The Decker File

Personal Information
Birthday	October 23
Hometown	Aurora, Ill.
Education	Trinity International, 2013 (Bachelor's)
Playing Career	USA Jr. National Team (2005) Waubonsee CC (2008-10) Trinity International (2010-13) USA Men's Fastpitch National Team (2011, 13)
Wife	Mallary
Children	Maevy, Faerren

Coaching History
2023-25	Troy - Assistant Coach
2019-22	Kennesaw State - Assistant Coach
2018	Delaware - Assistant Coach
2015-17	UT Arlington - Assistant Coach
2014	Arkansas - Volunteer Assistant
2013	Doug Gillis International Fastpitch Institute - Pitching Coach

Camden Decker returns for his third season as Troy’s pitching coach following a four-year run, which featured an NCAA Regional appearance, at Kennesaw State.

Year two for Decker saw him help the Trojans to a 34-22, 13-11 SBC record that included a 16-0 postseason victory over Coastal Carolina. He continued his work on the next generation of pitchers with seven shutouts, including three against Sun Belt opponents. The first came in an 8-0 win over JMU before taking down Louisiana, 3-0 on May 2 with Libby Baker, Kate Peters and Savannah Money on the mound – his last shutout was in the postseason, 16-0, against Coastal Carolina. Troy’s pitchers allowed the third-fewest triples with four with a .257 opposing batting average and 3.89 ERA. His leading pitcher, Baker, ranked seventh in the league with a .234 opposing batting average with the fifth-most innings pitched (164.1).

In his first season with the Trojans, Decker mentored Leanna Johnson to a bookend season to her legendary career. She posted the third-lowest ERA of her Troy career (1.99), while posting her second-most wins (24). Johnson earned All-Sun Belt Second Team honors and finished her career with a program record 101 wins, 35 shutouts while ranking second with 1,058 strikeouts.

Troy posted a staff ERA of 2.84 during his first season with the program as the Trojans knocked off a pair of ranked opponents in No. 25 Texas State and No. 25 Louisiana. Troy pitchers combined for a 2.0 K/BB ratio and averaged 5.4 strikeouts per seven innings.

Prior to Troy, Decker helped lead the Owls to a groundbreaking year, where the Owls' secured their first ever NCAA Division I Regional win after defeating Auburn 1-0 in the 2021 NCAA Tallahassee Regional.

Decker coached one of the ASUN's top pitchers Melanie Bennett. This past season, Bennett led Kennesaw State with a 2.62 ERA and ranked second in the ASUN with 181 strikeouts. As a sophomore, she led the league in wins (20), complete games (22) and tied for first in saves (3). She finished second in the conference with 165 strikeouts. Bennett was named ASUN Freshman of the Year, due to COVID-19 eligibility, and earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference and All-Freshman team. Bennett tossed a complete game allowing no runs on one hit to secure the Owls first ever NCAA Regional win against Auburn.

In 2020, Decker helped guide Kennesaw State to a historic start in a shortened season due to COVID-19. The Owls jumped out to a 21-4 record, highlighted by wins over Auburn, Iowa State and Penn State.

Prior to his time at Kennesaw State, the Aurora, Ill. native spent one season at Delaware and three seasons at UT Arlington.

Under his tutelage, the Mavericks lowered their team ERA by 1.73 runs over the previous two seasons and two pitchers were selected to the Sun Belt All-Conference team. The UTA pitching staff was led by two-time All-Sun Belt selection Samantha Clakley, who ranked third in school history with 26 wins in 2017.

Prior to arriving in Arlington, Decker spent the 2014 season as a volunteer assistant at the University of Arkansas. Decker previously spent time as an assistant at the Doug Gillis International Fastpitch Institute, where he helped in the instruction of pitching staffs at Evansville University and the University of Missouri. Gillis served as Kennesaw State's pitching coach in 2017 and 2018 and currently serves as the Virginia Tech pitching coach and is considered to be of the best pitching coaches in college softball.

Prior to his coaching days, Decker was a two-year baseball captain at Waubonsee Community College before transferring to Trinity International University, where he was a member of the baseball team and volunteer assistant with the softball squad. Decker, a former member for the USA Men's Fastpitch National Team, earned his bachelor's degree from Trinity International in May of 2013.