Gardner-Webb University

Gardner-Webb University Athletics
110 South Main Street Boiling Spring, NC 28017

Division 1 North Carolina Southeast

Private Small National competitor

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Coaches

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Bailey Wigness

Gardner-Webb University introduced Bailey Wigness as its new softball head coach on May 28, 2021.

Wigness previously served as head coach at USC Beaufort for three seasons.

“Bailey Wigness is a proven winner,” praised Gardner-Webb President Dr. William Downs. “As a player, she’s won a National Championship. As a coach, she’s turned programs around, had 40-win seasons, and won conference titles. She’s exactly what we need right now to energize GWU softball and power us to greatness.”

Wigness’ success as a head coach came quickly. She won 78 games in just three seasons in charge at USC Beaufort, leading the Sand Sharks to a 40-13 record, conference tournament title and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament in her first season.

That team started the season with a 19-0 record and lost only twice at home all season, showcasing the strengths of Wigness’ teams – good pitching and team speed. The Sand Sharks forged a 2.43 ERA on the season and swiped 73 bags in 53 games.

In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Wigness led her team to 13 wins with a 2.54 team ERA and 29 steals. In 2021, the Sand Sharks won 25 games, posted a stellar 2.21 team ERA and stole 40 bases.

“We had a strong candidate pool and Bailey quickly separated herself from the rest as she shared her vision for our softball student-athletes and the Gardner-Webb program,” said Vice President for Athletics Chuck Burch. “She has won at all levels, as a student-athlete, as an assistant coach and most recently as a head coach. I am confident Bailey has developed the skills necessary to lead our softball program to compete for Big South Conference championships.”

Prior to taking over as head coach at USC Beaufort, Wigness served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Boise State University. In 2018, she was part of a staff that delivered a school-record 40 wins, the first conference title in program history and the Broncos’ first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. During her time in Boise, Wigness helped develop an offense that twice produced top-10 national team batting averages.

She was an assistant coach at Arizona Christian University for one season, and made a tremendous impact on that program in 2015. The program saw a 20-win improvement from the previous season – winning 31 games. That marked the biggest turnaround in the NAIA nationally that season.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Gardner-Webb family and excited for the opportunity to lead the softball program,” said Wigness. “It truly is a great place with so much potential and I felt at home the moment I stepped onto campus. I want to thank Dr. William Downs, Chuck Burch and the rest of the search committee for this incredible opportunity. I can’t wait to begin working with our student-athletes and developing a culture that sets them up for success on and off the field.”

Wigness played at national power Arizona State University, three times earning All-Pac 12 honors and leading the Sun Devils to the 2011 National Championship. She finished her career with a spectacular .371 batting average, stole 40 bases and scored 130 runs.

She was also a three-time Capital One Academic All-America selection in Division I and a member of the Pac-12 All-Academic first team with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She earned the NCAA’s Elite 89 Award in 2013, which is given annually to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA who is also competing in their respective sport’s championship event.

Wigness remains ranked among the program's all-time leaders in career batting average (8th) and stolen bases (11th).

The Casa Grande, Ariz., native graduated from Arizona State with a degree in communications and political science. She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership in 2018 from Boise State.

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Mackenzi Steele-Zuppas

In 2022, Steele-Zuppas joined the Runnin' Bulldogs softball staff after a stint as the volunteer assistant at the University of Nebraska.

During her time with the Huskers, Steele helped the program to a Big Ten Tournament title – the first since the school joined the league in 2011 – and an NCAA Tournament berth. Nebraska finished with a 41-16 overall recurd and went 17-5 against Big Ten competition. Steele, who threw batting practice last season while on staff, was part of a coaching staff that was named 2022 NFCA Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year – learning from some of the sport's greatest minds in Rhonda Revelle, Lori Sippel and Dianne Miller. She assisted in all aspects of the game, including bullpens, scouting, hitting, team practices, individual workouts, game operations and game strategy.

Before moving into the volunteer role, Steele served as the graduate assistant at Nebraska for two years. She earned a master's degree in higher education administration and finished with a stellar 3.95 grade point average.

As a student-athlete, Steele finished her playing career at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She also played ta Daytona State College and Appalachian State before joining the Bison program. As a senior, she helped lead Howard to their first conference tournament win and highest tournament finish in nine seasons. She pitched 317 innings over two seasons at Howard in 73 appearances. She finished with a 3.63 grade point average with honors and an undergraduate degree in sports management.

Steele has given private pitching lessons since 2014 and has worked with pitchers all over the Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Nebraska areas. The Winchester, Va., native has trained pitchers currently playing at all levels of college softball, including the Power 5. Steele is also a Tincher Certified pitching instructor and plans to continue up to date on the latest pitching philsophies and techniques.

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Nick Puglisi

In 2023-2024, Puglisi enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Runnin' Bulldogs after spending the 2023 season as the video and analytics coordinator at the University of Virginia.

Puglisi joined the Cavaliers in September of 2022, where he worked closely with all facets of the game, but primarily with scouting film and data for both games and practice. He started with private baseball and softball clinics for fielding, hitting, and catching. He worked with ages from 10-22, including hosting clinics for 42 All-State award winners from 2014-2022.

Prior to joining Virginia, Puglisi served on the Seton Hall University staff for one season as a volunteer assistant coach from 2016-2017. He worked primarily with the defense, in which the team’s fielding percentage improved from .947 in 2016, to .963 in 2017.

Puglisi operated as the U-18 head coach and program head of infield development for the NJ Pride for nine years (June 2014-August 2022). He was also an assistant coach at Kinnelon High School from 2020-2022, while the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, the team made the state sectional final in 2021 and won it in 2022 before losing in the state finals. He was also an assistant coach at Immaculate Heart Academy from 2015-2016, which led to back-to-back state championships.

He worked as a volunteer soccer and basketball coach for his hometown in North Haledon, NJ from 2013-2016, and as a volunteer assistant coach for ice hockey at Immaculate Heart Academy in the 2015-2016 season.

Puglisi graduated from William Paterson University in December 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Biology before returning to WPU in 2021 to earn a second bachelor's degree in Chemistry.

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Kiara Kennedy

In 2023-2024, Kennedy enters her first season as an assistant coach with the Runnin' Bulldogs after playing her graduate year on the diamond here at Gardner-Webb.

Kennedy brings playing experience from the Western Athletic Conference, PAC-12 and finished her career in the Big South. With GWU, Kennedy played in 46 games while making 41 starts on the year. She had 23 hits for a .187 batting average, drawing 10 walks and five HBPs to get a .275 on base percentage. On the year, she had 12 RBIs, scored three runs, popped three doubles, and cracked one home run on the year.

As a Sun Devil from 2019-2022, Kennedy in 2020, was tied third on the team with five home runs in addition to an impressive .542 slugging percentage finishing the season with 24 putouts and 29 assists for a .914 field percentage. In 2019, she played in 40 games during her first season as a Sun Devil, including 35 appearances in the starting lineup, playing at both third base and DP. She also penciled 23 hits in her 84 at-bats to end the season with a .274 average

She represented Sun Devil Softball on the SAAC Executive Board for Diversity and Inclusion/Sun Devils United. Kennedy also co-created new student organizations within Sun Devils Athletics, including Sun Devils United, President Crow's Advisory Committee, and served as President of the Black Student Athlete Association (BSAA). She was recognized as a finalist for the Courageous Student-Athlete Giant Steps award for her work with ASU BAC (Black African Coalition), Sun Devils United, and President Michael Crow LIFT Initiative.

Beginning her career at Utah Valley University, she played in a total of 14 games with three starts on the year (two at DP and one at 3B). Kennedy was prepped at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix where she was named a 2017 FloSoftball Top-100 recruit before landing in Utah.

Her future goal is to continue being a hitting coach at a Division 1 level.