Republic softball coach Mike Thorne will be inducted into the Missouri State High School Softball Hall of Fame. Thorne will go into the Hall with two other coaches during a ceremony in Columbia on July 30.
“It’s a big honor,” Thorne said. “It just means I’ve had a lot of good players. A lot of good assistant coaches. I called both (my assistants) yesterday and thanked them, because they’re a big part of it.”
Thorne has had two assistant coaches in his time at Republic. Kara Carr assisted for six seasons, and Jim Huson has been Thorne’s assistant for the past 11 years.
Thorne’s career record is 320-140 in 18 seasons. He has won 8 COC titles and 11 district titles. He also took the Lady Tigers to back-to-back Final Fours in 2008 and 2009. Republic finished 3rd and 4th in the state during those two years.
2011 will be Thorne’s final softball season as head coach. He has already announced he’ll retire as head coach after this year.