Samford University

Samford University Athletics
800 Lakeshore Drive Birmingham, AL 35229

Division 1 Alabama Southeast

Private Small National competitor

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Coaches

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Kimball Cassady

Kimball Cassady was named Samford's head softball coach on July 8, 2021.

“We are excited to announce Kimball as our new head softball coach,” Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton said. “It became obvious during the interview process that her wealth of experience as a head coach both at the collegiate and high school level, her familiarity with the Birmingham community having been a long-time resident, and her passion and understanding of the mission of Samford University, that she was the right choice to lead our program.”

Cassady comes to Samford after spending the last 11 seasons as the head coach at Birmingham-Southern College. In her time with the Panthers, Cassady’s teams posted a record of 319-126-1.

“Kimball is a proven winner and exceptional servant leader,” Newton said. “She understands the importance of building a culture of accountability while preparing our student-athletes for success on and off the field. I look forward to welcoming her to our athletics family.”

In the recently completed 2021 season, BSC finished with a record of 33-8 overall and 12-2 in Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play. The team won the program’s first-ever NCAA Regional title, and reached the semifinals of the Division III Women’s College World Series. The squad also won a second-straight SAA Tournament and regular-season title, finishing the season ranked fourth in the nation.

“I want to thank Martin Newton, Michelle Durban and Matt Jones for making this process easy and for putting their faith in me to lead this program,” Cassady said. “I am excited to get to work and to get this program back to where it needs to be.”

Cassady’s teams posted five seasons of at least 32 wins, including a school-record 37 wins (37-10) in 2016. She led her squads to either an SAA Tournament or regular-season title in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2021. In just her second season in charge of the program, she guided the team to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championship. In her 11 seasons at the helm of the BSC program, Cassady’s teams averaged a record of 14-4 in conference play.

“I look forward to meeting with our team and hitting the ground running,” Cassady said. “I am excited to be a head coach at the Division I level and look forward to competing in the Southern Conference.”

Cassady coached 40 All-Conference players at BSC. She also mentored 16 All-Region honorees and seven All-Americans. She tutored five conference Pitchers of the Year and two league Players of the Year. Cassady was named the conference Coach of the Year in 2012 (SCAC), 2016 (SAA) and 2019 (SAA).

Before coming to BSC as head coach, Cassady served for three seasons as head coach at Clay-Chalkville High School where she led the Cougars to three consecutive area championships. She posted a record of 131-34 while at Clay-Chalkville.

Cassady served as assistant coach at BSC from 2002-04. As an assistant on the school’s first softball team, she helped build the Panthers into a consistently strong program. Birmingham-Southern won 68 games in those first three seasons.

Cassady, an All-American at Hewitt Trussville High School, was a standout third baseman for the Auburn Tigers from 1998-2001. She also spent one year as a student assistant at Auburn before going to BSC.

While playing for the Tigers she set a school record for assists with 366 in four years as a starter. She was a two-year team captain and three-time selection for the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Cassady also spent four summers coaching the Birmingham Vipers 18-under team. She led her teams to an overall record of 200-32, winning four state championships and finishing in the top 15 nationally each season.

Cassady is married to Linc Cassady. The couple has one son, Rucker.

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Jeff Gillespie

Gillespie enters his first season with Samford after serving four seasons as an assistant coach at Birmingham-Southern College under Cassady. He will work with the team's pitchers and outfielders, and will assist with the hitters.

While at BSC, he helped the program to tremendous success. In the 2021 season, the Panthers finished with a record of 33-8 overall and 12-2 in Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play. The team won the program's first-ever NCAA Regional title, and reached the semifinals of the Division III Women's College World Series. The squad also won a second-straight SAA Tournament and regular-season title, finishing the season ranked fourth in the nation.

The 2019 squad finished 35-7 overall and 13-2 in league play, winning the SAA regular-season championship. The Panthers also won the SAA Tournament title and reached an NCAA Regional. The 2020 team got off to a 14-4 start before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gillespie operates the Birmingham Vipers fast pitch organization, which is a 10-team organization that plays at the national level. The organization has sent more than 200 student-athletes to compete at the college level.

During Gillespie's 12-year coaching career, his teams have won a total of 512 games, lost 84, and placed second, third, and fifth in the ASA Junior Olympic Class A National Championship Tournament. They also won nine ASA Class A Regional Championships, and seven Alabama ASA Class A State Championships.

Gillespie played baseball and basketball at George C. Wallace Community College - Selma, then later continued his baseball career at Belhaven College in Jackson, Miss.

He has a son, Brandon Gillespie, who graduated from Auburn University. He also has a daughter, Whitney Gillespie, who graduated from Jacksonville State University where she played softball. Whitney was a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, OVC Pitcher of the Year, and a two-time OVC Tournament MVP.