Meet the Coaches

MEET THE Staff HEAD COACH Jana McGinnis

Jana McGinnis has developed a softball pro- Conference. It was the OVC’s first regional crown and the deepest any team in the gram at Jacksonville State University that is league’s history has advanced into the national tournament. second to none. She places integrity, success and tradition at the heart of each player and doesn’t stop there. After a second-place finish in the OVC in 2011, JSU’s seventh-straight campaign in which it finished in the league’s top two, the Gamecocks claimed their fourth-straight trip to the NCAA’s by winning the OVC Tourney in Charleston, Ill. They eliminated In McGinnis’ 28th season at the helm of the Illinois-Chicago before falling to host Louisville in the semifinals of the Louisville Gamecocks, their head-first dive into the Ohio Regional. Valley Conference resulted in a quick rise to the top and they’ve stayed there. In fact, in their 16 seasons in the OVC, the Gamecocks In 2010, the Gamecocks swept through the OVC Tournament in Martin, Tenn., to advance to the NCAA Atlanta Regional, JSU’s third-straight NCAA appearance. have won over 70 percent of their games, She has now been named the OVC’s Coach of the Year six times (2005, 2008, 2009, including almost 80 percent of their conference 2014, 2016, 2017) to go along with her 1996 Trans America Athletic Conference matchups. Coach of the Year honor. JSU has won either the regular season or tour- During her tenure at JSU, McGinnis has accumulated an overall record of 931-506 nament championship in 11 of its 16 seasons (.648). Her accomplishments are plentiful, including the 2009 OVC regular season title in the OVC and has won both in the same and the school’s first at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, as well as its first trip to season three times, including back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017. the Super Regionals. Her 2009 squad also made its first appearance in the national McGinnis is the most decorated coach in OVC history, having been named the OVC polls, finishing the year ranked as high as No. 21 nationally. Coach of the Year a conference-record six times, including in both the 2016 and 2017 She also boasts OVC regular season crowns in 2005, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017 and seasons. 2019, as well as OVC Tourney Championships and automatic NCAA appearances in The 2019 season saw a fourth-straight OVC trophy in Jacksonville after the Gamecocks won the regular season title with a 36-15 overall record and a 17-5 mark in league play. They featured four All-OVC players, including 2019 OVC Pitcher of the Year Faith Sims, who was also named NFCA All-Region along with outfielder Taylor Beshears. 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Her Gamecocks won the Atlantic Sun Tournament Title and a berth in the NCAA Regional Tournament in 1996. In her early years, she guided JSU to back-to-back A-Sun Western Division Conference titles in 1996 and 1997. She, with the help of Boland, has led the Gamecocks to 23 consecutive trips to the Conference Tournament and 11 40-win seasons, including a streak of fourThe 2018 Gamecocks won their third-straight OVC Tournament crown and advanced straight from 2003-2006. to the championship of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, eliminating Auburn before falling to eventual National Champion Florida State. The 2017 team lost just one league game en route to winning the regular season before sweeping through the OVC Tournament to earn a berth in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. In just 16 seasons in the OVC, JSU has won 292 of its 383 (.762) conference games and 11 league titles while placing 89 players on the all-conference squads. Her players have been dominant against their peers. Daniela Pappano was named the 2006 OVC Player of the Year, while JSU also swept the 2005 Player and Pitcher of the Year honThe 2016 season may have been her ors, thanks to outstanding efforts from outfielder Maigin Alexander and pitcher Carly best, with McGinnis’ Gamecocks winning Kellam. Pitcher Ashley Eliasson was named the league’s Freshman of the Year in 2008 the OVC Regular Season Crown with before the 2009 campaign saw Nikki Prier and Karla Pittman earn the OVC’s Player a perfect 26-0 record. The best regular and Pitcher of the Year awards, respectively. In 2011, pitcher Tiffany Harbin became season by any team in OVC history was the first Gamecock to earn OVC Freshman of the Year honors and she then won OVC followed with the OVC Tournament Pitcher of the Year honors in 2014, giving the Gamecocks another sweep with Sara title and a trip to the NCAA Regionals, Borders claiming Player of the Year. where Jax State finished as runner-up to National Runner-Up Auburn. JSU swept the OVC’s top honors in 2016, when Whitney Gillespie was the OVC Pitcher of the Year and Ella Denes the OVC Player of the Year. Faith Sims earned OVC Pitcher That 2016 team won 43 games, of the Year honors in 2019. McGinnis’ 10th 40-win season at JSU and featured the OVC’s Player of the Year in Ella Denes and the OVC Since 2002, the Gamecocks have attracted regional attention, having been ranked in the South Region poll several times. Pitcher of the Year in Whitney Gillespie. McGinnis has coached 138 All-Conference and All-Freshman team members and 10 McGinnis claimed her fifth OVC Coach Players of the Year, including Ann Shelton in the A-Sun in 1996. of the Year honor. She earned her 800th career win in the season’s final weekend and saw JSU earn votes in the NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll at season’s end. McGinnis is no stranger to winning, outside and between the lines. A 1991 graduate of JSU, McGinnis was a two-time All-Gulf South Conference guard in basketball. She helped the Gamecocks to a 98-22 record during her four-year playing career, and, in 1991, she played a key role leading JSU to a GSC Championship and the NCAA Her Gamecocks won the 2014 OVC Regular Season title and posted the ninth 40-win season in her tenure. The 40-15 recard also pushed McGinnis over the 700 wins mark for her career and saw her garner another OVC Coach of the Year honor. The McGinnis family. Division II South Region title. McGinnis still holds the JSU career record for assists with 603, as well as the singleseason record with 204. Following her playing career, she and her twin sister Dana Austin, formerly the JSU women’s basketball head coach, became the only players in JSU women’s basketball history to have their numbers retired. After a season that saw them finish as the No. 6 seed in the 2013 OVC Tournament, the Gamecocks did what they’ve done consistently in the postseason - win. They rolled through the Conference Tournament and into the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, Jax State’s sixth NCAA Appearance and the fifth in a six-season run. After her “bright” career as a player, McGinnis began her career in coaching as a graduate assistant under women’s basketball coach Tony Mabry during the 1991-92 season. Over the past several years, McGinnis has seen the hard work she and longtime assistant Julie Boland pay off on the national level. In 2008, she took the program one step higher on the national scene after rolling into the NCAA Regionals, where The following year, she accepted her first head coaching job as the girls basketball coach at Cherokee County High School, where she led the Lady Warriors to the ‘93 Class 4A state championship. the Gamecocks earned two wins over Florida State before falling to Alabama in the regional title game on ESPN2. They climbed another rung of the ladder in 2009, ousting James Madison, Nebraska and Tennessee to claim the NCAA Knoxville Regional crown and advance to the NCAA’s Tuscaloosa Super Regional. The most decorated season in JSU’s Division I athletics history was a milestone year not only for JSU, but also the Ohio Valley

Personal Data

Full Name: Jana Bright McGinnis Married To: Russ McGinnis Children: Two daughters, Kinsey and Payton Native Of: Spring Garden, Alabama

MEET THE Staff THE McGinnis File

Coaching at JSU

2020 12-9 record Season shortened due to COVID-19 2019 36-15 record Conference Tournament OVC Regular Season Champions 2018 35-25 record Conference Tournament Champions NCAA Tallahassee Regional Runner-Up 2017 41-12 record OVC Regular Season Champions Conference Tournament Champions NCAA Tallahassee Regional 2016 43-17 record OVC Regular Season Champions Conference Tournament Champions NCAA Auburn Regional Runner-Up 2015 38-17 record Conference Tournament 2014 40-15 record Conference Tournament OVC Regular Season Champions 2013 30-27 record Conference Tournament Champions NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional 2012 28-28 record Conference Tournament 2011 40-21 record Conference Tournament Conference Tournament Champions NCAA Louisville Regional 2010 30-19 record Conference Tournament Conference Tournament Champions NCAA Atlanta Regional 2009 43-16 record Conference Tournament Regular Season Champions NCAA Knoxville Regional Champions NCAA Super Regional OVC Coach of the Year 2008 40-16 record Conference Tournament Regular Season Champions Conference Tournament Champions Advanced to NCAA Regional Championship Game OVC Coach of the Year 2007 35-23 record Conference Tournament 2006 43-15 record Conference Tournament 2005 42-16 record Conference Tournament Regular Season Champions OVC Coach of the Year 2004 41-21 record Conference Tournament 2003 40-15 record Conference Tournament 2002 33-21 record Conference Tournament 2001 24-27 record Conference Champions 2000 33-21 record Conference Tournament Finished 3rd in post-season 1999 32-26 record Conference Tournament 1998 24-18 record Conference Tournament 1997 32-17 record Western Division Champions Conference runner-up 1996 46-11 record Western Division Champions Won Conference Championship Conference Coach of the Year Advanced to region playoffs

1995 32-16 record 1994 16-22 record

Overall Record: 931-506 (.648)

Coaching at Cherokee County High School

1993 Led the Lady Warriors to the ‘93 Class 4A basketball state championship.

Education

High School: Spring Garden High School, 1987 College: Jacksonville State University, 1991

Playing Experience

High School: Spring Garden High School -Basketball, 1981-87 -Softball, 1987 -A-Class and Women’s Majors Softball, 13 years

College:

Jacksonville State University, 1988-91 - Two-time All-Gulf South Conference Team in Basketball - Still holds the JSU career record for assists with 603, as well as the single-season record with 204. - Four-time Academic All-Gulf South Conference

Milestone Wins

1 vs. Belhaven College, 2-0 (1994) 100 vs. Jackson State 16-0 (1997) 200 vs. Georgia State 2-0 (2000) 300 vs. Wright State 1-0 (2003) 400 vs. Jackson State 10-0 (2006) 500 vs. Kennesaw State 7-6 (4/17/08) 600 vs. Eastern Kentucky 4-2 (3/13/11) 700 vs. Tennessee Tech 17-4 (3/15/14) 800 vs. Belmont 6-1 (5/7/16) 900 vs. Morehead State 18-3 (3/22/19)

MEET THE Staff ASSISTANT COACH Julie Boland

Julie Boland begins her 20th year as an assistant coach on the softball staff, but her involvement and dedication to Jacksonville State goes back more than that time frame. Boland has seen great success from the dugout of her alma mater, helping Jana McGinnis to seven Ohio Valley Conference crowns, seven OVC Tournament titles, eight trips to the NCAA Regionals in a 12-year stretch and the school’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2009. Prior to being hired as a full-time assistant, Boland was a student assistant and graduate assistant coach dating back to the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Over the years, JSU head coach Jana McGinnis has placed more and more responsibility on Boland. She serves as the recruiting coordinator for the Gamecocks, which includes sending mail-outs, organizing recruiting calls and prospective student-athlete visits. Boland also has other administrative duties to go along with her onfield coaching duties, which are emphasized on the hitters and middle infield. “I love being at JSU,” Boland said. “I learn something new everyday from the coaching staff and players. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” A former JSU player, Boland put her mark on the Gamecock record book. She is among JSU’s best in all-time hits with 198, doubles with 26, homeruns with 10, runs batted in with 100 and stolen bases with 26. Boland is also in the top 10 on JSU’s all-time lists in runs scored with 142 and at-bats with 627. She is also 16th on Jax State’s single-season runs list with 42. Boland graduated in 2002 with an Education Degree. She has since received her Master’s Degree in Counseling from JSU.

Boland’s Stat Sheet as a Player at JSU

Year AVG AB R H E 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB-A 2000 .342 155 31 53 17 9 4 3 31 21 21 8-9 1999 .239 188 30 45 38 5 1 2 17 25 26 7-8 1998 .368 133 39 49 19 10 0 5 22 20 10 5-6 1997 .338 151 42 51 23 2 5 0 30 16 5 6-10 Totals .316 627 142 198 97 26 10 10 100 82 62 26-33

MEET THE Staff ASSISTANT COACH Sallie Beth Burch

In June of 2019, Jana McGinnis announced the hiring of former All-Ohio Valley Conference infielder Sallie Beth Burch, who has also served as a graduate and volunteer assistant for the Gamecocks. In six years as a player and coach for the JSU softball team, Burch has been a part of five championship teams, two as a player and three as a coach, and led the Gamecocks to the NCAA Regionals on four occasions. Burch returned to her alma mater from Wallace State Community College, where she spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach for one of the nation’s top junior college programs. “I’m thrilled to be able to bring Sallie Beth back to JSU as part of our staff,” McGinnis said. “She epitomizes what we want our program to be about and has been a huge part of so many great teams here, as a player and a coach. She did such a great job at Wallace State and has become an even better coach and a great recruiter. It was an easy decision when I found out Sallie Beth was interested in coming back.” She rounds out the staff with McGinnis and longtime assistant Julie Boland, making the Gamecocks one of just two staffs in Division I where all full-time coaches are graduates of that school. 2019 National Champion UCLA is the only other one. “I am so thankful for the opportunity to come back to my alma mater and coach the Gamecocks,” Burch said. “I am excited to get back to work with Coach McGinnis and coach Julie and to be coming back home.” In her time on the staff Wallace State, where she was previously an all-state and all-region player in leading the Lions to a National Championship as a player, Burch led her teams to a combined 70-12 record in Alabama Community College Conference play, finishing in first place in all three seasons. In 2019, Burch led the Lions to a 50-12 record and the ACCC North Division title with a 21-7 conference mark. She coached the ACCC/Region 22 Player of the Year in Addie Robinson, as well as the ACCC North Division Pitcher of the Year in Meagan Schwieterman. The Lions led the ACCC in batting with a .364 average. The Lions won back-to-back ACCC Championships in 2017 and 2018, advancing to the NJCAA National Tournament in each of those seasons. Burch coached former JSU All-Region and All-OVC player Taylor Beshears, who was an All-American at Wallace State before joining the Gamecocks. Burch played second base for the Gamecocks from 2010-11, when she was a key component in two Ohio Valley Conference Tournament titles and trips to the 2010 Atlanta and the 2011 NCAA Louisville Regionals. As a member of the Gamecocks’ staff, she helped guide the Gamecocks to the 2013 OVC Tournament and the 2014 OVC Regular Season titles and both the regular season and tournament titles in 2016. That 2016 squad posted the best regular season in OVC history with a 26-0 record, rolled to the OVC Tournament title and then advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Auburn Regional before falling to the national runner-up Tigers. As a player for the Gamecocks, the Moulton, Ala., native made an immediate impact. She was a First Team All-OVC infielder as a junior in 2010 after leading the league with a .417 batting average in conference games. She was also solid at second base over the two years, starting 105 games, including all 60 in her senior season. A 2012 graduate of JSU with a degree in education and a minor in biology, she worked with the Gamecocks while pursuing her masters in sports management, which she earned in 2014. She was a member of the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Prior to her career at JSU, she was an allstate and all-region player at Wallace State Community College. A .346 hitter that was also an Academic All-American, she led the Lions to the 2008 National Championship, National Runners-Up in 2009 and state titles in both seasons.

MEET THE Staff VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT Matty Moss

Former All-Southeastern Conference pitcher Matty Moss will serve as a volunteer assistant coach with the Gamecocks in 2021 after serving the shortened 2020 season as a student assistant. Moss came to JSU after a storied career in the circle for the University of Tennessee from 2016-19, when she made her mark in the Lady Vols’ record books as one of the best to ever pitch in Knoxville. Her career saw her post a 2.05 earned run average, the 10th-best in program history, while also ranking sixth in school history with 517 career strikeouts. She held opposing hitters to a .206 average, the sixth-lowest in UT history, and won 67 games, fifth-best in school history. Moss was an All-SEC pitcher in 2017 after finishing second in the league in victories with a 26-3 record. She also led the Lady Vols and was fourth in the SEC with 193 strikeouts, while also posting a 1.76 ERA. She was a SEC All-Freshman Team honoree in 2016 after posting a 1.68 ERA and a 7-2 record in SEC play. She was also a member of the 2016 SEC AllTournament Team. Moss earned her degree in social work from UT in 2019, also earning several academic honors. She was named to the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll multiple times and was a two-time Easton/NFCA Scholar-Athlete. She completed her master’s in social work at JSU in 2020. The native of Greenville, S.C., was the 2013 Region Player of the Year and an all-state performer at J.L. Mann Academy.

Adrienne Gibson Manager

Support Staff

Carson Aaron Manager Draevan Bowman Manager Reghan Humphreys Athletic Trainer