A COACH WHO IMPACTED NOT ONLY MCCUTCHEON ATHLETICS—BUT SOFTBALL ACROSS THE STATE OF INDIANA. WE CELEBRATE A BUILDER OF PROGRAMS AND ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED FIGURES IN INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: COACH JIM BATES.

OVER AN EXTRAORDINARY 29-YEAR CAREER AT MCCUTCHEON HIGH SCHOOL, COACH BATES COMPILED AN INCREDIBLE 578–248 RECORD, AVERAGING 20 WINS PER SEASON AND WINNING NEARLY 70 PERCENT OF HIS GAMES. EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVELY, 26 OF THOSE 29 SEASONS WERE WINNING SEASONS, A TESTAMENT TO SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE YEAR AFTER YEAR.

UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, MCCUTCHEON SOFTBALL REACHED HEIGHTS FEW PROGRAMS EVER ACHIEVE. HIS TEAMS CAPTURED 11 SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, 7 REGIONAL TITLES, 7 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND MADE THREE TRIPS TO THE STATE FINAL FOUR. THE PINNACLE CAME IN 2008, WHEN MCCUTCHEON WON THE IHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, FOLLOWED BY A STATE RUNNER-UP FINISH IN 2005—CEMENTING THE PROGRAM AMONG THE ELITE IN INDIANA.

COACH BATES’ INFLUENCE EXTENDED FAR BEYOND TROPHIES. HE COACHED 26 INDIANA NORTH ALL-STARS, 11 FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE PLAYERS, AND NEARLY 100 ALL-CONFERENCE ATHLETES, WHILE ALSO EMPHASIZING ACADEMICS AND CHARACTER, PRODUCING 14 ACADEMIC ALL-STATE PLAYERS, TWO MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNERS, AND A MISS SOFTBALL HONOREE. PERHAPS MOST TELLING, 38 OF HIS PLAYERS WENT ON TO COMPETE AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL, CARRYING HIS LESSONS WITH THEM LONG AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.

HIS EXCELLENCE WAS RECOGNIZED STATEWIDE. COACH BATES WAS NAMED CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR SEVEN TIMES, DISTRICT COACH OF THE YEAR, RECEIVED THE INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL SERVICE AWARD, AND WAS INDUCTED INTO THE INDIANA SOFTBALL HALL OF FAME. IN RECOGNITION OF HIS LIFELONG SERVICE TO THE SPORT, IN 2025, HE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE INDIANA SPORTS HALL OF FAME.

BEYOND MCCUTCHEON, COACH BATES SERVED THE GAME OF SOFTBALL WITH DISTINCTION—CHAIRING AND LEADING STATE COMMITTEES, MANAGING THE INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL RECORD BOOK FOR 17 YEARS, AND HELPING SHAPE THE SPORT AT EVERY LEVEL. IN 2023, MCCUTCHEON FITTINGLY HONORED HIS LEGACY BY NAMING THE SOFTBALL FACILITY JIM BATES FIELD, ENSURING HIS IMPACT WILL BE REMEMBERED BY EVERY ATHLETE WHO STEPS ONTO THAT FIELD.

COACH JIM BATES EXEMPLIFIES WHAT IT MEANS TO LEAD WITH INTEGRITY, CONSISTENCY, AND PASSION. HIS LEGACY IS FOUND NOT ONLY IN CHAMPIONSHIPS AND RECORDS, BUT IN GENERATIONS OF STUDENT-ATHLETES SHAPED BY HIS GUIDANCE.