Ashley Chastain reveals her coaching staff has 'deep Carolina roots'

Ashley Chastain was introduced as the next head coach for South Carolina softball on Wednesday, where she revealed what her initial staff might look like in Columbia.

As part of Chastain’s introductory press conference, she detailed her expectations for the coaching staff as a whole, noting that she’s got some Carolina-connected coaches coming in.

“I’m really excited soon to be able to tell you about the staff that I’m putting together,” said Chastain. “It’s a staff that has deep Carolina roots, which we love.”

But it’s also a staff that Chastain expects to be well-rounded and terrific at building and maintaining positive player relationships.

“(It’s a) staff that is very loyal and that I have a lot of trust in, a staff that is the best in the country at player development, player connections and recruiting,” Chastain said.

Some high bars for the new South Carolina staff to hit, but Ashley Chastain certainly has some lofty goals as the new Gamecock coach.

Chastain wants to compete in SEC

Life in the SEC can be nice with so many top clubs competing against one another each week, but it’s also a very taxing proposition for coaches.

In softball, the league has Oklahoma and Texas entering the conference fresh off runs to the Women’s College World Series final. That doesn’t even include the six teams that already inhabit the SEC that won over 40 games during the 2024 season.

Nonetheless, Chastain was matter-of-fact when discussing the quest to rise up the SEC ranks.

“Yeah, it’s a tall task, right?” she said. “It’s really fun to watch the talent in the game, it’s the best it’s ever been. I’m really excited for the challenge. You’ll get to know me, but my staff and I — we love really great competition. So we’re going to welcome those opportunities to play the best as we become one of the best.”

Ashley Chastain then went on to emphasize that for an SEC program looking to climb the ladder like South Carolina, it’s all about talent acquisition.

“We’ve got to get the right players. That’s what it boils down to. We’ve got to recruit really well,” said Chastain. “And that’s not just on-field talent, but it’s the right people off the field too. We just need to make sure that all across the board we have the right players and develop them into being the best.”