Jimmy Barrett has NYU-Poly heading to softball NCAA Tournament


The road to the top was certainly filled with more than its share of bumps the past 10 years, but Jimmy Barrett is enjoying the view from the top now.

The “top” for Barrett, the head softball coach at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU), is the regular-season and conference champion of the Skyline Conference — the first in the Brooklyn school’s history.

Perhaps even more importantly, is the prize that comes with those accomplishments — a spot in the NCAA Regionals, starting with Thursday’s game against Lebanon Valley College (31-11).

The Annadale resident clearly enjoyed his young team’s remarkable 31-9 season, and understands how hard it was getting to this point.

Barrett was hired in 2001 and Polytechnic put a club team together the following year. The first “official” season was rough but the following year, Barrett landed a handful of freshmen recruits who would eventually get the program pointed in the right direction.

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