Head Coach Scot Thomas earns 1000th College Coaching Career win

PANAMA CITY, FL-After defeating Parkland, Head Coach Scot Thomas earned his 1000th College Coaching Career win.

Before coming to Gulf Coast State College, Head Coach Scot Thomas helped build the Virginia Tech softball program from the very beginning. He was named the program's first head coach on July 5, 1995.

Thomas quickly turned the Hokies into a winning program. Virginia Tech began play in 1996, and by 1998 the team had its first winning season. One year later, the Hokies won a program record 54 games and finished the year ranked #25 in the nation. During his time at Virginia Tech, Thomas posted a 794-568 record and led the team through conference moves from the Atlantic 10 to the BIG EAST and later to the ACC. He guided the Hokies to conference tournament championship games in all three leagues and led the program to the 2008 Women's College World Series. Virginia Tech also made eight NCAA Regional appearances and won back to back ACC championships in 2007 and 2008. Thomas earned several honors during his time there, including ACC Coach of the Year, Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, and multiple NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year awards.

At Gulf Coast State College, Thomas has continued to lead a strong Lady Commodores softball program. Thomas began his time at Gulf Coast during the 2020 season, leading the Lady Commodores to a 20-8 record before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. Since arriving in Panama City, Thomas has continued to build a successful program while helping many Lady Commodores move on to play at the next level.

In 2021, the team finished 23-22 and had strong success in the classroom with six players earning NJCAA All Academic honors. Summer Johnson was named NFCA NJCAA DI First Team All Region and NFCA NJCAA DI Second Team All American.

The 2022 season saw the Lady Commodores post a 39-18 record. Pitcher GraceAnne Spears was named Panhandle Conference Pitcher of the Year and earned FCSAA All State First Team honors. Eight players were named All Panhandle Conference and two earned All Academic recognition.

In 2023, the Lady Commodores finished 29-21. Collier Peaden and Cassidy Boltz led the team at the plate and both earned All Panhandle Conference First Team honors. Several players from the roster also moved on to play at four year schools.

During the 2024 season, Gulf Coast State had one of its best years, finishing 40-15 and 13-7 in conference play. The team scored 398 runs and hit .348 as a group. Several players earned conference and state honors, including Rachael Lee and Lexi Shelby. Shelby also stood out in the circle with 14 wins and 167 strikeouts.

In 2025, the Lady Commodores finished the season with a 28-25 record.  The team finished with a strong offense that hit .303, a .376 on-base percentage, 32 home runs, and a .449 slugging percentage. Five players moved on to four year universities, and catcher Cailyn Cooke earned DI All FCSAA First Team and NFCA All South Region honors.

Currently, the Lady Commodores have 28 wins under their belts heading into conference play.  During Week 1 of NJCAA DI Softball rankings, the Lady Commodores earned a Top 20 national ranking.