Rounding Third Softball

Arielle Cooper, who served as interim head coach at the Coast Guard Academy last season, has had that tag removed being permanently named to the position. Cooper was an assistant coach for three seasons before serving as interim in the 2021 season. She coached the Bears to a 6-8 record. Cooper took over for longtime coach Donna Koczajowski, who led the USCGA to 505 wins over 23 years.

Maine has promoted assistant coach Jordan Fitzpatrick to head coach. Fitzpatrick was named to the Black Bear coaching staff in the fall of 2015 and has directed the pitching staff since her hiring. The UM alum replaces Mike Coutts who departed the program earlier this month to become the head coach at the Colorado School of Mines.

Daisy Garcia has coached her share of softball games. The diamond won’t be the place she makes history next Friday however, but on the gridiron. Garcia will coach Runge High School against Flatonia High as she becomes the first female head coach in Texas high school football history. She joined the staff at Runge (a small Class 2A school between San Antonio and the Gulf) in 2020 after coaching softball, basketball and volleyball at three area high schools. She is currently tabbed in the interim roll for the Mustangs leading into the 2021 season.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel has now officially approved video review for the 2022 season. Each participating coach will be allowed two challenges per contest. While there will be no requirement to use the video review rule and will be optional for all schools, conferences and tournaments, the highly debated topic had already been experimented with by several conferences including the Atlantic Coast, Southeastern and Sun Belt.

Hunter Veach has been promoted to full-time assistant coach at UAB. He spent the 2021 season as the volunteer assistant helping the Blazers finish 31-19 overall and reach the Conference USA Championship Game. Veach has had coaching stops at both Auburn and Auburn-Montgomery, while also spending time on the professional level with the Cleveland Comets and Beijing Shougang Eagles.

Sources have confirmed to RTS that Tennessee State has parted ways with head coach Andrea Browning. Named head coach after one season as an assistant in 2017, Browning compiled a 33-121 record in four seasons coaching the Tigers.

Two-time national champion pitcher Paige Parker is joining the coaching staff at Utah. Parker, the former Oklahoma Sooner, will direct the Utes pitchers. She spent the 2021 season working with the pitching staff at Tulsa. Parker also previously worked on staffs at her alma mater OU and at William Jewell College.

After accepting the head coaching position at NAIA Avila University in Kansas City last month, Heidi Jordan is now on the move again going cross-town to DII Rockhurst University. Jordan had spent 18 highly successful years at Highland Community College in Kansas amassing 576 wins before departing earlier this summer.

Holy Cross head coach Jen Lapicki has announced her resignation. She led the Crusaders the last five seasons amassing a 49-127 record. Lapicki had one year left on her current contract, but indicated she stepped down to pursue other professional opportunities.

New Samford head coach Kimball Cassady has officially announced the hiring of Jeff Gillespie to her coaching staff. Gillespie joins the Bulldogs after working as an assistant for Cassady at Birmingham-Southern the last four seasons. He helped lead BSC to unparalleled success cumulating with a 33-8 record in 2021 and a semifinal appearance in the Division III Women’s College World Series.