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Lee University

Lee University Flames Athletics
 PO Box 3450 - 1120 North Ocoee Street Cleveland, TN 37320
Division 2 Tennessee Southeast
Private Medium Competitive team
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Emily Russell

Coach Russell enters her 21st year as head coach. Her tenure ranks first on the Lee athletic coaching staff. She has proven to be a winner, just like she was as a record-setting pitcher for the Lee University Lady Flames 24 seasons ago. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Lee University, as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching from Lee.


Already the winningest coach in the history of Lee softball, Coach Russell is posed to go over the 700-win mark early in the 2023 campaign, holding an overall record of 689-369-1. She has directed her teams to six seasons of 40 or more wins, two of those with more than 50 wins.


The 2022-23 club completed the season with a 29-23 record and were 17-12 against rugged Gulf South Conference opponents. The Lady Flames made their deepest run-ever in the GSC tournament, falling to Alabama Huntsville in the semifinal round. Taylor De Adder and Sidney Lee earned spots on the NCAA DII All-South Region and All-GSC teams while Javaria Smith was named the GSC Freshman of the Year. She was joined on the All-GSC team by Nyah Vogel and Bre Patton.


The Lady Flames finished the 2021 season with a 17-23 overall mark and 14-16 in GSC play. Kayla Louie and Taylor De Adder were named All-GSC Second Team.


The 2020 season suddenly ended when the NCAA ordered play halted due to the Covid19 virus. The season closed with the Lady Flames holding a 13-10 overall mark and standing 4-5 in the Gulf South Conference standing.


In 2019 her Lady Flames were forced to battle an unusual number of injuries to key players and finished at 22-31 overall and 10-19 in Gulf South Conference play. During the 2018 year her club posted a 28-28 mark.


In 2017, Russell's club ended with a 36-20 mark and advanced all the way to the NCAA South Super Regional before falling to No. 5 and fellow Gulf South Conference member West Florida. It was the first trip to the NCAA Championship stage in program history.


The Lady Flames ended the record-setting season ranked No. 15 in the final NFCA Top 25 poll, marking their first ever NCAA ranking. Lee won the South Region 2 Bracket with three straight victories over GSC rivals. The Lady Flames defeated Alabama Huntsville (7-4) and defending national champion North Alabama twice (4-2, 3-2) to advance on as one of the final 16 teams in the NCAA D2 National Tournament.


In 2015 the Lady Flames finished 36-19 and 18-11 in the Gulf South Conference. Lee won the NCCAA Mid-East Region Tournament and finished third at the NCCAA World Series. For the third straight year Russell coached the national player of the year as Kaylie Drew won the honor (NCCAA) after smashing 18 home runs for the Lady Flames.


Russell led the Lady Flames into NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference in 2014. Lee finished with a record of 25-24 and had a conference mark of 13-14. Russell coached the NCCAA Player of the Year in Ana Coscorrosa. The power hitting Venezuelan set school career marks in batting average (.451), RBI (231) and hits (275).


In 2010, Russell's Lady Flames earned a 57-5 record, finishing as the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) regular season and tournament champions, on their way to a No. 2 NAIA National Ranking.


That same year, the Lee ladies also competed in the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2007, their sixth trip overall. For their outstanding season, Coach Russell was named the SSAC Coach of the Year.


Russell directed the Lady Flames to the SSAC regular season and tournament crowns in 2006, finishing the season with a sparkling record of 55-14. The 2005 Lady Flames finished second in the SSAC regular season, third in the SSAC tournament, and fourth in the NAIA Region XIII Tournament.


In 2004, Coach Russell led her team to the school's first TranSouth Tournament Championship, an NAIA Region XI championship, and the program's third trip to the NAIA National Tournament. For their success, Russell and her staff were named the 2004 NAIA-Softball Coaches Association's Coaching Staff of the Year.


While pitching at Lee, Russell hurled an amazing 305 innings during the 2000 season. She struck out 194 hitters in those 305 innings, at that time a school record. After her playing days for the Lady Flames, she traveled to Europe and pitched professionally for two summers.


The Lee coach makes her home in Cleveland and is married to Sean Russell. The couple has two sons, Tyson, and Carson.

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Murphy Davis

Coach Davis begins her third season as the top assistant under Coach Russell. “Coach Davis has a ton of experience at the Division II level at two great programs. She is an outstanding instructor and jumped in to make an impact with the team over the last two seasons,” said Coach Russell.


Davis graduated from (Atlanta area) Lassiter High School, where she was defensive player of the year as a junior and senior. She signed scholarship papers with Young Harris College where she played for the Mountain Lions for four years as an infielder. Davis was a 2019 graduate assistant at the University of Alabama Huntsville.


At Young Harris Davis was named to the Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Team after her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She was selected to the All-Peach Belt Conference second team as a sophomore. She batted .311 average with a .388 on-base percentage and a .418 slugging percentage as a senior. Davis tied a career high with five RBI against Georgia Southwestern and had 11 multi-hit games. She blasted three home runs, posted 10 doubles, had 55 hits, collected 31 RBI, and scored 31 times.


She was a mainstay for the Young Harris club during her four-year career, playing in 214 games, scoring 110 runs, and knocking in 113 runs. Davis had 27 doubles totaled over her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

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