Hall of Fame
Pastor DelRoy Johnson became the third UNW softball head coach in program history prior to the spring of 1982 and brought a strong sense of stability to a program that was still in its early stages. He would sit in the coach's spot in the dugout for a phenomenal 16 seasons until his coaching duties wrapped up after the 1997 season.
Coach Johnson owns the distinction of being the first coach in Eagle history to bring in a conference championship as his squads claimed league titles in 1992 and 1995. The 1987 team won 24 games, which was the single-season program record at the time, and was the first team in program history to compete on the national stage when they participated in the NCCAA National Tournament.
A monumental figure in the course of Eagle athletics, DelRoy led the Eagle softball team in 447 straight games from 1982 to 1997. He became the first Eagle softball coach to reach 100 career wins. At the time of his retirement, Johnson’s 226 career wins were the most in program history.
DelRoy was a favorite professor, coach, friend, and mentor. He was half of the science department when hired in 1977 at Northwestern; teaching as a professor of biology, anatomy, and earth science. Pastor Johnson had the privilege of counseling and officiating the weddings of many of his students.
In November of 2021, Coach Johnson passed away. The Eagles' softball team and alumni honored him in a pregame ceremony on April 23, 2022, in which he was commemorated with a plaque in the Reynolds Field softball home dugout.
