Coaching Record: 290-138 (7 Seasons)
Six NCAA Tournament Appearances • Three ACC Titles • Three-Time ACC Coach of the Year (2009, 2010, 2011)

STATESBORO - Georgia Southern Athletic Director Jared Benko announced today the hiring of Sharon Perkins as the head softball coach for the Eagles. Perkins becomes the seventh head softball coach in Georgia Southern history and replaces Kim Dean, who served as the head coach for the Eagles for the past four seasons.

Perkins was most recently the head coach at Georgia Tech, where she recorded a 290-138 overall record in seven seasons with the Yellow Jackets, a .678 winning percentage. Under Perkins' tutelage, Georgia Tech won three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships and advanced to NCAA postseason play six times. A three-time ACC Coach of the Year, Perkins compiled a 99-42 mark in conference play. 

"I'm looking forward to coaching a bunch of hard-working kids," Coach Perkins said. "I believe in a blue-collar approach, and I want to get the most out of our student-athletes in their everyday lives. I'm excited to get back on the field again because I love gamedays, but I also love the preparation piece. I love training every day.

"I want great effort and great attitude every day," Coach Perkins continued. "If you take care of that part, then you're going to be successful. I love the state of Georgia; I've lived here for 20 years. This is a hotbed of talent, not only in the Atlanta area, but I've run across tough, hard-working kids in South Georgia and the surrounding states."

In seven seasons at the helm of the Yellow Jackets (2007-2013), Perkins turned the Georgia Tech program into a national power, one that set over a dozen school and ACC records. She coached 31 All-ACC selections, 17 all-region selections, five All-Americans, four ACC Players of the Year and two Olympians while leading that program.

Before arriving at  Georgia Tech in 2007, Perkins served six years as an assistant and associate head coach at Georgia. In 1999 and 2000, Perkins was an assistant coach at Southern Miss. Since 2013, she has owned and operated the Sharon Perkins Softball Academy and has been the coach for Atlanta Premier-Perkins, one of Georgia's most talented 14-U first-year teams. She has worked with well over 100 of the Greater Atlanta area's top youth players through individual and team workouts and her travel squad garnered unprecedented attention from college scouts over the years.

"I am excited to welcome Sharon, Cris, Katie and Nick to Eagle Nation! I have known Sharon and her family for over 20 years, and she is a perfect fit to lead our softball program," Benko said. "She has high integrity, is an excellent communicator, and has coached and recruited at a very elite level. She has played and coached on several championship-winning programs and she understands how to help student-athletes reach their full potential, in and out of the classroom. Sharon's hiring is our first step toward Georgia Southern Softball becoming one of the top programs in the country!"

At the University of Georgia, Perkins helped build a strong program that was ranked in the top 10 her final four seasons. The team made five consecutive NCAA appearances, including a Super Regional berth in 2005, won two Southeastern Conference titles and posted a 313-104 record. Perkins joined the Georgia staff for the 2001 season and was promoted to associate head coach in July of 2004. She previously spent two seasons (1999-2000) as an assistant coach at Southern Miss where the Eagles made consecutive Women's College World Series and finished third in 2000, falling to UCLA in the semifinals. Perkins has twice been part of a coaching staff that was honored as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) regional coaching staff of the year, at Southern Miss in 1999 and Georgia in 2003.

In her career as a player, assistant coach and as a head coach, Perkins has been a part of 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 10 college conference titles.

Perkins was a standout player at Nicholls State where she was a first-team All-Southland Conference shortstop as well as an Academic All-Conference student-athlete. She was named ENTERGY Corporation's Louisiana Female Athlete of the Year and led the Colonels to their first NCAA Regional appearance. In her senior year, Nicholls State climbed as high as No. 14 in the NFCA/USA Today rankings and finished with a record of 56-9. Perkins batted .357 that season and became one of two athletes in Nicholls State history to play on three Southland Conference championship teams. In September of 2009, Perkins was inducted into the Nicholls State Athletic Hall of Fame.

A native of Sarasota, Florida, Perkins attended Riverview High School. The former Sharon Brander earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Nicholls State (La.) in 1996 and was married on July 26, 1997 to Cris Perkins. The couple has two children: Katie, who plays softball at North Carolina, and Nick.

Coach Perkins By The Numbers
31 All-ACC Picks
17 NFCA All-Region Selections
13 NCAA Tournament Appearances as a Coach
10 College Conference Titles as Either a Player or Coach
5 NFCA All-Americans
5 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Honorees
4 ACC Players of the Year
3 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-Americans
3 ACC Tournament MVPs
3 Capital One Academic All-District Honorees
2 NCAA Tournament Appearances as a Player
2 Olympians
2 ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year
2 Women's College World Series Appearances as a Coach
2 NCAA Super Regional Appearances as a Coach