Reach Named Bulldog Softball Assistant Coach
June 30, 2011 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State head softball coach Vann Stuedeman announced this week that standout Alabama prep coach and former Georgia assistant Alan Reach will be joining her Bulldog coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Reach comes to Starkville following a six-year tenure at Tuscaloosa County High School in which he guided the program to three state tournament berths and the AHSAA 6A Area 9 title each season.
"I am very excited to have a coach of Alan's caliber joining us here at Mississippi State. He will make an immediate impact on our program with his contagious spirit and love for the sport," Stuedeman said. "He is a family man with tremendous character and integrity, and he will act as an exceptional role model for our student-athletes."
Last season he coached the Wildcats to the area title and a fourth-place finish in the state 6A tournament. Playing in Alabama's largest classification, his squad advanced to the state tournament after taking runner-up accolades in the AHSAA North Central Regional Tournament.
In 2009, the two-time West Alabama 6A Coach of the Year was named head coach of the AHSAA North All-Star Team after guiding TCHS to its second state tournament showing. The team also claimed region and area championships.
"I am very excited for the opportunity to coach here at Mississippi State and in the SEC," Reach said. "It's an honor to be able to coach under Vann because of her vision, passion and excitement. I'm thrilled to join this program knowing the potential it has under Vann's leadership."
Reach is no stranger to the league, as he served as an assistant coach for Georgia's 2004 squad that went 55-17 and fell a win shy of advancing to the Women's College World Series. Under his tutelage the Bulldogs posted the third-highest batting average in the nation, and two players (Kim Wendland and Nicole Barber) claimed first team NFCA All-America and All-SEC accolades.
A 2002 graduate of Alabama, Reach played middle infield for the Wallace Community College-Selma and Tennessee Wesleyan College baseball teams.
Reach and his wife Ann are expecting their first child in October.
