by Taylor Cotie and Payton Bell

On September 11, Greensboro College announced that Brianna Strickland was going to be the new softball head coach. The Greensboro College softball team is thrilled to finally have a head coach after it was announced over the summer that three-year head coach Meredith Mills was resigning.

The Collegian had the opportunity to speak with Coach Strickland. When asking Strickland what made her decide to coach softball at Greensboro College, she replied, “I have played and coached in the Junior College and Division II levels, and I wanted a new experience. Division III is different in many ways and I wanted to learn and grow in my coaching career, especially with this being my first time in a head coaching role. Greensboro College also gave me that home feeling because of its familiarity.”

Coach Strickland had a previous coaching job as an assistant coach for the women’s softball team at Augusta University. Before Strickland coached at Augusta, she was an assistant coach at her alma mater, Coker University, for two seasons. When asking Strickland how she felt her previous coaching positions have prepared her for the head coaching position at Greensboro College, she responded, “If anything, my previous coaching positions have taught me three things. One, always be on your toes. You can never just have one plan. As a coach, you are going to have a million plans because nothing will ever go the way you want it, and that is okay. No matter what, you must expect the unexpected. Just be ready at all times. Two, try to have balance. Many times, we get so caught up on the games, practices and everything softball that we forget about the small things. As a coach you are human too, I want to be able to enjoy what I do with the group of girls who enjoy it as much as I do and that’s what makes it a whole different experience. Lastly, consistency. Continue to show up not only for yourself, but for the group of girls who are playing the game they love. That does not mean just on the field, showing up for them in life. Even when they have graduated and moved on with their lives, continue to be a person who they can depend on for however long.”

The Greensboro College women’s softball team had a very successful 2024 season. The team finished second in the conference with a conference score of 13-5. The Collegian asked Coach Strickland what she hopes she and the team can accomplish this season and she said, “We have a ton of strengths on this team, but we have some weaknesses as well that tend to hold us back. I think once we grow and develop in certain areas it will allow us to be right where we need to be and that is right back in the championship game, but this time better!”

The softball team fell to Pfieffer in the championship game during their 2024 season. The Collegian asked Coach Strickland how she will be preparing the team to come back to the championship game in the spring season. She said, “Of course, being a new coach and stepping into this role comes with a long checklist. The first thing is to make sure I am building relationships with the athletes and not only get to know them as players, but as people. I want to know what personalities they bring to the table, because they will carry them out to the field. They are learning about me during this time as well and my expectations as a coach. Once the expectations are in place, it will be all about the bounce back. How as a team are we going to bounce back from this previous season? Sometimes, really good teams need to fail because then the bounce back becomes more motivating and more driven to get back to that opportunity. I think this will be the year they will have that understanding. The mistakes, errors, strikeouts and even the losses do not define who they are as a player or as a team. At the end of the day, none of that matters. What matters is how we grow and develop to make sure in those critical moments, we succeed. Super excited to see the passion these girls have and their competitive fire really take place this season.”

For the players, this transition has been difficult coming back to campus without knowing what the season may hold for them because of the resignment of their coach. The Collegian asked sophomore Kate Charlton, who received Rookie Pitcher of the Year, what they have been doing so far as a team to get ready for this upcoming season. She said, “As a team we have been good at taking every opportunity we have to get in extra work and using that time to form stronger relationships with everyone. It has been really great because we all had the same understanding coming back to campus. While still in the process of finding a new coach, we knew that we needed to put in the work on our own time so that has really made a huge difference in our team dynamic so far, and that will definitely translate into pre-season and during actual season.”

Seniors Ivy Ray and Jillian Vitamanti have been working hard this pre-season getting the team ready and to see what is to come in their last season at Greensboro College.

“As a senior, I am looking forward to making the most out of every day and just having fun. With it being my last year, I just want to make memories with my teammates, leave everything out on the field and ultimately get the ring. I want to leave my mark and make it in the record books, which I am already part of the way there!” said Ray.

While Vitamanti brings up the emotional side with it being her last season, “I am most looking forward to playing this last year with my friends, with a new coach, just having fun and living out the dream I dreamt of as a little girl.”

For most college students, it can be scary coming back to a new coaching staff. Junior Olivia Hyatt touches on how she feels coming into their 2025 season.

“Returning to campus without a coach was nerve-racking and very different from returning to campus in previous years. However, now that we have a coach, I am excited about new opportunities and challenges for our team. I am interested to see how a new coaching staff will take us to the next level, which is hopefully winning the conference championship!”

Greensboro College welcomes Coach Strickland and is excited to have her as part of the Pride family. The softball team is preparing for their 2025 spring season as they will travel to Montgomery, Alabama for their first games in February.