FARMVILLE, Va. – Former Longwood second baseman and three-time Big South champion Carly Adams has joined the Lancer softball coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach, two-time Big South Coach of the Year Kathy Riley announced.
“What a great opportunity for Longwood to add Carly Adams to the Longwood softball coaching staff,” Riley said. “Carly is an outstanding young woman who loves to help people and combines that with a burning desire to compete at a high level. Adding ‘one of our own’ is something we all value in the Longwood community.”
Adams will work with her former teammate Emily Murphy on infield skill development, and will also work with the team’s short-game offense.
"The opportunity to be a part of the Longwood softball coaching staff means a lot to me,” Adams said. “I’m so excited to have the chance to come back to this program, work with this coaching staff, and learn more about the game from the other side of the field."
A 2016 graduate of Longwood, Adams led the blue and white to three Big South Championships to go along with two regular season crowns and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Adams helped Longwood win three games in the NCAA Tournament throughout her career, including victories over ACC foes North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
“Being a part of this staff gives me the chance to take the field again as a Lancer,” Adams said. “I'm on a different side of the field now, but I get excited when I think about the chance to wear those colors on the field and wear Longwood on my chest during a game.”
Part of the winningest class in program history, Adams, along with Murphy and Jamie Barbour, accumulated 155 career victories while playing on the only three 40-win teams in the history of the program. Adams, a 2016 first-team All-Big South selection, spurred Longwood's run to the 2016 NCAA Harrisonburg Regional Championship game with highlight-reel plays with her bat and glove.
“This game and this program have taught me so much and now I have the chance to give back to both,” Adams said. “I get the chance to impact the lives of my players and being able to do that alongside my former teammate Emily Murphy is a blessing in and of itself.”
A product of Colonial Heights, Va., Adams hit .297 throughout her four-year career with 96 RBI and 103 runs scored. Her 2016 season in which she hit .325 in 52 games was enough to earn her 2016 first team All-Big South honors in addition to 2016 second-team VaSID All-State honors.
