Softball On SI

Softball World Mourns Beloved Coach After Sudden Passing

Maren Angus-Coombs|
Bay College softball coach John Garris suddenly passed away on Aug. 1, 2025.
Bay College softball coach John Garris suddenly passed away on Aug. 1, 2025. | Bay College Athletics

A community college in Michigan is mourning the sudden passing of its head softball coach.

Bay College's John Garris suddenly passed away on Friday, according to a press release on the team's website.

According to the Lincoln Parrish Journal, Garris died in a single-vehicle accident on Friday night. No other details about the accident have been released.

"Bay College and Norse Athletics is saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Coach Garris," said Norse Athletic Director Matt Johnson.  "In his short time here, he showed his passion and enthusiasm not only for the game of softball, but for life in general.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time." 

Several college coaches shared their condolensces on social media after news broke on Friday.

"Yesterday, I couldn’t believe he was gone," said Texas A&M-Corpus Christi head coach Mark Montgomery. "Coach John Garris was a Great Man who was loved by all! He was genuine, loyal to a fault, and maybe the best storyteller of all time! The softball world lost a great coach, and I lost an amazing friend!"

Troy assistant coach Nate Tompkins also posted photos and quoted Garris' final post on X (formerly Twitter).

"14 years ago I got into coaching," Tompkins writes. "One of the first people I met was John Garris... The world lost a great man today, and I, a friend."

Garris was hired in August 2024 and saw the Norse finish 1-26 in his lone season at the helm.

"Bay College has experienced a huge loss with the passing of Coach Garris," said Bay College President Dr. Nerita Hughes. "He brought a sense of pride, great enthusiasm, and uplifting energy to both our campus community and the athletic department. His passion for student success was evident in everything he did—always going above and beyond to ensure our students felt supported and valued. His warm smile and unmistakable Southern drawl will be profoundly missed by all."

Garris spent more than 30 years coaching softball. Before arriving at Bay College, he was an assistant coach at Maryland, where he primarily worked with outfielders and camps since he was hired in 2021.

Prior to his time in the Big Ten, Garris was the head coach at Southern University and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2015, leading the Jaguars to their first winning season in eight years.

Garris also had stints at Louisiana Tech from 2012-2013 as an assistant coach, Samford from 2007-2009 as an assistant coach, he was the head coach at Shelton State Community College from 2006-2007, where they qualified for the postseason, and was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Rutgers from 2004-2006.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

Home/News