Tom Curtis will begin his 25th season as head softball coach at Barton County Community College. Since taking over the Barton program in 1984 he has compiled 661 wins and a winning percenage of .552.

This season Coach Curtis will coach his 1200th game at Barton County. In 2004, Coach Curtis surpassed the 600-win mark at Barton with his final win that season.

The Cougars won 30 games for the 5 of the past 8 seasons. During two of those years, the Cougars surpassed the 40-win mark. In 2002, Barton County made a serious run at the District C title, losing a tough 2-1 decision to Johnson County in the finals of the tournament. That season the Cougars were 2nd in the Jayhawk West with a 13-3 mark. The 40-19 season is the 2nd most wins in Cougar history. Barton won a share of the West title in 2004 as well, giving the Cougars 9 shared or outright titles in Coach Curtis' tenure.

During the 2001 season Curtis earned his 500th career win as a collegiate coach at Barton.
That season followed a successful campaign in 2000 when Curtis was voted Coach of the Year in the Jayhawk Western Conference after the Cougars won the conference and finished the season with an overall record of 44-21, losing only one game at home. His 44 victories set a Barton record for most wins in one year.

Coach Curtis was inducted into the Kansas Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame in April of 1999.

“That was an important event in my life,” said Curtis about receiving the prestigious award. “To be included with these special fast pitch softball players is an honor. Fast pitch softball has been a priority in my life for over thirty-five years.”

At Barton his teams have won Region VI championships in 1985, 1990, and 1993. In 1990 and 1993 the Cougars earned berths in the NJCAA National Tournament and tied for fifth both years. Seven Barton players have been named to the NJCAA All America Team, 68 have been named All Conference, and 13 have been namedNJCAA Academic All-American.

Prior to coaching at Barton, Coach Curtis played softball from 1964-84. As a player/manager for the Bend Cowboys, they won three state ASA Class A state tournaments. He was also a member of one Class B state championship.

Curtis graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1967. He and his wife, Jan, have lived in the Great Bend area since 1969.