Tennessee softball came up just shy of making its third-ever appearance in the WCWS national title series this past year. As the offseason gets underway, Lady Vols head coach Karen Weekly has been quick to make tweaks to her coaching staff.
Most notably, assistant coaches Craig Snider and Stephanie Sanders and the program parted ways. Snider was the team’s hitting coach while Sanders primarily dealt with the defense. On Tuesday, Weekly announced the hiring of Ehren Earleywine as the team’s new hitting coach and associate head coach after he served in the same roles for the national champions, Texas, the year prior.
Now, Weekly is making another tweak. On Wednesday, she announced that pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith has also been elevated to associate head coach. She has spent the past six seasons with the program as a coach working with pitchers, a role she’ll continue despite the new job title.
“Megan is most deserving of this promotion,” Weekly said. “In just six seasons, she has made an incredible impact on our program and specifically our pitching staff. The honors and numbers tell the story on the field – Tennessee pitchers get better every year under Megan’s tutelage. Her contribution extends far beyond the bullpen, however, as she has been instrumental in developing our players’ mental game skills. She is passionate about developing young women into courageous leaders. Our overall success is due in large part to the way she invests in each of our student-athletes as people first.”
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Under Rhodes Smith’s watch, Tennessee has had debatebly the best pitching in the country. In the past two years, her staff has led the country in ERA. This has included coaching the likes of Karlyn Pickens, Ashley Rogers, Payton Gottshall, Sage Mardjetko and more.
“I am honored to continue to represent this program and am committed to continuing to strive for greatness each year,” Rhodes Smith said. “I am proud of the Lady Vol tradition of excellence and look forward to continue giving back to the next generation of Lady Vol softball players.”
There is still one more opening on the staff, as well, that Weekly will be able to fill.
