New UAB head coach Jimmy Kolaitis has wasted no time in making his presence known in Birmingham, finishing out his coaching staff and adding two former SEC players to the Blazers’ roster.
Kolaitis’ coaching staff will consist of Joe Guthrie and Courtnay Foster. Guthrie will handle the defensive instruction, while Foster will serve as the pitching coach. A married couple, Guthrie and Foster both spent the 2018 season as a part of the coaching staff at Louisiana-Lafayette and have previously coached together at Spring Hill College and Bucknell.
Foster is a Northwestern alum and also spent five years as the Wildcats’ pitching coach. Guthrie, a former assistant coach at Penn State, also spent a year on the coaching staff of the Scrap Yard Dawgs. Both are former collegiate head coaches.
Joining the Blazers’ roster via transfer are Jenna Olszewski and Dylinn Stancil. Olszewski spent her freshman season at Auburn in 2018, while Stancil played at Ole Miss for the first two seasons of her career. Both players are immediately eligible.
Olszewski saw limited action in her first and only season in Auburn, appearing in twenty-five games with three starts. She recorded seven hits, including two home runs, and six RBI on the year.
Stancil primarily played second and third base, while also spending some time at designated player, during her time at Ole Miss. Best known for her performance in the Rebels’ win over Florida in the 2017 SEC tournament quarterfinals, when she recorded both of the Ole Miss runs in a 2-0 victory over the Gators, Stancil ended her Rebel career with a .235 batting average and twenty-nine RBI.
