Softball assistant to head Trinity U. program
6/25/2010 8:59:00 AM | Softball
Selena Collins, assistant softball coach for Sam Houston State University the past two seasons, is leaving to become head softball coach at Trinity University in San Antonio.
In her first season at Sam Houston in 2009, the Bearkats increased their team batting average by 22 points and had seven players earn All-Southland Conference honors. Sam Houston State advanced to the semifinals of the 2009 Southland post season Tournament, after upsetting the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds. In 2010, the Bearkats produced three All-Southland players and senior first baseman Amy Brown ended her four-year career tying a Southland Conference record for putouts and ranking 10th all-time in NCAA Division I softball.
"I am extremely excited to be a part of the Trinity family and coaching the Trinity Tiger softball team," coach Collins said. "I have a true passion and competitive drive for the game and am eager to share that with the players. My plan as the new head softball coach is to make a positive impact on the field, and to also teach life lessons that these young women can carry beyond the game and in to their lives. I want to thank athletic director Bobby Williams and head coach Bob Brock for giving me the opportunity to coach at Sam Houston State."
A 2003 graduate of Texas A&M University, coach Collins earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications. She was a four-year starter for the Aggie softball team from 2000 to 2003. In 2003 she was named the A&M Female Athlete of the Year and received All-America honors in 2002. Coach Collins, a team captain, was also named the 2002 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, as well as earning Big 12 First Team All-Conference honors for four seasons.
"We were pleased with the quality of all our applicants, but Selena stood out as the perfect fit for Trinity," Tiger athletic director Bob King said. "She is a proven winner, who will attract a lot of players to our program with her outgoing personality, and her success as both a player and a coach."
Collins concluded her collegiate career as A&M's all-time leader in RBI and home runs. She was a graduate assistant coach with the Aggies, and put her communications skills to work as a radio and television commentator for the team with the Aggie Sports Connections.
In 2004, coach Collins played catcher for the Texas Thunder National Pro Fast-Pitch team. She was a key player for the Chicago Bandits from 2005 to 2006.
"It's always exciting to see one of our assistant coaches get the opportunity to step up into a head coaching role," SHSU softball head coach Bob Brock said. "Selena has a tremendous work ethic and knowledge of the game and will be a great asset to Trinity's program."
Collins' parents were both athletes in college at Northern Arizona University where her dad played football and her mom played tennis.
"I feel that any player that has the love for the game and wants to be a part of the Trinity softball program," coach Collins continued, "has potential to reach heights that they didn't think possible. I am extremely grateful to Bob King who has given me the opportunity to coach the softball program and to make a difference here at Trinity."
"In recent years, Trinity athletics has had some great success in hiring young and promising coaches to their first head coaching jobs," concluded Mr. King. "I believe that Selena will prove to be another of those success stories with the Tiger softball team."
