Softball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- areach@athletics.msstate.edu
Alan Reach is in his first season with the Bulldog softball program after serving as the head coach of Tuscaloosa County High School since the 2005-06 season. He had previously been an assistant coach at the University of Georgia during the 2004 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, Reach coached the Wildcats to the area title and a fourth-place finish in the Class 6A State 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. Reach coached current Bulldog outfielder Jessica Offut in the all-star game.
"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 in 2004, with two players (Kim Wendland and Nicole Barber) claiming 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. Following graduation in Tuscaloosa, Reach returned to his high school alma mater, Pelham High, as an asisstant coach from 2002-03. After spending the year at Georgia following his stint in his hometown, Reach coached at Central High School in Carrollton, Ga., from 2004-05.
Reach and his wife Ann are the proud new parents of their first child, Harper, born on Oct. 20, 2011.
THE ALAN REACH FILE
Birthdate: March 6, 1978 in Birmingham, Ala.
Hometown: Pelham, Ala.
Education: Bachelor of Secondary Education and Language Arts, Alabama, 2002
COACHING CAREER:
Assistant Coach, Pelham HS, 2002-03
Assistant Coach, Georgia, 2003-04
Assistant Coach, Central HS, 2004-05
Head Coach, Tuscaloosa County HS, 2005-11
Assistant Coach, Mississippi State, 2011-Present
PLAYING CAREER:
Pelham HS, 1992-96
Wallace Community College-Selma, 1996-98
Tennessee Wesleyan College, 1998-2000
