Rounding Third Softball

Former New Zealand Men’s National Team member Karl Gollan has been named head coach at Augustana College in Illinois. Gollan takes charge after being elevated from an assistant coach role with the DIII program. The former four-time All-World selection replaces Lori Duncan who stepped down due to family and health concerns, but has agreed to stay on as a part-time assistant coach.

East Tennessee State has named Cheryl Milligan interim head coach. Milligan was named to the position after spending the past three seasons as head coach at Army. Her biggest coaching success came at Tufts University where she won three straight DIII National Championships between 2013-2015. In 18 years as a head coach Milligan has compiled a 540-208 record. She replaces Belinda Hendrix who was dismissed as ETSU’s head coach in November.

Tara Henry has been named the new head coach of the Great Britain Senior Women’s National Team. Henry, a National Championship player for UCLA, has worked in private instruction around the world while also having a stint as head coach on the high school level. She also has a history with the Brits serving as an assistant at the 2018 Canada Cup with the countries Under-18 Women’s Team. Henry is the founder of Run the Bases, an international organization dedicated to teaching life skills through the sport of softball. She is also a nationally known member of the working media covering the sport on the collegiate and professional levels.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has promoted Madison Sullivan to head coach. Sullivan has served on staff as an assistant coach at MIT since 2019, and was the Engineers interim head coach this fall. She helped guide the program to the NCAA Regional Finals in the 2022 season.

It’s a Bedlam Engagement for Oklahoma Softball Star Grace Lyons. The Sooner All-American infielder was proposed to on the field in Norman by OU Football punter Michael Turk on Saturday night. Oklahoma dispatched Oklahoma State 28-13 in the annual rivalry game. Lyons helped lead Oklahoma to back-to-back National Championships in 2021 and 2022.

USA Softball swept through the Pan American Championship with a 9-0 record to claim the title in Guatemala. The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Canada in convincing fashion 12-1 in the Gold Medal Game on Sunday. USA had 12 hits in the PanAm Final with home runs from Sahvanna Jaquish and Amanda Lorenz, while Aubrey Leach went 3-for-3 in the finale. Megan Faraimo and Rachel Garcia held their neighbors to the north to one run in the 4-inning shortened affair.

RTS has learned that Alabama State Coach Todd Bradley has agreed to a contract extension. The two-year extension will run through June 30, 2025. His current contract took the Hornets leader until the end of the 2023 season. Bradley has been at ASU for three seasons and compiled a record of 52-75 while winning one SWAC Championship and making an NCAA Postseason appearance in 2021.

After appointing Tennessee, Florida State, and hometown hero Caylan Arnold interim head coach, DIII Maryville College has now reversed course and named Jill Moore to the permanent position of head coach. Moore spent nine seasons with DII Lynn University before resigning unexpectedly before the 2022 season. The final three seasons she led the program as head coach compiling a 30-81 record. Moore worked with current Maryville Athletic Director Sara Quatrocky on the athletics staff at Lynn.

The move seemingly caps a tumultuous few months for the program, and unsure and often awkward leadership from MC Athletic Administration trying to figure out the future of the program. It all started with the unceremonious ousting of former head coach and program alum Leah Kelley at the end of September. Kelley, a four-time conference coach-of-the-year, built the program into a perennial conference and national contender making two NCAA Postseason appearances in eight seasons while winning 157 games.

RTS has learned that East Tennessee State has parted ways with head coach Belinda Hendrix. The move comes after a tumultuous one season tenure that started after her hiring in the summer of 2021. The program has been riddled with accusations of an unhealthy team culture. An investigation had been launched during the 2022 season based on numerous complaints from student-athletes and supporters of the program. Hendrix was 8-48 in her lone season at ETSU.

Caressa DeRossett has been named the new head coach at DIII Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. DeRossett joins SU after serving the last two seasons at DII Wheeling University. She compiled a record of 24-65 at the West Virginia school.