Report: South Carolina to hire Ashley Chastain as next head softball coach

South Carolina is set to hire Ashley Chastain as its next head softball coach, according to reports.

She previously served as the head coach at Charlotte. Chastain played for the Gamecocks from 2009-2011.

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As head coach of the 49ers in 2024, she led Charlotte to a 38-18 season that came to an end at the Athens Regional. However, Charlotte reached new heights over the past few seasons with Chastain at the helm.

In 2023, she helped lead her team to a 35-win season and the program’s first-ever outright regular season conference championship. At the same time, Charlotte earned its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. She coached four Niners to the First Team All-Conference USA team in Ashleigh Washington, Bailey Vannoy, Sam Gress, and Kassidy Krupit. Gress also received the Newcomer of the Year Award. They defeated ranked opponents such as Georgia, Virginia Tech and Arizona State throughout the season.

Charlotte saw similar success in 2022 which saw them gain their first-ever national ranking in school history.

Before Charlotte, Chastain had spent time serving as the pitching coaches at Ole Miss, Michigan State and the College of Charleston. At Ole Miss, she helped lead the Rebels to the NCAA Super Regionals and was subsequently named the 2019 Softball America Pitching Coach of the Year.

Of course, her roots in the SEC run deep — especially with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Beginning in 2009, Chastain spent three seasons in Columbia as a Gamecock. At the time she finished her career in 2011, she finished ranked 11th in career relief appearances in school history. As a junior, she led South Carolina in starts, innings pitched, and ERA. She was also a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Chastain was also spent the 2012 season as a graduate assistant on the Gamecocks’ coaching staff. She also has experience serving as the pitching coach for the German National Team.

South Carolina finished the 2024 college softball season with a 36-24 record. While that was good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, the Gamecocks season ended at the Durham Regional after pushing Duke to the limit in the final game.

However, finishing 8-16 in SEC play was enough for those inside the athletic department to find a new head of the program. It seems they’ve done that with one of their own.