Kim Wilson gains win No. 900 with Rowan softball as she rounds the bases on 28 years as coach

After the Rowan softball team lost its third and final game in the NCAA Division III World Series last year, coach Kim Wilson’s nationally ranked team didn’t sulk or pout.

Instead, the players shared jokes and laughs about the experience in Texas, as the program hadn’t made it to the championship since 2018.

“This goes back to our culture and our kids,” said Wilson, who’s one of the winningest coaches in Division III softball history, “On the way back to the hotel we put music on the bus, they were dancing, singing, talking the entire time.”

As they approached the hotel, Wilson asked if they could keep driving longer. They passed the hotel about 15 to 20 times. The team had no clue as they sang a selection of songs from Whitney Houston to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

She didn’t want it to end.

“That’s going to be the memory they have in 10 years,” Wilson said. “It’s not going to be whether they got a hit in the World Series, it’s not going to be what the scores were. They are going to think of the little things.”

The moment describes the kind of coach Wilson is after 28 years of leading the Profs. Her philosophy of enjoying the experience, discipline, and work ethic has led to numerous accolades and achievements.

Her most recent success arrived on Tuesday night after she surpassed 900 wins in a doubleheader sweep against Stockton. Wilson has a 901-298-2 record and has guided the Profs to 19 NCAA regional appearances and five berths in the super regionals.

Rowan (23-5), ranked No. 13 in the nation, will face No. 22 Ramapo, a New Jersey Athletic Conference foe, on Saturday in a doubleheader.

» READ MORE: Dawn Staley has won — a lot. Her humanity is a major reason why.

“I didn’t know about it,” Wilson said about surpassing 900. “I’ve been blessed to coach at a school where we get really good athletes and our kids buy into our culture, along the way, we win softball games. It just makes my job so much easier.”

Wilson, who has 34 years of coaching experience, grew up in Erie, Pa. Her mother, Jan Wilson, was a college softball and volleyball coach at Penn State Behrend.

At age 6, Wilson remembers being on PSU-Behrend’s campus often, and years later, would wind up playing for her mother in college.

“I decided I wanted to be a coach, so I transferred to Slippery Rock University for two and a half years,” Wilson said. “It was a great education. Their physical education program there was amazing and I got to be around a lot of good coaches. I still believe my mom is the best coach I’ve ever been associated with.

“She had four kids and coached softball and volleyball. She laid the foundation for me to watch somebody do it, have fun, and make it your livelihood.”

After college, Wilson taught elementary physical education for more than a year in Virginia. She landed her first coaching job at Washington and Jefferson College, a Division III school south of Pittsburgh, for softball and soccer. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Famer also taught physical education classes while coaching two sports. After six years, she sought out other jobs that would allow her to be a full-time coach.

» READ MORE: After a back injury, this Penn senior’s record-breaking track success is ‘a long time coming’

During her search, she stumbled upon Glassboro State, a school in South Jersey she knew nothing about.

Wilson’s success started early as she led the Profs to the Division III World Series in 1997, the year Glassboro State became Rowan, and 1999.

College coaches took notice.

“I turned down a Division I job early in my career here at Rowan,” said Wilson, who lives in Collingswood. “At some point, I felt like I really was building a legacy and a program that people knew about, and that we do things the right way. Build a human being and get them a good education, with softball being a bonus.

“I’ve made the choice to stay for the long run here. I think it was the right choice for me.”

Wilson noted that many of her former players have become coaches at the high school and college levels. On her current staff, former Rowan All-American shortstop Shilah Minerva is in her third year as an assistant.

“That makes me proud as a coach,” Wilson said. “It’s not only our legacy here and our culture at Rowan, but it’s also former players bringing it into other places.”

As she rounds the bases on 28 years at Rowan, Wilson knows she’s closer to the end of her career than the beginning. But she hopes her impact on the program will continue to inspire the next generation of female coaches.

“It’s never been a job for me,” Wilson said. “It’s been a lifestyle, it’s part of what my family does. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished here. A lot of these things are really hard to break. But it’s the bonds that we’ve created with the players and coaches that are also unbreakable.”