This summer, the board of trustees for Central Methodist University approved a proposal to honor one of the most successful and influential coaching families, not only at CMU but also in all of the NAIA, with the naming of the field at the Cox Softball Complex. Reardon Family Field, as it will be known, will be officially dedicated during Homecoming Weekend, with an event scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 18.

At the recommendation of President Roger Drake, the board approved the name change that will reflect the many seasons of dedication and success on the softball field by head coach Pat Reardon and his father and assistant coach, Gene Reardon.

“This is an incredible honor and wonderful tribute to the Reardon family, who are most deserving of it,” said Jeff Sherman, director of athletics. “The continued and consistent success, accompanied by the ability to attract many outstanding, talented, and brilliant students to Central, has secured their legacy for generations to come. We are very thankful to Pat and Gene Reardon for everything they do for CMU.”

Pat thanked the board of trustees, along with Drake, Sherman, and vice presidents Bill Sheehan and Chad Gaines, for making the honor possible.

“To think that I arrived on the CMC campus almost 40 years ago, not knowing what was in store for me, and now to know that the Reardon name will be permanently placed on the softball field is amazing,” he said. “It is very humbling and surreal to have the honor of having a field named for my entire family. I have been the head coach, but my family has been the backbone of the success of this program, through their sacrifices, commitments, support, love, playing, recruiting, and coaching.”

He went on to acknowledge the dedication of all his family and the former coaches, players, and supporters who have been part of his career, as well as the late Dr. James Luetjen and former president Joe Howell, who entrusted him with the job as a 24-year-old and recent graduate of Central.

This year, Pat enters his 34th season as the head coach of the Eagles softball team, boasting a career record of 1,028-581-2 and ranking as the third-winningest active coach in the NAIA. He is also the winningest coach in conference history, reaching the milestone in April 2015 after a win over Evangel.

Reardon secured his 1,000th career victory in March with a 5-2 win over Williams Baptist in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. With the win, he became just the fourth coach in NAIA softball history to reach 1,000 career victories.

A 13-time Heart of America Athletic Conference Softball Coach of the Year honoree, Reardon has guided Central Methodist to 40-plus wins in seven of the last nine seasons. For their efforts, he and his staff have been named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NAIA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year eight times.

Since taking over the program in 1993, Reardon has led the team to 11 Heart Regular Season Championships, eight Heart Tournament Championships, and five trips to the NAIA World Series (2012, 2015, 2023, 2024, and 2025). He has coached 47 All-Americans and numerous Heart All-Conference selections.

Turning the team into an NAIA powerhouse did not happen overnight. It took 16 seasons to win a conference championship, and ever since, CMU has been a dominant team, with two trips to the College Softball World Series. Reardon said the turning point came when his father, Gene, became the team’s assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in 2006. That led to the team bringing aboard DI transfer Chelsea Fuemmeler in 2008, who led CMU to its first-ever Heart of America Athletic Conference championship.

“My dad joined me, and we got a couple of recruits that year that I thought were big difference-makers for us,” Reardon recalled to this newspaper shortly after his 1,000th career victory in March. “From that point, things started changing. I do give a lot of credit to my dad as our recruiting coordinator. You’re a much better coach when you have good players.”

Reardon’s success has truly been a family affair. He recalled when his daughter, Abby, played her first game at Central in 2016. That year, Central won its sixth straight conference title with a young team boasting five freshman starters, including Abby.

“That was a team that had come off the World Series and lost a ton of seniors,” Reardon remembered. “Nobody expected us to win another conference championship, and we won that year with those young kids.”

Even when the honor of 1,000 wins was bestowed upon Reardon, he was adamant about sharing the credit, especially with his family. “It’s the recruiting side. It’s the good players. It’s the good coaches that I’ve had. It’s the support I’ve had from the administration. And especially from my family. They’ve been on this ride a long time. My wife’s been there the whole time. My dad works with me. My daughter played with me and coached with me. My son even goes out in the summertime with me to help recruit. All those pieces together built the culture we have here now.”

Additionally, Reardon’s teams are among the best in the country academically, routinely being recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association as an All-Academic Team.

For his efforts as a coach, Reardon was inducted into the Central Methodist Hairston Hall of Fame in 2012.

Central Methodist has been home to Reardon since 1986, when he arrived on campus as a student and soccer player. He earned four letters as a member of the soccer program and three letters competing in baseball. On the pitch, Reardon earned All-Conference and All-District honors.

He still holds the program record for career goals scored with 39.

Upon graduating with a degree in business administration in 1990, Reardon entered the coaching realm, spending 12 seasons as the head women’s soccer coach at Central Methodist while also beginning his historic tenure as head softball coach. He also spent one season coaching both the men’s and women’s tennis teams, as well as one season coaching the men’s soccer team in the early 1990s.

Alongside Coach Reardon, his father, Gene Reardon, enters his 21st season as an assistant coach with the 2025-26 season.

Gene was recognized as the Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) in 2015 and 2019. He was inducted into the Central Methodist Hairston Hall of Fame in 2021-22.

Gene is a retired senior executive of the Department of Defense (DOD), where, as the Auditor General of the Army, he led an organization of more than 800 auditors. He also served as the Acting Principal Deputy Inspector General for the DOD.

The elder Reardon is a graduate of Washburn University, where he earned an accounting degree and lettered four years in baseball. In his senior year, he received All-American honors for baseball. He has a master’s in public administration from the University of Oklahoma and is a licensed CPA in the state of Virginia.

The dedication event on October 18 will recognize the impact the Reardon family has made on Central and the softball program. Past and present players, alumni, and friends are invited to enjoy the ceremony and reception, which will immediately follow, accompanied by light refreshments.

Cox Softball Complex was completed in the spring of 2007 and is named after Trustee emeritus Glenn Cox (’51). The facility underwent a renovation in the summer of 2022 with the installation of a new turf field and backstop.