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Frank Reed
Frank Reed is in his 20th year as head coach of the Chattanooga Mocs softball team entering 2021. Chattanooga claimed its 14th Southern Conference title and earned its 11th berth into the NCAA Tournament after finishing 37-17 in 2019. It marked Reed's ninth SoCon Tournament Championship since taking over the program in 2002.
Reed has coached in the Scenic City for 30+ years, including 11 seasons at Chattanooga State. Over his 30-year career, the head coach has compiled a 1,123-528 record, considering collegiate and junior college records, including a 648-442 mark at UTC.
2019 proved to be another historic year for the prestigious UTC softball program. The Mocs tied its best start to a season in program history, racing out to a 13-1 start over the first 14 games. They continued the winning trend throughout the regular season, finishing 33-14 overall and 11-7 in league play ahead of the SoCon Tournament. Reed earned his 1,100th career collegiate coaching victory on March 15 behind an 8-1 win over LIU Brooklyn in Clearwater, Fla.
Playing as the No. 3 seed in the SoCon Tournament, Chattanooga earned wins over No. 6 Furman, No. 7 Western Carolina and No. 1 UNCG in consectuive order to place its spot in the title game, having to be defeated twice in order for a prevention of a conference title. The Mocs bounced back after a game one loss to UNCG and rolled to a 10-1 (5) victory in the winner-take-all final to claim the title. UTC was selected to participate in the Oxford Regional, hosted by Ole Miss, in the NCAA Tournament alongside the hosts, Louisiana and SEMO. Celie Hudson was named the SoCon Pitcher of the Year and Emily Coltharp was tabbed the SoCon Freshman of the year. Both were the first Mocs to win the respective awards since 2008.
In 2018, Reed secured his 600th career victory at UTC in a 2-0 win over Tennessee State He opened 2015 securing his 500th Chattanooga win as the Mocs defeated George Washington, 4-2 and Evansville, 5-3 in the opening day of the Plainsman Invitational on February 6. He went on to claim his 1,000th career win with the Mocs defeating the Furman Paladins in consecutive 7-5 wins on April 11. The victory made Reed the 28th coach in the nation to reach 1,000 careers wins and the 10th winningest active coach in the country.
2011 was a banner year in many ways for the program as Chattanooga relied heavily on six seniors bringing the Mocs to the final of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional for the first time in history as Tiffany Baker, the all-time SoCon leader in homers, blasted three on elimination Saturday. UTC paced the nation in batting average at .351 entering the postseason, while breaking eight team and five single-season marks.
Chattanooga posted a 44-14 mark overall, highest winning pct. in UTC history, along with a SoCon record 20 victories. Michelle Fuzzard was named the SoCon Player of the Year as the team captured its 12th regular season title; while Sara Poteat took SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player helping the Mocs roll off four-straight wins for its 11th championship. Individually, five student-athletes were selected to NFCA All-South Region teams, a team first, along with six making appearances on all-conference teams. Reed additionally captured his fourth-straight and fifth overall SoCon Coach of the Year honor.
The 2010 campaign saw Chattanooga enter the SoCon slate with a 13-7 mark before capturing 18 of its next 20 contests including sweeping its first four league opponents. UTC would go on to clinch its fourth-straight and 12th overall regular season title and the No. 1 seed. Chattanooga’s season would end early on the first day of the event. Reed was selected as the SoCon Coach of the Year, while five Lady Mocs were named to All-SoCon teams including three to the first team.
The Mocs entered the SoCon schedule in 2009 under .500 after a challenging non-conference slate. The squad then dominated conference action claiming a 15-5 record and clinching its 11th regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the SoCon tournament. Chattanooga hosted and swept the SoCon Tournament for the 10th time, advancing to its seventh NCAA Regional appearance. At the Tuscaloosa Regional, Brooke Loudermilk pitched a gem against Texas, but the Longhorns rallied in the bottom of the ninth for a 1-0 victory. Seven players were selected to All-SoCon teams, while Reed also was honored as SoCon Coach of the Year.
During the 2008 season, the Mocs finished with a 41-22 record, 13-5 SoCon mark, regular season SoCon title and SoCon Tournament championship. UTC advanced to its fifth appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament. Reed was also honored with his second SoCon Coach of the Year award.
UTC posted a stellar 16-5 mark in conference play in 2007 to claim its first regular season crown since 2004 and completed the regular season with a mark of 35-29. The season would come to end during the SoCon Tournament.
During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Chattanooga won 84 games. The team fell in the SoCon Tournament Championship game in 2005 after finishing with a 46-21 record.
Reed brought the Mocs a program-record five trips to the NCAA Championships in 2004. Chattanooga posted a 16-4 mark in league play to capture their eighth SoCon regular season title and laid claim to the eighth SoCon Tournament Championship in team history with four straight victories at Jim Frost Stadium. The title was Chattanooga’s fifth straight and was the sixth time that the team had surpassed 40 victories, finishing with a mark of 45-25.
Following a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003, the Mocs opened the 2002 season with back-to-back no-hitters and knocked off top-25 teams in Ohio State and Baylor, all while never dropping more than two games in a row. Chattanooga garnered national recognition that season as they posted two upset wins over top-seeded No. 12 Florida Atlantic in the NCAA Regionals. UTC then just missed capturing a berth in the Women’s College World Series as narrow losses to Georgia Tech and Florida State closed out the season at 44-15.
Having compiled an incredible record of 476 wins and 87 losses in 10 seasons at Chattanooga State, Reed was introduced as Chattanooga’s third head coach in the program’s history on August 1, 2001. He picked up right where former coaches Ralph and Karen Weekley had left off and immediately pushed Chattanooga softball to a level it had never seen before.
Reed’s final year at CSTCC was perhaps the most spectacular. In 2001, the Tigers posted a 62-3 record, attaining a ranking of No. 2 in the nation and finishing fourth in the 2001 national tournament. That performance marked the seventh consecutive tournament appearance in Chattanooga State history, all of which came under Reed’s tenure. As a result, Reed was named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Junior College Coach of the Year in 2001. The Tigers also placed fourth in the 1995 championships and finished fifth in 1999 and 2000. The team’s .954 winning percentage remains in the record books as the highest in NJCAA Division I history.
In addition to serving as the only head coach in program history, he was also responsible for all aspects of the program, from maintaining budgets and handling purchases to recruiting and field maintenance.
Under Reed’s guidance, the Tigers won eight conference and state championships as well as seven regional championships. They were ranked nationally in the top-10 for eight years rising as high as No. 2 in 1995 and 2001. This success led to Reed being selected as Conference Coach of the Year seven times in his last eight seasons.
Reed also organized the Eagles Softball Association, which featured youth travel teams in all age groups, and guided the Parker Eagles summer league team to a tremendous nine-year record of 458 wins and 77 losses. During his time, the Eagles were regularly ranked among the top-10 Amateur Softball Association (ASA) teams nationally and were ASA National Champions in 1990 and National Softball Association (NSA) Champions seven times. In 1998, Reed was inducted into the NSA Hall of Fame.
In addition to his work with teams in Chattanooga, Reed also served as the hitting instructor of the Dominican Republic’s national team for four years. He became the head coach for the team in 2006 and his team spent time in the United States playing several professional softball teams in preparation of the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Sports Games in Colombia. While in the Dominican Republic, Reed also ran camps in Santo Domingo for children in the area.
Adding additional International flair to his resume, Reed assisted Team Mexico in 2017 and 2018 as the team's hitting coach. He helped the squad capture Gold and Silver in the Regional Central American and Pan American Games, respectively.
A life-long resident of Chattanooga and graduate of Central High School, Reed spent more than 30 years as a City of Chattanooga employee. He served as Senior Acquisition Agent for the city and was also supervisor of the Acquisition Division for major sewer, road and rights-of-way for major public works projects. Additionally, Reed directed the review of land appraisals and coordinated settlement disputes with attorneys and property owners and managed the disposal of surplus land for city agencies.
Reed and his wife, Denise, reside in Chattanooga and have two daughters, Amy Highfield and Dana Reed Mull (who is the head softball coach of Gordon Lee High School and played at UTC for four years) and five grandchildren - Logan (21), Seth (18), Riley (9), Reed (6) and Ramsey (3 months).
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