The 2023 campaign is the eleventh at Northeastern State for Clay Davis.
Coach Davis is a member of the Central Regional Advisory Committee, and in the NFCA he is a member of the HCC, All-American Committee, and chair of the Division II Top-25 committee.
He has guided the RiverHawks to six playoff appearances, seven seasons with winning records and one trip to the MIAA Championship finals.
The RiverHawks were one of the top home run hitting teams in 2022 with Gail Young breaking the program record for wins and Chloe Bohuslavicky setting the single season home runs mark with 13. Northeastern State finished fifth in the MIAA standings and held a 13-1 record at home.
In 2021 Northeastern State finished 22-21-1. The RiverHawks went 9-13 in two-run ballgames to just miss the playoffs. NSU picked up two wins over ranked opponents during the campaign.
When the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to the 2020 campaign Northeastern State was 16-8, its best start since 2014. The team boasted a 2.24 ERA and was 4-2 through two weekends of MIAA play.
Davis and the RiverHawks reached the MIAA Tournament Semifinals with six student-athletes being named All-Conference in 2019. Maddie Boyd collecting her 200th hit highlighted the season. A first for the NSU softball program. Along with Young winning 19 games in the circle which is second-most in a season.
During the 2018 season, Davis and the RiverHawks had a pair of wins against teams appearing in the NFCA National Poll and finished with a 30-26 record with two freshman starting pitchers. The RiverHawks reached day-two of the MIAA Tournament and had nine named All-MIAA. In the postseason Jessica Boone earned Google Cloud Academic All-America recognition, the second season in a row NSU had a national honor.
In 2017, the RiverHawks finished with a 23-28 record and 11-15 in MIAA action. The NSU program had its first All-American in Haley Acrey. She also earned All-Region and All-MIAA honors.
NSU had a breakout performance in 2016, with the team boasting the second-most wins in program history (32-23) and a berth in the MIAA Championship for the third time in four years. The RiverHawks finished fifth in the MIAA with a 15-11 conference record and had the first all-region player of the Davis era in pitcher Kayce Wooldridge. She was also an All-MIAA First Team honoree after breaking single-season school records in wins (21), innings pitched (221.0), games started (30) and complete games (29). She also finished with the second-most strikeouts (155), second-most appearances (37) and third-most shutouts (six) in a single season in school history. She posted a 1.30 earned-run average, which was the lowest in the MIAA.
The 2015 season saw NSU post a 21-30 overall record with an 11-15 mark in the MIAA. The RiverHawks earned a victory over Central Missouri, who won the MIAA Championship and went on to compete at the NCAA Softball World Series. Northeastern State also swept a doubleheader against then-No. 17 Emporia State.
The 2014 club tacked on two more wins from its previous season total (29) and earned its second-straight berth in the MIAA Championship tournament. NSU entered the event as the No. 8 seed but advanced all the way to the finals after twice upsetting the No. 1 seed and also taking down the No. 4 seed. NSU became the first No. 8 seed in MIAA history to advance to the finals. The romp through the playoffs also gave the RiverHawks their first conference championship finals appearance in school history.
Davis began returning NSU softball back to prominence in his first season with the program. He guided the 2013 club to its most wins (27) and its first playoff appearance since 2007. Davis also led the RiverHawks to a 16-10 mark and a fifth-place finish in their first season as members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The 16 league victories were also the most since 2007.
Davis has coached 27 All-MIAA award winners. He also recruited pitcher Kayce Wooldridge, who led the nation in fewest walks allowed per inning as a true freshman and was a D2CCA and NFCA All-Central Region selection as a senior. She ended her historic career with 11 school records.
Davis has also had numerous players receive conference academic accolades, including three MIAA Academic Excellence award winners, nine MIAA Scholar-Athletes and 51 MIAA Academic Honor Roll honorees.
He was hired at NSU on July 1, 2012. His last stop before taking the reins of the RiverHawks softball program was serving as the head coach at Berryhill High School. In three seasons, Davis led Berryhill to 90 wins and his 2012 squad bowed out in the semifinals of the Oklahoma state fast-pitch tournament with a final ranking of No. 3 in Class 4A.
Prior to his stint at Berryhill, Davis was head coach at Bacone College from 2008-09. He took over a program that had posted three consecutive losing seasons. He guided the Warriors to a first-place conference finish for the first time in school history in 2009 after posting a 35-25. His efforts were rewarded with Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors at season's end.
He also had similar success as head softball coach at Empire High School earlier in his career. Among his coaching accolades are being named all-state softball coach in 2011 and all-state assistant softball coach in 2010. He served as an assistant coach on Berryhill's state runner-up baseball team in 2010 and he was an assistant coach on the BHS state runner-up wrestling team in 2011.
Davis received a Bachelor of Art degree in history from Missouri Valley College in 2000 and obtained a Master of Education degree in administration from East Central University in 2009. He played collegiate baseball at the University of Indianapolis from 1995-98. During his time as a member of the Greyhounds, he helped turn around a program that was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation his senior year. They finished 39-14 in 1998 and 38-17 in 1997 after posting a 19-35 mark during his freshman year in 1995.
Davis is engaged to Kim Degase, and they have two girls, Addison and Kirbi. Davis also has one son, Easton, and twins Eli and Faith. The Davis family resides in Tahlequah.
THE COACH DAVIS FILE
Head Coach Northeastern State University (2012-P)
Head Coach Berryhill High School (2009-12)
Head Coach Bacone College (2007-09)
Head Baseball and Softball Coach, Athletic Director Empire High School (2004-07)
Pitching Coach DeSoto High School (2003-04)
Head Baseball Coach Tulsa Webster HS (2000-03)
Baseball Pitching Coach Missouri Valley College (1999-00)
| Davis’ Year-By-Year Record as a collegiate head coach |
| Year |
School |
W-L |
Postseason |
| 2022 |
Northeastern STate |
28-25 |
MIAA Quarterfinals |
| 2021 |
Northeastern State |
22-21-1 |
|
| 2020 |
Northeastern State |
16-8 |
|
| 2019 |
Northeastern State |
28-27 |
MIAA Semifinals |
| 2018 |
Northeastern State |
30-26 |
MIAA Quarterfinals |
| 2017 |
Northeastern State |
23-28 |
|
| 2016 |
Northeastern State |
32-23 |
MIAA First Round |
| 2015 |
Northeastern State |
21-30 |
|
| 2014 |
Northeastern State |
29-30 |
MIAA Finals |
| 2013 |
Northeastern State |
27-24 |
MIAA Quarterfinals |
| 2009 |
Bacone |
35-25 |
|
| 2008 |
Bacone |
30-29 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Davis’ Career Records entering 2023 |
|
|
|
Record |
|
|
| at NSU |
256-242-1 (ten years) |
|
|
| at Bacone |
65-54 (two years) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| College |
321-295-1 (12 years) |
|
|
| High School |
127-78 (four years) |
|
|
| All-Time |
448-373-1 (16 years) |
|
|
