Iowa softball added another weapon to its growing arsenal of new coaches on Aug. 2. Longtime Iowa high-school softball coach Rick Dillinger has been named as an assistant coach.

Dillenger has a long and decorated career as a high-school coach. With 42 years of coaching experience under his belt, he’s acquired a 1,165-551 overall record. He has also won three state championships, 13 conference titles, nine sectional championships, and 11 district championships while working with Adel-DeSoto-Minburn, North Polk Community, and Danville Community School.

“We are very fortunate for the opportunity to bring aboard one of the top coaches in Iowa,” head coach Renee Gillispie said in a release. “His knowledge and passion for the game along with his Iowa connections makes [Dillenger] the ideal choice.”

Dillenger acquired numerous awards throughout his long career. He won the National Softball Coach of the Year award in 2004, and he’s earned seven District Softball Coach of the Year honors. Dillenger is also a member of the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame and the IGCA Hall of Fame.

Dillenger joins Gillispie and assistant coach Trena Prater as softball’s most recent hirings.