University of Detroit Mercy Athletics

After helping the Titans to one of their best seasons in school history, University of Detroit Mercy Director of Athletics Robert C. Vowels, Jr. announced Marc Gillis as the 13th head coach in softball history on July 3, 2019.

He was in the midst of his first season as the skipper when the season was cut short due to the pandemic in 2020 and it continued to be a part of the program as the team played just four games in his second season in 2021. 

"We want to keep our program on a championship level and Marc has been a big part of that," said Vowels. "We had tremendous interest from coaches all around the country and I believe with his experience and background, he was the best choice for the head coaching position."

"I am really honored and excited for this opportunity and can't thank Robert Vowels and President Antoine Garibaldi, enough," said Gillis. "As the proud product of a Catholic education, I felt at home the minute I stepped on the campus at Detroit Mercy."

Gillis was an assistant coach with the Titans for the last two seasons working primarily with the pitchers and was part of one of the greatest years in school history in 2019 as Detroit Mercy won the Horizon League Championship for the first time since 1992, earned a bid to their first-ever NCAA Tournament while posting 31 victories, the most since 1991. 

As pitching coach, he helped tutor the best pitching staff in the Horizon League in 2019 as Ashley Mauser was named the HL Pitcher of the Year -- the first Titan to ever earn that honor -- and Liz Murphy earned the HL Championship MVP, after shutting out top-seeded UIC twice on the road in the tournament. Mauser and Murphy were also selected First Team All-Horizon League, the only two pitchers representing the first team. On the season, Detroit Mercy led the league in ERA (2.95), batting average against (.249) and shutouts (13) and was second with 347 strikeouts. His pitchers set school records for strikeouts in a game, for a season and for a career and also threw a no-hitter, the first since 1990. 

"The bar has been set pretty high after one of the best seasons, and only NCAA tournament appearance, in school history," said coach Gillis. "We enjoyed a lot of 'firsts' last season and it was a great ride for our coaches, players, families and Titan fans. Now we get to work on continuing and building that foundation to enjoy more seasons like 2019."

Before that, he was an assistant coach with the University of Michigan-Dearborn for three seasons (2014-16) and helped the Wolverines tie a school record for wins as they tallied 31 in 2016.  The 2016 squad also advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament, the best postseason run in school history. 

Coach Gillis has also been involved with the game of softball as a player, academy coach and tournament organizer.

He started coaching at the Gillis USA Softball Training Academy in 1997, which is the only training academy in the Midwest endorsed by USA Softball and is recognized by coaches and athletes as one of the best academies in the world. With the academy, he has conducted pitching clinics with coaches from numerous Division I conferences and has helped produce a plethora of student-athletes who have earned college scholarships. 

From 1995-2012 he worked in the areas of player evaluation and development. 

He has worked as a tournament director for USA Softball Junior World Championships, the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) and the International Softball Congress (ISC). 

As a player, he competed at the highest level of the men's game. He was the leading hitter on the first Michigan team to qualify for the International Softball Congress World Tournament and was a member of the only Michigan team to win the ISC world championship. One of his teammates during his playing days is New Zealander Michael White, the former University of Oregon coach who is now the head coach at the University of Texas.

"I want the hallmarks of our program to be that we always play hard and we always compete. Whether we're up by a bunch, down by a bunch or in extra innings. Those are two things we can always do and I would like us to be known for," added coach Gillis. 

Coach Gillis is a member of the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame and the Saginaw St. Peter & Paul Athletic Association Hall of Fame as a member of the Saginaw Bolters fast pitch softball team captured the International Softball Congress World Championship in 1979.