A new era of Lady Buff softball officially began on June 20, 2019, as Michael Mook was hired as the third head coach in program history. In just six seasons, Mook has led West Texas A&M to a 242-61 (.799) mark while claiming the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship.
Mook continued to elevate West Texas A&M softball on the national stage as the Lady Buffs capped off 2025 with a 56-8 overall record and 40-4 Lone Star Conference record. WT opened the campaign ranked 13th before quickly entering the top 10 of the NFCA poll. The Lady Buffs spent 10 weeks in the top five including three weeks at No. 1. WT earned a share of the Lone Star Conference regular season title for the second consecutive season, hosting the LSC Tournament at Schaeffer Park once again. After a pair of shutout wins, the Lady Buffs rematched with UT Tyler in the LSC Championship. The Patriots jumped ahead and never looked back for a 13-2 victory in five innings. Despite the loss, WT earned the right to host the South Central Regional II bracket in Canyon. The Lady Buffs opened the NCAA Tournament with a 9-4 win over Lubbock Christian before a dramatic 2-1 victory over No. 8 Angelo State sent the WT into the regional championship. After falling 8-0 to Angelo State, the Lady Buffs took the winner-take-all game against the Rambelles 3-0 to secure a spot in the Super Regionals for the second time in three year. In the Super Regional round, the Lady Buffs stunned top-seeded and No. 1-nationally UT Tyler with five home runs on their way to an 11-8 victory. The Patriots rebounded in game two, shutting out WT 10-0 in five innings. In the decisive game three, a big inning from UT Tyler downed the Lady Buffs, ending the season with a 5-1 loss. The offensively-driven season saw WT lead the nation in runs per game and slugging percentage with multiple other top-10 offensive figures. Individually, Emilee Boyer and Lauren Granger earned NFCA First Team All-America honors. Boyer's historic season earned the Harrisburg, S.D. native multiple honors as she became the first Lone Star Conference player to take home both Player and Pitcher of the Year honors. Boyer also collected D2CCA Ron Lenz Player of the Year, NFCA Player of the Year, CSC Academic All-American and CWSA DII Honda Athlete of the Year Finalist honors.
Coach Mook replicated his success in 2024 as the Lady Buffs finished with a 50-8 record and 37-5 mark in Lone Star Conference play. The Lady Buffs opened the season as the No. 4-ranked team in the NFCA Coaches Poll and never dropped out of the top five including six weeks at the No. 1 spot. WT’s regular-season success allowed the Lady Buffs to earn a share of the Lone Star Conference regular season title and right to host the LSC tournament at Schaeffer Park. WT would go on to dominate in the LSC tournament, defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville 8-2 in the quarterfinals before posting a 9-1 victory in five innings over St. Mary’s in the semifinals. The Lady Buffs impressed in the tournament championship, cruising past UT Tyler 8-0 in six innings to claim the conference crown. While hosting the South Central Regional I bracket, WT dropped its opening game before battling back to face Oklahoma Christian. The Eagles would end the Lady Buffs season in heartbreaking fashion with a 9-8 walk-off win in eight innings. After the season, Emilee Boyer, Diana Murtha, and Brittni Rufus doubled up on All-America awards with Lauren Granger collecting NFCA All-America honors.
Mook returned WT to the NCAA tournament in 2023 after a successful regular season, ending with a 50-8 record. The Lady Buffs secured the second seed in the Lone Star Conference tournament, defeating Eastern New Mexico 3-2 in the quarters before losing to Oklahoma Christian in the semifinals. WT then earned the No. 3 seed and right to host the South Central Region II tournament at Schaeffer Park. The Lady Buffs swept their way through the bracket by defeating Cameron and No. 7 Colorado Christian twice. In the Super Regional round, WT couldn't keep up with top-seeded and No. 3-nationally UT Tyler, falling in the series. Nine Lady Buffs earned spots on All-Lone Star Conference teams with Emilee Boyer, Kyra Lair, Brittni Rufus, and Ruby Salzman landing on the First Team. Boyer and Salzman also earned specialty awards as Boyer was awarded LSC Freshman of the Year and Salzman was named the 2023 LSC Player of the Year. Boyer, Lair, Rufus, Salzman and Gabie McConnell went on to receive All-Region recognition. After the conclusion of the season, Salzman added another All-America award to her storied career while Boyer and Lair became the program's 20th and 21st All-Americans.
In 2022, Mook and the Lady Buffs finished the season with a 29-16 record with an appearance in the Lone Star Conference Tournament where their season would end with a 10-0 loss to No. 1 ranked UT Tyler. Following the season Ruby Salzman earned Academic All-American status for the second consecutive season along with Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) First Team All-South Central Region. Salzman was then upgraded to D2CCA Honorable Mention All-American. After transferring to WT, Brittni Rufus played a great first season in Maroon & White as she was named to the Lone Star Conference First Team and Gold Glove team along with Second Team All-Region honors by both the D2CCA and NFCA.
The 2021 campaign saw the Lady Buffs capture the program’s second NCAA National Championship as WT topped Biola, 4-1, with the help of Gabriella Valforte’s grand slam in the bottom of the sixth. The Lone Star Conference Tournament Champion and South Central Regional Champion Lady Buffs finished the season 43-12 where Mook and his staff were named the NFCA Division II Coaching Staff of the Year. Senior catcher Shanna McBroom concluded her incredible collegiate career in style as the Sachse, Texas product was named the Schutt Sports/NFCA Player of the Year, LSC Athlete of the Year, Diamond Sports,/NFCA DII Catcher of the Year, D2CCA South Central Region Player of the Year, LSC Player of the Year, and D2CCA and NFCA All-American.
In his first season with West Texas A&M, he led the Lady Buffs to a 14-9 record before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In just 23 games, the Lady Buffs outscored opponents 159-86 on 191 hits including 27 homeruns.
Under Mook, the Vikings went 154-61 during his four-year tenure at VCSU including an impressive 54-5 in 2019 leading the Vikings to their third-ever appearance at the NAIA World Series and first since 2006. He was named the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association (NDAPSSA) Coach of the Year as the Vikings broke eight school records throughout the season.
VCSU won 21 straight games in 2019 led by All-Americans Emily Smith, Voni Culp and Emilee Wilson. Smith, the NDAPSSA Female Athlete of the Year, became the fourth player in program history to earn NAIA Academic All-American honors after setting a new school record in wins after posing a record of 33-1 with a 1.18 ERA with 262 strikeouts in 195 2/3 innings. Wilson was named the NSAA Newcomer of the Year after going 19-3 in the circle for the Vikings with a 1.40 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings.
Mook led VCSU to their first national ranking in program since the poll was established in 2000, as the Vikings finished the year ranked No. 25 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.
In his first season with the Vikings in 2016, he led the program to a runner up finish in the NSAA runner-up finish with a program record 40 wins. VCSU broke eight team offensive records and five individual records as five Vikings were received all-conference honors and six earned NAIA Scholar Athlete accolades.
Prior to taking the head job at VSCU, the Boscobel, Wis., native spent six years as the top assistant coach at Augustana University (S.D.), who crowned the 2019 NCAA DII Softball Champions. Under head coach Gretta Melsted, Mook worked primarily with the pitchers helping the Vikings pitching staff to several NCAA All-American awards and six straight NCAA DII Tournament appearances.
Before his time at Augustana, Mooked worked one year as an assistant coach for the University of Chicago-Illinois.
He also spent one year as an assistant the University of Chicago-Illinois, co-head coach of the Minnesota Blizzard of the USA/ASA and head coach at Hastings High School. He also spent the last eight years coaching the South Dakota Renegades. . He also was the head coach at Hastings High School and a co-head coach of the Minnesota Blizzard traveling team that recorded a 35-6 record and qualified for the USA/ASA National Tournament in 2008.
Mook graduated from Winona State University in 2007 with a physics degree.
