The South Carolina Gamecocks have introduced Ashley Chastain as the school’s next head softball coach. Immediately, she’ll begin looking to get the program rolling again after five straight seasons of finishing SEC play with a losing record.
One of the keys to that for Chastain is winning recruiting battles. However, in the state of South Carolina, she’s going to need to compete with Clemson for recruits. That’s something that she made sure to note during her introductory press conference.
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“We’ve got to create an environment that the best players want to be a part of,” Ashley Chastain said. “That’s where it all starts. My staff and I, we’re going to work really hard at creating that environment, and that’s a holistic approach of giving them the best player development we can give them. Our game is really good right now, so being able to guarantee them that they’re going to walk into the program and leave a better player and a better person, growing them off the field while challenging them on the field to be the best that they can be.”
In 2023, South Carolina went 26-24 and 8-16 in SEC play. That was good enough to make it to the Durham Regional after being tied for 11th in the SEC standings. The Gamecocks did that while Clemson went 49-12 and 18-6 in the ACC while making it to the Super Regional.
Now, Ashley Chastain wants to work to convince recruits that South Carolina is the right choice in the state.
“I think we’ve got to create a winning culture, a winning tradition, winning championships. I’m really competitive,” Chastain said. “So, we’re gonna work really hard at beating Clemson at any recruit we go up against.”
Prior to coming to South Carolina, Ashley Chastain spent five seasons as the head coach at Charlotte. There, she had a 154-96 record with two NCAA Regional appearances. She also played at South Carolina and started her coaching career there as a GA.
Ashley Chastain calls turning SEC success around at South Carolina a ‘tall task’
It’s been difficult for South Carolina to find SEC success in recent seasons. Now, one of the biggest goals for Ashley Chastain is to turn that SEC success around.
“Yeah, it’s all task, right? College softball is just really booming across the country now. It’s really fun to watch the talent in the game, it’s the best it’s ever been. I’m really excited for the challenge. You’ll get to know me, but my staff and I — we love really great competition. So we’re going to welcome those opportunities to play the best as we become one of the best,” Chastain said.
“We’ve got to get the right players. That’s what it boils down to. We’ve got to recruit really well. And that’s not just on-field talent, but it’s the right people off the field too. We just need to make sure that all across the board we have the right players and develop them into being the best.”
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