Hall of Fame
Holly (Killion) Van Vlymen, 2012 - One of the most dominant pitchers in Western Illinois and Mid-Continent Conference history, and current head coach of the Leatherneck softball program, Holly Killion Van Vlymen was a four-time All-Conference performer during her playing days from 1996-2000.
She redshirted during the 1996 season, then as a redshirt-freshman in 1997 she earned Second Team All-Mid Con honors. Van Vlymen was tabbed First Team her final three years, including the 'Pitcher of the Year' award in 2000. She earned a spot on the Mid-Con All-Tournament Team three consecutive years, and in 2000 was selected as the Most Valuable Player.
She capped off her dominating collegiate career by earning All-America honors on the field (NFCA 3rd Team) and in the classroom (CoSIDA 3rd Team). She is one of four softball players to have their number retired (#44) and still today remains as the only player in program history to earn All-America playing honors.
Van Vlymen holds every major season record at Western, including: wins (30), earned run average (0.58), appearances (44), strikeouts (355), shutouts (16), innings pitched (267.1) and complete games (32) - all during the 2000 season. Her wins, shutouts, and strikeouts still stand as the top-ranking single-season numbers in Summit League (former Mid-Con) history and Van Vlymen still ranks second in the Summit League in complete games, ERA and innings.
Although her career records have since been broken by one of her protégés, Van Vlymen ranks second all-time in the Western record books for wins (74), appearances (137), complete games (97), innings (809.1), then fourth in ERA (1.39). Her 880 career strikeouts are still the top mark in the program and Summit League.
Van Vlymen's career statistics are so impressive, even today she still ranks third in conference history in innings, complete games, shutouts, wins, and fifth in ERA.
She played professionally for the Ohio Pride in 2000, then began her coaching career at the University of Iowa as an assistant coach from 2001-04. Van Vlymen took over as the assistant at Augustana in 2004-05, the same time serving as head coach at North Scott High School. When her coach Kathy Veroni retired, Van Vlymen was tabbed as the just the third head coach in program history. She has led Western to three Summit League championships in seven years and to the NCAA Regionals in 2008 following the program's Summit League Tournament title. That year Western recorded its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, defeating Drake 3-1.
A three-time 'Coach of the Year' award winner, she owns a .603 winning percentage in league games (111-73), coached 52 Academic All-League selections, 38 All-Summit League performers, four 'Players of the Year', two 'Pitchers of the Year', and the 2012 and 2013 NCAA stolen base champion.
Already inducted into the Orion High School Hall of Fame, Van Vlymen becomes the 12th member of the softball program inducted into the Western Illinois Athletics Department Hall of Fame.
She graduated from Western in 2000 with a degree in Early Childhood Education then a master's in Education. Holly and her husband Jim, a Leatherneck football letterwinner from 1996-98, have twin sons: Luke and Logan.
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