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Murray State University Softball
 

COACHING STAFF

ASHLEY GILLAND
Assistant Coach

At MSU
  • Enters tenth season in 2022
  • Joined Racers in 2012
  • Serves as the team's hitting coach and works with outfielders
  • Helped Racers turn in league's second highest batting averages in 2014 & 2015
  • Coached Racers to a school record team average of .315 in 2015
  • Instrumental in development of two-time OVC Player of the Year Jessica Twaddle
Before MSU
  • Spent two years at Northern Iowa
  • Helped Panthers win 70 games and 2012 MVC regular-season title
  • Spent one season as a student assistant, two as a graduate assistant at Western Illinois
  • Served as the marketing assistant for Murray State in 2009-2010
As A Player
  • Played two seasons at Western Illinois
  • Started career in Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida
Personal
  • Received bachelors from Western Illinois in business administration in 2007 and a master's in sport management in 2009
 

ZACK PARSONS
Assistant Coach

Zack Parsons joined the Murray State softball coaching staff in August 2020 as a graduate assistant coach. Most notably, Parsons serves as the primary pitching coach for the program.

At Murray State

  • Coached the Racers to a 2.61 team ERA during his first season in 2021 - the second-best mark in program history
  • Under his guidance, the Racer pitching staff posted a program-best .247 opponent batting average in 2021
  • Racer pitchers allowed just 1.67 walks/seven innings in 2021 - the second-best rate in Murray State history
  • Played instrumental part in Hannah James' MSU single-season strikeout record of 158 in 2021

Prior to Murray State

Prior to Murray State, Parsons began his collegiate coaching journey at Asbury University, an NAIA program in Wilmore, Kentucky, where he started as a volunteer assistant coach/pitching coach in August of 2018. In December of 2018, Parsons was named the interim head coach for the Eagles, and made an instant impact on the program. On the hitting side, his team saw its numbers improve in total number of hits, doubles, walks, RBI, home runs, and total number of runs scored over the previous year during his first season at the helm.

Following that season, Parsons dropped the interim tag and was named the head coach at Asbury and continued to improve the program through the 2020 campaign. Despite a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team recorded an 8-6 overall record - finishing with a winning mark for the first time since 2011. Additionally, through 14 games, the Eagles led the conference in batting average (.360), slugging percentage (.592), runs scored per game (7.36), RBI per game (7.0), home runs (17) and home runs per game (1.21).

Further, the pitching staff recorded a team ERA of 2.94 through 83 1/3 innings of work.  They held opposing batters to a .246 average, while recording 70 strikeouts and issuing just 32 walks on the year. 

Before his stint at Asbury, Parsons was an assistant coach at East Jessamine High School in Nicholasville, Ky. where the Lady Jaguars finished as the 12th region runner-up and the 46th district champions with a 28-3 record. Additionally, he comes to Murray with more than 10 years of experience as an individual hitting/pitching instructor in Lancaster, Ky.

Parsons received his B.S. Degree in Exercise Science from Georgetown College in 2015, and went on to complete his Master's Degree from the University of Louisville in Counseling & Personnel Services, with a concentration in College Student Personnel in 2017. He is currently pursuing a certificate in Organizational Communication/Organizational Dynamics at Murray State.