Georgia Tech head coach Aileen Morales has been elected to the program’s Hall of Fame for her accomplishments during her playing career. Morales starred on the diamond for the Yellow Jackets from 2005-08, earning a trio of All-Conference honors during her collegiate career. During her freshman season, Morales was named the ACC’s Co-Freshman of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors. A third-team All-American selection, Morales still holds four career records for the program, including the all-time marks in games played; games started; at-bats; and stolen bases. She also stands in the program’s top 10 in career runs scored; hits;…
Author: jmcleod
Former Harvard standout Rhianna Rich will join the coaching staff at Louisiana-Monroe, sources confirmed to JWOS. Rich will serve as a graduate assistant on the Warhawks’ staff, and joins the program after spending the abbreviated 2020 season as the volunteer assistant at Loyola Marymount. During her playing career at Harvard, Rich was a four-time All-Ivy League selection and was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2016. As a junior in 2018, Rich recorded a .436 batting average and won the Ivy League’s batting title. She helped lead the Crimson to the conference championship series in each of her…
It was the only job that she applied for. When Laura Matthews found out that the Belmont head coaching position was open, it almost seemed too good to be true. A Nashville native with family still in the city, it was the first real glimmer of hope since her program at Wright State had been unceremoniously eliminated earlier in the summer. After the shocking news that the Wright State program was being cut, Matthews said she went through most of the five stages of grief, only luckily avoiding the denial phase. Once things began to settle in, though, her focus…
Megan Brown has been named the new head coach at Longwood. Brown spent the abbreviated 2020 season as the pitching coach at Cal, leading the Bears’ pitching staff to a 5.71 ERA and an opponent’s batting average of .281 during the campaign. Prior to her single season at Cal, Brown spent four years on staff at Boston College. The Eagles’ staff led the ACC in strikeouts in 2016 and ’17, and she spent a short period of time as the program’s interim head coach in 2019 during a coaching search. Brown’s coaching resume also includes single-season stints at Akron and…
Tristan Wilcox has been announced as the new head coach at Division II Purdue Northwest. Wilcox joins the Pride program following four years as an assistant coach at Dayton; during her time with the Flyers, she served in a variety of capacities, including as the program’s recruiting coordinator. Serving as the hitting coach during her time at Dayton, Wilcox helped lead the Flyers to a trio of consecutive appearances in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament. Under her guidance, the 2017 edition of the Flyers set a program single-season record with 95 doubles on the year. Prior to her tenure at…
Just a couple of weeks ago, we ran a full update on the assistant coaching carousel, covering a number of transactions and changing of the guard. Now, just a short time later, it’s time for a whole new roundup of the latest happenings! Tennessee Tech hires Marisa Runyon We covered this transaction in an article shortly after it was announced. The former Alabama standout, nicknamed Home Runyon during her playing career, is still in the early years of her coaching career, and this is the first Division I coaching position that she has held. Eastern Kentucky adds Hayley Sims to staff…
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association will not formally lobby for a change to the September 1st recruiting contact date, multiple sources confirmed to JWOS on Tuesday. According to additional sources, the decision comes following a popular vote of the Division I membership and a meeting of the NFCA’s Head Coaches Committee that took place on Tuesday morning. Roughly 60% of the Division I coaches that cast a vote were in favor of pushing back the contact date, but there was not an overwhelming majority in favor of the proposal. Throughout the proposal’s ultimately-brief lifespan, a so-called super majority was not…
Ronnie Ladines will join the coaching staff at UTSA, sources confirmed to JWOS on Monday. She is expected to work with the team’s pitching staff, replacing Jordan Wallace Simon, who departed the staff earlier in the summer after four years with the program. Ladines spent the 2020 season as an assistant coach at Utah Valley. She was part of the coaching staff that led the Wolverines to a 12-7 overall record during the abbreviated 2020 season. Prior to her tenure at UVU, Ladines spent two seasons as a graduate assistant on staff at Akron. She enjoyed a playing career at…
Maddi Banks is transferring to Ole Miss, sources confirmed to JWOS on Friday evening. Banks, an infielder and utility player, entered the transfer portal on July 23rd following two years at Virginia Tech. As a freshman in 2019, Banks batted .259, with four home runs and a .729 OPS. She was the Hokies’ starting second baseman, and also led the team with thirteen stolen bases as a rookie. During the abbreviated 2020 season, Banks finished fifth on the team with a .340 batting average and recorded three home runs and nine RBIs. She posted a slugging percentage of .585 and…
Following Clarisa Crowell’s departure to become head coach at Penn State, the Miami Redhawks are on the hunt for a new head coach. The Redhawks enjoyed impressive success under Crowell, most notably an NCAA tournament appearance in 2016 and the Mid-American Conference’s regular-season title in 2019. Miami recorded more than 200 wins under Crowell, including 106 victories since the 2017 season. The Redhawks finished the 2020 campaign with a 12-8 record that included wins over Iowa and Florida Gulf Coast. A new coach will step into a quality situation; the team returns their core on offense, including leading hitters Morgan…