The 2009 season will mark head coach Andrea Mangrum’s fourth season at the helm of the ETSU Lady Buccaneer softball program.
Since Mangrum took over the reins in 2006, she has made strides in increasing the win total for those first three seasons – including a program-best 30-win campaign in 2008. Now, in 2009, Mangrum looks to guide the Lady Bucs to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance as she surpasses win No. 100 at ETSU. In addition to the winningest season in ETSU history a year ago, Mangrum also reached the 100-win milestone with the Lady Bucs’ 5-2 win over Howard back on Feb. 29, 2008.
Last season Mangrum’s team was one game away from reaching the 2008 Atlantic Sun Championship game as a number four seed. Mangrum’s small-ball philosophy paid off last year, as the Lady Bucs set school records with 95 stolen bases and 61 sacrifice hits. Meanwhile, the ETSU pitching staff also stepped up in a big way thanks to the strong arm of Marissa Hardy. Hardy and the Lady Buccaneer pitchers set a season record with 353 strikeouts and Hardy also set five individual marks as well. Hardy also joined teammates Katy Jett and Jessie Hackworth as 2008 Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team members.
In 2007, Mangrum’s club boasted the best offensive season in program history en route to earning the third seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament, which marked the best slot in Lady Buccaneer history.
As a team, Mangrum’s club set school records in batting average (.280), runs (247), RBIs (213), slugging percentage (.401), on-base percentage (.340), and sacrifice hits (54). The Lady Buc bats were also on fire during their 18 conference games. ETSU led the A-Sun in every offensive statistical category in 2007.
After opening the 2007 season with a demanding 17-game road swing, which included games against top-ranked programs at South Florida, Washington, Wisconsin and Hofstra, Mangrum’s crew finally enjoyed play at home and in conference. ETSU stormed out of the gates in A-Sun play as it won nine of its first 12 games and took over first place by sweeping Jacksonville on April 13. During the stellar play, the Lady Bucs also posted a Nashville sweep by bombing Belmont and at the time first-place Lipscomb in Johnson City. During the four-game win streak (eventually reached a season-high six after JU), ETSU set new school records by posting 48 runs and 47 hits. The explosive offense led to Stephanie Gaynord being named ETSU’s first conference Player of the Week winner in ’07. Teammate Marissa Hardy became the second winner after earning both wins over the Dolphins and followed that up by tossing the program’s first-ever no-hitter the very next day (after receiving the honor). In total, Mangrum coached four Lady Buccaneer players to conference awards, including Stephanie Gaynord and Amanda Haverman to First Team All-Atlantic Sun honors, and Cheniece Cason and Katy Jett to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team. Gaynord was also voted to the Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team; while Jett was named Atlantic Sun All-Second Team as well.
In her initial year, Mangrum’s club closed out the 2006 campaign on a hot streak, winning seven of its last eight regular season games to earn the fifth seed in the conference tournament. At the A-Sun Tournament Mangrum had the Lady Bucs playing solid ball, as they knocked off fourth-seed Campbell and finished one win away from reaching the championship game. Mangrum’s squad was also the only team in the conference to sweep Stetson, the best team in the league. Mangrum helped coach Mary Catherine Vercoe, Stephanie Gaynord and Jessica Lonsinger to A-Sun accolades. Vercoe was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team, while Gaynord and Lonsinger were named to the conference All-Tournament Team.
Even though coach Mangrum has only three years under her belt with ETSU, she is certainly no stranger to Northeast Tennessee. Mangrum, who is originally from Kingsport, was a member of ETSU’s inaugural softball team in 2001, and returned to Johnson City after a three-year coaching stint at Belhaven College, in Jackson, Miss., where she served as an assistant during the 2003 season and moved to the helm of the program for the next two seasons in 2004.
Mangrum began her coaching career as an assistant varsity/head junior varsity coach at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, before moving to The Veritas School in Jackson, Miss., where she started the first fast pitch softball program in school history. Upon moving to Belhaven, Mangrum led the team to a school-record 28 wins in 2004 and proved her recruiting skills by signing 12 student-athletes within three months of taking over the program. In her two seasons at Belhaven, Mangrum posted a 48-52 record.
"I am excited to be back home and coaching," said Mangrum. "I am really excited to be able to make an impact in the town I grew up in."
Mangrum took over the ETSU reins from former head coach Amy Fuller who posted a 78-96 record over three seasons with the Bucs.
As a player, Mangrum started in 39 of ETSU’s 49 games in 2001, when the team posted 14 victories in its first season of competition. As a middle infielder, Mangrum recorded a .924 fielding percentage with 96 putouts and 61 assists in her lone season with the Bucs. Prior to ETSU, Mangrum played at Chattanooga for two seasons.
At UTC, Mangrum played for Ralph and Karen Weekly, current head coach at the University of Tennessee. She also spent three summers playing international softball in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Austria. In the summer of 2002, Mangrum was named the hitting MVP of the Austrian National League as she batted over .600. During her senior year in high school, Mangrum was invited to play international ball in Central America on a college-level team. On each international stint, her team played the national clubs in each country they visited.
Mangrum also devotes her time to helping out with softball clinics and is very active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) as she is the Huddle Coach here at ETSU. She has also instructed at the University of Tennessee and Baylor University softball camps.
In August, Mangrum revamped her staff as she brought in Louisville graduate Sarah Totten to guide the ETSU hitters and fielders. Mangrum’s sister, Laura Roberts, will also be a volunteer assistant to the program.
"I think we have a great mix in our staff, which will be a tool for the success of our program," said Mangrum. "I want this program to earn the respect that it deserves, and represent ETSU with character and integrity. When we do that on and off the field, we will see a lot success."
Andrea is married to Joel Mangrum, who is the assistant baseball coach at Milligan College.
