 1994, and received his M.Ed. in Physical Education from NGCSU in 1998.

Davenport is married to the former Melanie Ralston (Gainesville, GA) and the couple resides in Dahlonega, GA.   They are the proud parents of Margaret “Isabella” (6) and Michael “Harper” (3).

CAREER HISTORY

1987-88   Parkland College Baseball,
Champaign, Illinois

1988-89   Oklahoma State University Baseball, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Student Assistant

1990-93   Sante Fe Comm. College Baseball, Gainesville, Florida. Student Assistant Coach

- 1992 Mid-Florida Conference Champions

1996-00   North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, Georgia. Assistant Women's Basketball Coach

- 1997   Georgia Athletic Conference Champions, NAIA National Tournament
- 1998   Georgia Athletic Conference Champions
- 1999   Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference Champions, NAIA National Tournament
- 2000   NAIA National Tournament - Elite Eight

2000-present   North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, GA.  Head Softball Coach

- 2001   Georgia-Alabama-Conference - Third Place
- 2002   Georgia-Alabama-Conference Champions, NAIA Region XIII Tournament
- 2003 Georgia-Alabama-Conference Champions, GACC Tournament Champions, GACC Coach of the Year, GACC Female Sports Coach of the Year, NAIA Region XIII Tournament
- 2004 Georgia-Alabama-Conference Champions, GACC Tournament Champions, NAIA Region XIII Tournament, NAIA National Tournament, Final NAIA National Ranking, #10
- 2005 Southern States Athletic Conference Champions, Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champions, NAIA Region XIII Tournament, NAIA National Tournament, Final NAIA National Ranking, #8
- 2006 Peach Belt Conference, NCAA Inaugural Year
- 2007 Peach Belt Conference,
Fourth Place finish
- 2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament runner-up, NCAA South Atlantic Regional runner-up, Final NCAA Division II ranking, #12