Texas hires Oregon softball coach Mike White

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas hired Oregon softball coach Mike White on Monday to lead a program that has been a steady presence in the postseason without becoming a powerhouse.

In White, the Longhorns get a coach who led the Ducks to five Women’s College World Series in nine seasons, and earned the overall No. 1 seed this past season before being eliminated by eventual national champion Florida State. White’s Oregon teams won at least 50 games five times.

He replaces Connie Clark, who stepped down after the Longhorns were eliminated in the NCAA postseason. Clark coached the Longhorns for 22 varsity seasons and had been the only coach in program history. Her teams went to the NCAA postseason 14 consecutive years but the Longhorns haven’t advanced to the World Series since 2013.

Texas finished fourth in the Big 12 last season. White went 435-111-1 at Oregon with five Pac-12 titles the past six years.

“Why not Texas?” White said, adding the school has “every resource available to become a national power in softball … I think it’s the right time in my career to make a move. I still have a lot of energy and time left to make an impact, and Texas has the backing and resources to do just that.”

Terms of White’s contract were not immediately disclosed. He is expected to get a five-year guaranteed contract, which has been the school’s standard in recent hires.

“What he has accomplished in nine years at Oregon is truly special,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said. “In a short period of time, Mike took a program that had not had a great deal of success and built it into a consistent national power.”