LSU softball adds former Louisville assistant Bryce Neal to coaching staff

LSU softball has hired Bryce Neal as an assistant coach, the program announced Wednesday in a press release. He joins the Tigers staff after spending the past two seasons at Louisville in the same role.

Neal helped lead the Cardinals to a 63-45 record over the past two seasons and has coached a pair of NFCA All-Americans as well as nine All-ACC players. That includes catcher Sarah Gordon, who was named the ACC Freshman of the Year this past season after hitting 11 home runs with a .379 batting average that ranked second on the team.

Louisville finished with a 36-23 record this past season while setting a program record with 64 home runs. Taylor Roby led the team with a school-record 23 long balls on her way to becoming the second straight All-American selection for the Cardinals. Louisville made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 but lost in Regional play.

Prior to Louisville, Neal was an assistant coach at Bucknell in the 2021 season. There he oversaw player development on both offense and defense as the Bison finished second in the Patriot League in fielding percentage for their highest mark in nine seasons. Neal was also a volunteer assistant at Arizona State in 2020 when the Sun Devils ranked top five nationally in home runs, walks and scoring.  

Neal earned a a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith in 2015, where he was also a member of the baseball team. He then spent the next five years working as a private instructor at Perfect Timing Baseball and Softball in Springdale, Arkansas. 

This isn’t the first time Neal has linked up with LSU, as he was also an instructor at the Tigers’ softball camp in 2019. Now he returns to Baton Rough to work full-time.

LSU has been one of the most consistent softball programs over the past two decades, making 17 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The Tigers have reached the Women’s College World Series four of those times, all of which have come under current head coach Beth Torina.

LSU finished this past season with a 42-17 record to earn the No. 10 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, it suffered an upset in Regional play with back-to-back losses against Louisiana to miss out on Super Regional action for the second straight year.

With Neal now added to the staff, however, Torina and the Tigers are gearing up to bounce back in 2024.