SOUTH CAROLINA HIRES BEVERLY SMITH
SOUTH CAROLINA HIRES BEVERLY SMITH
Beverly Smith Hired as South Carolina Head Softball Coach
Smith spent 16 years combined at perennial ACC power North Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Beverly Smith has accepted the head softball coaching position at the University of South Carolina, athletics director Eric Hyman
announced on Thursday. Smith becomes the 10th coach in the 38-year history of Gamecock softball.
“I am honored to join the University of South Carolina and its athletics department,” said Smith. “The softball program at South Carolina is rich in tradition. I
am excited for the opportunity to lead such a historic softball program and reestablish the winning tradition.”
“We are thrilled to announce that Beverly Smith will be leading the softball program at the University of South Carolina,” Hyman said. ”Her
accomplishments as a student-athlete, coach and recruiter have gained her tremendous respect throughout the softball community, and we look forward to all
that she and her staff will bring to our department. Her experience and solid reputation are just what our program needs as we continue on the journey that
Joyce Compton began. We appreciate Joyce’s years of service and success in putting Gamecock softball on the national map and look forward to Beverly
expanding that legacy.”
Smith comes to Columbia after a successful tenure as first an assistant coach, then associate head coach for the University of North Carolina softball program.
Spending 12 years combined on staff as the lead recruiter, Smith helped the Tar Heels to eight of their nine NCAA Tournament appearances and to two
Atlantic Coast Conference titles (2001 and 2008). Smith tutored the Tar Heel pitchers and catchers, including Danielle Spaulding, who just finished her career
at North Carolina as the program’s third first-team All-American. Five of Smith’s pitchers earned All-ACC accolades 10 times during her tenure, while she
also helped UNC achieve a top-25 ranking in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Coaches Poll at least once per season since
2006.
During Smith’s tenure in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heel pitchers were outstanding. The 2010 squad finished 16th in NCAA Division I with a 1.92 ERA while the
program ranked in the top 10 in the nation in three of the previous four seasons. Spaulding was her star pupil, earning All-America accolades three times from
Louisville Slugger and the NFCA. During the past three seasons, Spaulding finished in the nation’s top six in strikeouts per seven innings each year while
twice earning ACC Player of the Year accolades. Last season, Spaulding was the toughest pitcher in the country to hit against, as she yielded just 2.61 hits per
seven innings. In 2009, Spaulding led the country with 14.3 strikeouts per seven innings. Crystal Cox also earned All-America honors under Smith’s
guidance, making the third team in 2006 after claiming ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2003.
Working with the other half of the battery, Smith had three catchers take home All-ACC honors. Ally Blake and Brittany McKinney claimed spots in the last
two seasons, while Natalie Anter made the list four times from 1999-2002. Anter also played in the 2004 Athens Olympics with the Italian national team.
Smith compiled three different tenures in Tar Heel blue, starting as a player from 1991-94. She was the first North Carolina softball player to win ACC Player
of the Year honors (1994), and her name dots the Tar Heel top-10 lists to this day in both the hitting and pitching categories. In 2002, she was selected as one
of the top 50 players in ACC softball history.
Born in Asheboro, N.C., and raised in Houston, Texas, Smith spent two years at the University of Houston, starting in the academic office before working as
the athletics department’s marketing coordinator. She played and served as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay FireStix of the Women’s Pro Softball
League in 1997. During this time, she also coached Episcopal High School in Bellaire, Texas, to three state titles and a state runner-up spot (1995-98).
In addition to her coaching, Smith has been a speaker/clinician at many camps and conventions, including at the NFCA Convention this year. She graduated
from North Carolina in 1994 with a double major in speech communications and political science.
