Aileen Morales became Georgia Tech’s sixth softball coach on Wednesday, hired away from Radford. A Tech grad and star player for the Yellow Jackets, Morales replaces Shelly Hoerner, who was dismissed after four seasons. A few things to know about Morales.
Glad to be back
Morales called coaching at Tech a dream job and “an amazing opportunity.” Not surprisingly, she said that her status as a Tech graduate will be a benefit.
“No doubt,” she said. “I think that I lived in the experience. It’s a unique place, it’s a very special place. You’ve got to want to compete both academically and athletically. It gives you the best of both worlds. That also means you’ve got to be willing to be challenged in the classroom.”
Morales is 30 with only two years of head-coaching experience at the Division I level. Her connection undoubtedly helped.
“Obviously, with Todd (Stansbury) being an alumni, he cares tremendously about that passion that I have for (Tech),” she said. “We can relate on that level, for sure.”
Her background
Morales was one of the most decorated players in team history. Playing for former coach Sharon Perkins, she was a co-ACC freshman of the year, a three-time All-ACC selection and set school records for games, starts, at-bats and stolen bases. Tech went to the NCAA tournament all four years when she played for the Jackets and won once ACC regular-season and tournament title.
She was a student assistant and then an assistant coach at Tech for five years, then was head coach at Young Harris (a Division II school in north Georgia) for two years and then two at Radford, where her team was 62-54 after a 34-67 record in the two seasons prior to her arrival. Hoerner, Morales’ predecessor at Tech, was 80-125 in four seasons.
Radfored went from 12-37 in 2015 to 35-26 in 2016 in her first season, the largest turnaround in Division I that year.
Liked what she heard
When she interviewed with the search committee early last week, Morales said she was particularly encouraged by what she heard in the line of questions she received.
“I think that it was clear to me that they wanted the program to be successful again, and that they were looking for someone that knew how to recruit the state of Georgia,” Morales said. “Even though I’ve been in Virginia the last two years, I’ve still had pretty good experience with the state of Georgia.”
Morales inherits a signing class that, after the November signing period, was ranked 24th in the country. Three of the six members of the class are from the state of Georgia.
Assessment of team
Radford and Tech played a two-game this past season, with the teams splitting. Morales called it a surreal experience to be at Tech in the opposing team’s colors. Acknowledging that it was a small sample size, she said she saw a Jackets team that was “a little bit lethargic in my opinion.”
Morales sees her skillset – she prides herself on her passion for the game and her ability to teach it –helping address that shortcoming.
“I think from that standpoint, i get a ton out of my players, which makes teams very competitive,” she said. “We create a competitive atmosphere, which i think pushes people to get the most out of them.”
Change of direction
Morales came to Tech from Hardaway High in Columbus and intended to become an architect.
“I just loved (softball),” she said. “I thought there was no way I can step away from this game. That’s kind of how I transitioned into it.”
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