University of Southern Mississippi

University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive #5017 Hattiesburg, MS 39406

Division 1 Mississippi Southeast

Public Large National competitor

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Coaches

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Natalie Poole

Poole enters her second season as the head coach of Southern Miss Softball after leading the Golden Eagles to a 22-24 finish and their first conference postseason appearance since 2019 in her debut campaign in 2023.

Poole came to Southern Miss after spending the last 11 years as the head coach at Memphis. She served as the second head coach in that program's history.

During her tenure at Memphis, Poole mentored 11 all-conference selections, including three first-team picks, to go along with Kyler Troslcair Klatt, who earned the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2015.

Trosclair Klatt set plenty of records, including career hits (249), career stolen bases (78), and career runs scored (138). Trosclair Klatt was a two-time All-Conference performer, earning First-Team in 2017 and Second-Team in 2018.

The program also produced two All-Freshman selections over the final two years of Conference USA, before having two make AAC All-Rookie team accolades during their tenure in that league.

In addition to the success on the field, Poole's importance on academics helped push one of its student-athletes to CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District honors and later enjoyed a program-record 15 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete selections in 2021. In all, the Tigers produced 82 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes during Poole's years at Memphis.

During her time at Memphis, Poole was selected as the NCAA Division I representative for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Board of Directors and also currently serves on the NCAA Softball Selection Committee.

Poole went to Memphis after spending three seasons leading the helm at McNeese State. She guided the Cowgirls to three-straight 30-win seasons, including a school-record 38 wins in 2010. Poole led McNeese State to two Southland Conference (SLC) Tournament championship games, winning the tournament title in 2010 and advancing to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

Poole compiled a 100-84 overall record and went 55-35 in conference play during the three years.

Poole was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year in her first season at McNeese State in 2009 after leading the Cowgirls to a second-place finish in the league. The team finished the year with a 31-28 record, marking the Cowgirls' first winning season in 11 years.

In her three years at McNeese State, 20 players earned All-Southland Conference honors. In 2011, outfielder Claire Terracina became the first Cowgirl since 2008 selected to the All-SLC first team. In addition, Alanna DiVittorio was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association co-Freshman of the Year in 2011.

Poole led McNeese State to a 31-29 record in 2011 and a third-place finish at the Southland Conference Tournament. Seven players were named to both the All-SLC and All-Louisiana teams.

Prior to returning to her alma mater, Poole served as the head coach for seven seasons at Georgia Southern, where she compiled a 212-215 career record. The Eagles went 71-53 in the Southern Conference under Poole's tutelage and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2006. She was named the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2002, her first year as a head coach.

During her time at Georgia Southern, the Eagles had just one losing conference season and finished outside the top-four only once. The program set more than 15 single-season records, and four of the top six all-time home run seasons came in Poole's tenure.

She coached the 2006 and 2008 SoCon Players of the Year and three SoCon Freshmen of the Year. During her time with Georgia Southern, 17 players earned All-SoCon honors, including a school-record eight in 2008. In 2006, Poole led Georgia Southern to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the SoCon Tournament with six-straight victories. The SoCon title was just the second in school history.

The Eagles nearly repeated as SoCon champions in 2007, falling in the conference tournament championship game.

Poole began her collegiate coaching career at McNeese State. She joined the Cowgirls staff as a graduate assistant in 1998 and served as an assistant coach from 1999-2001.

As a college athlete, Poole was a standout catcher for McNeese State from 1994-97. She was a three-time All-Southland Conference pick (1995-97) and a two-time All-South Region selection (1996-97). Poole also earned All-Louisiana honors in 1996. As a freshman, she helped the Cowgirls to a Southland Conference title and the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance. Poole was named McNeese State's Most Valuable Player her senior year and concluded her playing career with a .296 batting average.

In the classroom, Poole was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District VI selection (1995-97) and was a 1997 Academic All-American. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in painting from McNeese State in 1998 and earned her master's degree in instructional technology from the school in 2000. In 2017, Poole earned her Doctorate in Education in Higher Ed Administration.

A native of Baton Rouge, La., Poole has one daughter, Isabella Grace.

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Aaron Longenecker

Longenecker enters his second season as assistant coach for Southern Miss Softball.

Longenecker came to Southern Miss after a season at the University of Louisville as a volunteer coach in August 2021.

In his one season with the Cardinals, Louisville posted the third most home runs for a team in a campaign with 56 to go along with 74 doubles and 18 triples as the team finished 27-25 on the year. The triple total ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Longenecker joined the Cardinals after three seasons as an assistant coach at Central Baptist College where he worked primarily with outfielders while also serving as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.

While at Central Baptist from 2019-21, Longenecker helped lead the Mustangs to more than 80 wins and two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament appearances. With Longenecker on the coaching staff, CBC produced two NAIA All-Americans and 13 All-American Midwest Conference selections as well as two conference Newcomers of the Year and one Player of the Year.

Most recently, Longenecker helped guide the Mustangs to the 2021 NAIA Championship, where they advanced to the finals of the Hattiesburg bracket and finished the season with a 34-15 record. Additionally, CBC was a mainstay in the NAIA top-25 rankings during his time there, reaching as high as No. 13 in 2021.

In 2020, the Mustangs were off to a 15-2 record, the best start in program history when the season ended due to the spread of COVID-19. He helped guide the Mustangs' offense to a .370 team batting average, and a .661 slugging percentage, both of which stood among the top five in the nation.

In his first season with CBC, the Mustangs compiled 34 wins and reached the NAIA championship for the first time in seven seasons.

Prior to joining the Mustang coaching staff, Longenecker served as a volunteer coach at Hendrix College (2017) and spent five years (2012-2017) coaching travel softball in the state of Arkansas.

A native of Parker, Kansas, he graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in anthropology and geography in 1992. Prior to that, Longenecker played baseball at Neosho Community College in Kansas, where he was an outfielder and pitcher.

After graduating from KU, he spent several years playing fastpitch softball in Kansas and California.

A retired U.S. Secret Service Agent of 20 years, Longenecker and his wife Amber have two children, Shaylan and Brandon.

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Matthew Elzey

Matthew Elzey joins the Southern Miss Softball staff in 2024 as an assistant coach.

Prior to joining the Golden Eagles, Elzey msot recently served as the head coach for Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland from 2020-2023. There, he was named 2023 Maryland JUCO Coach of the Year and won the conference, leading the nation in team average and a top ten team fielding percentage.

Elzey also served as an assistant coach for Jersey Intensity Fastpitch for the 2022-2023 season, and as the head coach for the Gold COast Hurricanes, an 18U travel team, where 80 players were recruited to play at the collegiate level under his leadershiop.

Prior to Chesapeake, Elzey served as the assistant softball coach for St. Michaels Middle School in Maryland as the pitching coach, and assisting with team hitting and defense for the 2020 season.

For four seasons, Elzey served as the hitting and pitching coach at Easton High School, where he helped lead the team to the playoffs every year and make one appearance in the state championship.

From 2011 to 2018, Elzey served as the president of Delaware Storm Travel Teams, responsible for the growth of the organization from two to ten teams during his tenure. Elzey oversaw the construction and completion of the organization's indoor training facility.

Prior to softball, Elzey owned a business as a custom motorcycle builder, fabricator and mechanic, appearing in numerous publications and TV productions.

Elzey is a retired sergeant of the Maryland State Police, serving as a state trooper from 1988-2005.