Heather Gelbard has been hired as the volunteer assistant coach at South Carolina, the school announced on Monday.
Gelbard spent the 2019 season as the interim head coach at Florida International, leading the Panthers to a 26-25 overall record, with a 7-16 conference showing. The squad batted .233 as a unit, with eighteen home runs and 172 runs scored.
Prior to her single season leading the Panthers, Gelbard spent two years as the head coach at UMBC, where she assembled a 34-61 overall record and a 12-20 conference record in America East play. She shepherded the program to conference tournament appearances in both seasons.
In addition to her brief stints at Florida International and UMBC, Gelbard’s coaching resume also includes time as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic and Barry University.
During her playing career at North Carolina State, Gelbard earned all-conference honors and remains in the top ten in Wolfpack program history in more than a dozen offensive categories. While at NC State, Gelbard played for current South Carolina associate head coach Lisa Navas.
At South Carolina, Gelbard joins a coaching staff that led the Gamecocks to a 38-19 overall record during the 2019 season. The Gamecocks finished 9-14 in SEC play, and were eliminated in the Tallahassee regional final round of the NCAA tournament.
