Ashley Chastain was introduced as the next head coach for South Carolina softball on Wednesday.
Chastain, the former head coach for the Charlotte 49ers, spent three years of her career in Columbia playing for the Gamecocks. During her introductory press conference, she explained the feelings surrounding returning to her alma mater after over a decade away.
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“I love this place,” Chastain said. “I was telling someone earlier today in an interview that I was doing that my original plan was to be a high school history teacher. I had a high school history teacher that really inspired me, I think was my junior year of high school. And I came here to get a bachelor’s in history and then stayed to get a secondary education degree in social studies, then the game just never left me.
“Then I started thinking about coaching and how that, I think, was my path. And here we are many years later. So as I got into coaching and was provided many opportunities — yeah, this has always been my dream. And I’m just really thankful for the opportunity because you don’t get many chances to coach at your alma mater.”
As head coach of the 49ers in 2024, she led Charlotte to a 38-18 season that came to an end at the Athens Regional. However, Charlotte reached new heights over the past few seasons with Chastain at the helm.
In 2023, she helped lead her team to a 35-win season and the program’s first-ever outright regular season conference championship. At the same time, Charlotte earned its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Before Charlotte, Chastain had spent time serving as the pitching coach at Ole Miss, Michigan State and the College of Charleston. At Ole Miss, she helped lead the Rebels to the NCAA Super Regionals and was subsequently named the 2019 Softball America Pitching Coach of the Year.
Of course, her roots in the SEC run deep — especially with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Beginning in 2009, Chastain spent three seasons in Columbia as a Gamecock. At the time she finished her career in 2011, she finished ranked 11th in career relief appearances in school history. As a junior, she led South Carolina in starts, innings pitched, and ERA. She was also a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Chastain was also spent the 2012 season as a graduate assistant on the Gamecocks’ coaching staff. She also has experience serving as the pitching coach for the German National Team.
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