STATESBORO - Georgia Southern Head Softball Coach Sharon Perkins today filled out her coaching staff with the hiring of a pair of coaches for the upcoming 2022 season. Georgia Southern alum Mary Beth Dennison and former NC State standout Heather Gelbard will each serve as assistant coaches for the Eagles.
Dennison comes back to Statesboro after serving as a volunteer assistant at the University of Michigan for the last three seasons. While there, she helped the Wolverines to NCAA berths in both seasons the Championships were held, including hosting an NCAA regional in 2018. The Wolverines compiled a 98-29 record while on the staff.
Prior to Ann Arbor, Dennison served as an assistant coach at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Ga., helping the Bobcats to a 36-15 record, a second-place finish in the Peach Belt Conference and an NCAA Division II regionals berth in 2019. Dennison also spent two seasons at East Georgia State, including one as head coach in 2016.
"We're thrilled to have Mary Beth and her family to Eagle Nation," Head Coach Perkins said. "The experience she's gained at all levels is going to help our pitchers become the best they can be. She has spent the last three years working under the tutelage of Jennifer Brundage and University of Michigan softball. There's no staff in the country that I have more respect for than Jennifer, Carol Hutchins and Bonny Tholl. Mary Beth came highly recommended to me and, more importantly, she is a South Georgia native and a Georgia Southern alum. I am excited to get to work with her as we build this program and create a championship culture!"
Dennison played collegiately at Middle Georgia College for two seasons, before transferring to Georgia Southern to finish her bachelor's degree in sports management in 2011. She added a master's degree in higher education administration for Georgia Southern in 2014.
"I want to thank Coach Perkins, and Athletic Director Jared Benko for providing me the opportunity to join the staff at Georgia Southern," Dennison said. "The energy surrounding Coach Perkins, and the direction of the softball program is palpable and absolutely something that I am honored to be a part of. Georgia Southern is a special place. I cannot wait to get the chance to meet the players and get to work."
Gelbard, meanwhile, joins Georgia Southern from the University of South Carolina, where she served as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons.
A former All-ACC and Academic All-American student-athlete at NC State, Gelbard began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Barry University in 2007-09, helping the Bucs to a DII World Series berth in 2008. She was an assistant coach at FAU from 2010-16, then a head coach at UMBC from 2017-18. Gelbard served as the interim head coach at FIU for a season before joining the Gamecocks staff.
"We are excited to have Heather and her family join us in building this program at Georgia Southern," Head Coach Perkins said. "She brings a lot of experience and knowledge, having worked with great coaches like Joan Joyce and Beverly Smith. After following her career over the years, both as a player and as a coach, I feel we have a lot of similarities in how we approach hitting and our overall style of play. Heather is very familiar with the Southeast and we are ready to hit the ground running with recruiting!"
Gelbard graduated from NC State with her bachelor's degree in psychology in 2007 and she is the all-time hits leader for the Wolfpack while still ranking in the Top 10 in 15 different career offensive categories. She earned her master's degree in exercise science, with a concentration in sports psychology, from Barry in 2009.
"I want to thank Coach Perkins for giving me this amazing opportunity to join her staff in Statesboro," Gelbard said. "I'm so excited to get started working with the talented student-athletes at Georgia Southern. Coach Perkins' vision for this program is unmatched, and I have no doubt that there are championships in the future for the Eagles!"
 
