Get to know Kyla Holas 
Head coach Kyla Holas embarks on her tenth season at the helm of the Cougar softball program she began constructing from scratch in 2001. In the program's nine seasons, Houston has proven to be a mainstay at the top of the Conference USA standings on the way to national recognition with eight consecutive winning seasons, three NCAA Regional appearances in 2004, 2007 and 2008 and one NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2008. She also appeared in back-to-back Conference USA championship games in 2007 and 2008.
"I can not believe we are at 10 years," Holas said. "This has truly been a labor of love. I am still honored everyday to be the coach of this program and thank every girl who decided to become a Cougar and help build this."
Under the direction of Holas, Houston has become a successful program that has registered 35 or more wins in five of the last eight seasons, including three consecutive 40+ win seasons from 2006-08. The Cougars have reached at least 30 victories seven times and emerged as one of the top programs in Conference USA, reaching the final day of the C-USA Championship in four of the last five seasons and clenching the tournament title in 2007.
"Recruiting players who want to win championships has been the key to our success," Holas said. "It takes a very dedicated and disciplined person to fit into our program. We demand a lot from them in the details category. The girls on this team know the stakes and rise every day to meet the challenge."
Holas has taken Houston from a 22-win season during that inaugural year to an NCAA Regional caliber team, proven by three Top-25 wins over No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 11 Michigan and No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette in 2007, eight wins in 2008, beating each team twice (No. 14 DePaul, No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette, No. 21/18 Fresno State and No. 25 Washington) and a win agianst No. 6 Michigan in 2009.
"The foundation for this program was layed in the beginning and each year another team adds to this grand piece of history they are creating," Holas said. "That takes a very visionary person to be part of something larger than themselves everyday."
Holas has committed herself to building a winning tradition at Houston. Her staff and players have all bought into this philosophy and bring all of the necessary key ingredients to producing a winning program.
In 2004, Holas picked up her 100th and 101st career victories, sweeping a doubleheader at No. 15 Texas A&M. Houston rolled to a 39-25 mark, not only making its first NCAA Regional appearance, but also picked up the program's first postseason win with a 1-0 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. In 2005 she reached her 200th career victory in the Conference USA Tournament against East Carolina.
In 2008, Holas posted a 54-11 record, making softball the only sport in Houston history to record more than 50 wins. The Cougars took home its second regular-season C-USA Championship title and advanced to the NCAA Regional and Super Regionals, which took place at Cougar Softball Field.
The Cougars went 3-0 at the Regional, defeating Delaware State 9-0, with a perfect game pitched by Angel Shamblin. UH beat Washington 2-0 in game two, and advanced to the Super Regionals with a 2-1 win over Washington.
In the Super Regionals, the Cougars played Louisiana-Lafayette, splitting the first two games, but with just one win shy of the World Series, the Cougars fell short in the final game, with a 4-0 decision going to the Ragin' Cajuns.
The philosophy towards winning is one that Holas learned as a three-time NCAA All-America pitcher at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) after leading the Ragin' Cajuns to a third-place finish at the 1993 NCAA Women's College World Series. She received WCWS All-Tournament Team honors and was a two-time finalist (1993-94) for the prestigious Honda Broderick Cup, a national award given to the top female student-athlete at the NCAA level.
Holas racked up a career 104-20 record, in addition to compiling a .301 career batting average, en route to setting seven school records. Her .839 winning percentage is still in the Top 15 in NCAA record books. In 1999, Holas was inducted into the Louisiana-Lafayette Athletics Hall of Fame.
In nine seasons at Houston, Holas has produced 10 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Region awards, including three-time selection Kristen Glowacz to go along with 67 Conference USA honors, including her second-consecutive Coach of the Year award. Glowacz was also named to the C-USA All-Decade team in 2005. In 2008, Jessica Valis, Wagner and Shamblin were the first in program history to be named NFCA All-Americans.
Houston has racked up 14 Conference USA All-Freshmen selections and three Freshmen of the Year winners, including 2006 winner, Elaina Nordstrom and 2008 recipient, Jennifer Klinkert. The Cougars garnered a C-USA Co-MVP award with Glowacz in 2005 and C-USA Player of the Year Jessica Valis in 2007, in addition to Angel Shamblin's three-time C-USA Pitcher of the Year awards (2006, 2007, 2008). Shamblin also received the Co-Female Cougar of the Year award at the 2008 Academic Banquet.
Shamblin was named the 2008 C-USA Female Athlete of the Year, the first softball player to ever receive the honor and the fourth Cougar to be named Athlete of the Year.
In 2008, Holas produced four All-Conference USA First Team players including, Jessica Valis, Klinkert, Laurie Wagner and Shamblin. Three Cougars were members of the All-Conference Second Team, including Nordstrom, Christa Raley and Katie Bush. Klinkert, the 2008 Freshman of the Year, was also a member of the All-Conference USA Freshman Team.
Shamblin, Wagner, Jessica Valis and Klinkert were also named to the NFCA All-South Region Team. Shamblin and Wagner earned All-South Region First Team honors, while Jessica Valis and Klinkert were named to the Second Team.
In 2009, Jessica Valis received her fourth consecutive All-Conference USA First Team honor. Haley Valis, Katie Bush and Laurie Wagner joined the ranks on the All-Conference USA Second Team, and Melissa Gregson was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
To go along with all the C-USA honors, three Cougars were also named All-Americans as announced by the NFCA. The trio included Shamblin, Wagner and Jessica Valis. They were the first in program history to be named All-Americans.
To get to the top, Holas doesn't let anything get overlooked. Her dynamic personality, work ethic and past accomplishments as a player and coach make the program's sky-high outlook seem very realistic.
"Success comes by being obsessive about details," Holas said. "The little things are what separates the All-Americans from everyone else."
Since coming to Houston, Holas has worked endlessly to build a program focused on winning with high academic standards, something that is paramount to the student-athletes on the Cougar squad. The academic standards Holas has set for her team have also been a staple of the program as a program-record 12 players earned recognition on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll during the 2007-08 academic year.
Three student-athletes were honored during the 2008-09 season, as Bush became a four-time Academic Medal honoree, while Klinkert and Baillie Lott picked up their second C-USA Academic Honor Roll selection.
Bush was honored with the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI Second Team award, and the C-USA All-Academic Team for her excellence in the classroom. Bush was also a two-time NFCA Academic All-America Scholar (2007, 2008). Joining her for the 2008 C-USA All-Academic Team was Wagner.
Holas came to the Cougar program from the University of Florida, where she was responsible for developing the pitchers and catchers for three seasons. She guided the Gators through its inaugural season and through a tough Southeastern Conference schedule.
While at Florida, Holas was instrumental in the development of Chelsey Sakizzie, who was named the 1998 SEC Player of the Year in addition to Louisville Slugger All-America Third-Team honors. She coached five other players to SEC accolades.
Before going to Florida, Holas spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois. While working in DeKalb, Ill., Holas tutored the Husky pitchers and coordinated the academics for the team. She coached the 1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year, pitcher Angie Zuspann, as the Huskies reached the NCAA Regionals for only the second time since 1988.
A native of Pasadena, Texas, Holas now lives in Pearland, Texas, with her husband, John, and their sons, Payton and Jase and daughter Brenan.
