Anthony Stone enters his third season as the head coach of softball at Montana State Billings. After a slow start, Stone guided his team to 22 wins in its last 28 games to finish 28-21 in his first season. Last season, his team won a school record 39 games to win the GNAC championship and advance to the NCAA West Regional earning him GNAC Coach of the Year honors.
In two seasons, Stone has a 67-38 record at MSUB (.638); for his career, he is 109-74 in four seasons as a head coach (.596). His teams have recorded at least 20 wins in each of his four years as head coach. At MSUB, his teams have been at, or near the top, of most statistical categories.
Under Stone's watch, MSUB players have enjoyed numerous individual awards. There have been two NCAA All-West Region award winners, back-to-back GNAC Freshman of the Year recipients, one GNAC Newcomer of the Year award winner, 11 All-GNAC Academic winners and 14 All-GNAC honorees.
Stone got his coaching start as an assistant at MSUB from 2001 to 2005. During his five seasons with the Yellowjackets, Stone assisted in leading the team to multiple conference and national team rankings. His ties to the Billings community run deep. Stone was an assistant coach of the Magic City Havoc Softball Club when they were the ASA State Champions in 2004. He has also had involvement with The Hitter’s Club, Inc. and Little League fast pitch in Billings.
From 2006 to 2007, Stone was the head coach at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Wash. He took the team from 12-24 in 2005 to 22-15 in his first season and qualified for the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Championships. With his success, Stone was named the 2006 NWAACC Eastern Division Coach of the Year. In addition, he coached the Eastern Division MVP in Megan Platz.
Stone, originally from Billings, served a four-year enlistment as a supplies specialist in the United State Air Force. Based in Clovis, N.M., from 1992 to 1996, Stone returned to Billings and earned his Bachelor’s of Art in Organizational Communications in 2002 from MSUB. Continuing at Montana State Billings, Stone completed his Masters of Science in Sport Management in 2005. He served as the graduate assistant for athletics marketing during the 2004-2005 academic year.
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