Denny Griffin will enter his 43rd year at Alma College in the Fall of 2025. He moved in to the head softball coaching position at Alma College in 1989 after two years as the assistant coach, and the Spring 2026 season will mark his 38th campaign at the helm of the program. In his time as head coach, he has amassed an overall record of 1,032-432 ranking him as one of the most successful Division III coaches.
He is ranked 20th in coaching victories among active NCAA head coaches, and 3rd among active Division III head coaches. Griffin is tied for 6th all time in wins among DIII head coaches, and tied for 48th among the NCAA's winningest softball coaches of all-time.
Coach Griffin earned his 1,000th career coaching victory with a thrilling 1-0 shutout win over Eastern University on February 27th, 2024. Griffin became the 51st NCAA softball coach to reach the milestone, and he is just the 7th in the 50 year history of Division III to it the 1K mark.
Griffin’s teams have won 15 MIAA championships, making him the highest-ranking MIAA softball coach for conference titles. In addition he has added 11 MIAA Tournament titles, 6 NCAA regional championships, and 1 NCAA super regional championship. The Scots have made it to the NCAA National Finals on 6 occasions.
Between his 2 seasons as an assistant coach, and his 36 as head coach, Griffin has coached 188 All-MIAA selections (96 First Team, 78 Second Team, 14 Honorable Mention). He has coached 11 MIAA Most Valuable Players, and four MIAA Most Valuable Pitchers. On the national stage, Griffin has coached 97 All-Region selections (50 First Team, 32 Second Team, 15 Third Team), and 19 All-Americans (six First Team, six Second Team, seven Third Team).
Griffin and the program’s first NCAA appearance occurred in 1994, when Alma went 36-8 overall and 3-2 during the tournament. After missing the tournament in 1996, the Scots reeled off nine consecutive appearances and this was the most prolific time in the program’s history. In that nine-season time span the Scots went 321-76.
Griffin has been active in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association serving on the NCAA Division III Top 25 committee including a three-year stint as the chairman. He was the Chairman of the Central Region on the All-American committee for four years. Griffin is currently a member of the NFCA DIII Head Coaches Committee. Griffin just completed his second four-year term as a member of the NCAA Softball Committee, administering the Division III Softball Championships. He was the Chair of the committee from 2004-06 and selected the Vice Chair for the 2022 season.
He began at Alma College as the Head Athletic Trainer serving the medical needs of the student athletes. Griffin has held numerous positions during his tenure including Athletic Director, Athletic Training Education Program Director, advisor, and an instructor in the Integrative Physiology and Health Science major.
A native of Midland, Mich. Griffin earned a bachelor's degree in biology and physical education from Hope College in 1981. He holds a master's degree from Western Michigan University. Griffin completed his doctorate degree in educational leadership at Central Michigan University in 2015 and is a certified and licensed athletic trainer
Denny resides in Alma with his wife Tammy. The couple have two children, their son Sean, and daughter Erin.
