6 Seasons at Georgia Southern
Career Record (6 Seasons) – 176-166
Record at GS – Same
Coach Annie Smith’s tenure in Statesboro has taken the Eagle Softball Program to new heights with two SoCon Regular Season Championships and two SoCon Tournament Championships as well as overseeing the transition to the Sun Belt Conference. During her tenure, Smith has advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice (2012 and 2013) as the Eagles have quickly made a name for themselves within the regional and national landscape.
In 2016, the Eagles were one of just two teams in the conference to defeat every Sun Belt opponent at least once, matching nationally ranked and league champion UL Lafayette in the honor. GS went 30-27 overall with a 13-11 conference record that saw the Eagles climb as high as third in the league standings. The Eagles claimed four of their conference series, including a three-game sweep over long-time rival App State at home. The 30 wins recorded by the 2016 Eagles marked the 11th time in program history that an Eagle squad has met or surpassed the 30-win total, and fourth in Smith’s tenure. Smith is the only Eagle softball coach to have at least four 30-win seasons during her tenure.
In 2017, Emily Snider earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors and was voted to the all-region second team. Freshman Mekhia Freeman was voted to the conference's second team.
Smith’s 2016 squad ended the year with a .408 slugging percentage and a .352 on-base percentage, both of which ranked tied for second in program history. The 2016 Eagles’ .278 team batting average was the third-best average by any Eagle team and their 44 home runs was tied for third-most in program history. Smith’s Eagles also finished the year fourth in program history with 242 runs scored and tied for fourth-best in with 214 team RBI and four saves.
Following the season, Dixie Raley was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, the eighth in program history and second of Smith’s tenure. Taylor Rogers and Emily Snider were both named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team while Raley earned first-team honors.
During Smith's six years in Statesboro, she had 16 all-conference selections.
The 2015 season saw Smith guide the program out of the SoCon and into the Sun Belt Conference. Smith’s Eagles ended the 2015 campaign with a 12-39 record. Following the season, Rogers was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team. Smith’s Eagles were awarded the Sun Belt Conference Team Academic Award for maintaining a 3.00 or higher GPA.
In 2014, GS earned the program’s third SoCon Regular Season Championship with a 15-6 league mark, finishing a game and a half clear of Chattanooga to win the title. For that, Smith was honored with her second SoCon Coach of the Year award while Sarah Purvis picked up her third SoCon Pitcher of the Year award and Taylor Rogers was named SoCon Freshman of the Year. On April 5, 2014, Smith became the fastest coach in Georgia Southern history to reach 100 career wins when the Eagles posted a 4-0 win against Appalachian State.
The 2013 campaign culminated with back-to-back 11-inning wins in elimination games to win the SoCon Tournament. The Eagles manufactured a run in the 11th inning to beat the College of Charleston in the semifinals. A day later, Georgia Southern downed host UNCG with a walk-off home run from Kourtny Thomas. That win sent the Eagles to their second-straight NCAA Tournament and a trip to Gainesville, Florida. In the postseason, Georgia Southern took South Florida to extra innings in an opening-round, 1-0 loss. GS came back on the second game of the tournament as Purvis tossed a perfect game en route to a 3-0 win over Hampton. A second-straight, extra-innings loss to USF ended the year.
Purvis was named SoCon Pitcher of the Year for the second-straight year and earned NFCA All-Region honors. Overall for the season, Smith’s Eagles finished the season with a 33-30 record and a 14-9 mark in league play. In the fall of 2013, the Eagles posted Georgia Southern’s best-ever softball GPA with a 3.492 mark. It was also the best GPA for any Georgia Southern team that semester.
In her first season in Statesboro (2012), Smith’s team finished with a 42-20 overall record and a 22-2 mark in conference play. Purvis earned the Eagles’ third SoCon Pitcher of the Year award over a four-year span. Purvis, along with Marie Fogle, earned NFCA All-Region honors following the season while nine different players earned SoCon awards throughout the season. The Eagles set numerous statistical records in the season including fielding percentage, doubles, home runs, strikeouts and overall wins. Smith’s Eagles confidently closed regular-season conference play with four shutouts in the final five games of the year, including a 2-0 win over Furman to clinch the regular season title on the final day of the season.
At the SoCon Tournament, Georgia Southern blew through Samford and Appalachian State, 3-0, 6-0 before taking a 5-2 win over Chattanooga to clinch a berth in the title game. The Eagles dropped the first game of the championship series 4-3, but the Eagles responded with a 6-2 win over the College of Charleston to earn Georgia Southern’s first trip to the postseason since 2006.
In the Athens Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament, the Eagles took No. 22 North Carolina to extra innings, falling on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch that drove in the winning run. In the next round, GS was eliminated by Coastal Carolina as the Chanticleers got revenge for an early-season Eagle win.
Smith joined Georgia Southern with 16 years of experience as a collegiate assistant coach, serving at Missouri for six seasons before heading to Mississippi State for nine years, working with head coach Jay Miller at both schools, handling all aspects of the program. In 2006, Smith was promoted to associate head coach of the Bulldogs.
Under the tutelage of Miller, Smith worked with some of the nation’s best softball players including seven NFCA All-Americans, a two-time SEC Player of the Year, two SEC Freshmen of the Year, 14 All-SEC selections, 31 NFCA All-Region honorees and three USA Softball National Team members. Their student-athletes succeeded off the field as well, earning 71 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete selections and a pair of CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic Athletes of the Year. As an assistant coach, Smith reached the postseason eight times with Mississippi State and Missouri. In 1997, Missouri reached the postseason as Big XII Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions.
In addition to her abilities as a softball coach, Smith is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. She is also a board member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association since 2008, and served as the Assistant Coaches Representative and leader of the Assistant Coaches Caucus.
A player at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, Smith received her Bachelor of Arts degree in history and psychology in 1995. While at Missouri, she completed her coursework for a Masters of Education degree in health and exercise sciences with an emphasis in sports psychology in 2002.
