LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On Thursday, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) released its annual Easton/NFCA Assistant Coach of the Year Award across nine divisions of collegiate softball. In that release, Arkansas Tech assistant softball coach,
Avery Sanders, was named the award winner for NCAA Division II.
OFFICIAL NFCA RELEASE
Sanders recently completed her first season at Arkansas Tech and served as the program's pitching coach. Under Sanders' guidance, the Golden Suns' pitching staff was one of the best in DII, posting the fifth-lowest team ERA in the country at 2.01. Three of her primary pitchers were named First Team All-GAC while one went on to be a NFCA First Team All-Region as a utility-pitcher.
The year prior to Sanders' arrival, the Golden Suns finished a game under .500 overall and had a 3.15 team ERA with 165 earned runs allowed across 366.1 innings. In 2026, Sanders' pitching staff helped the Golden Suns win 42 games and capture a GAC Regular Season Championship while lowering the team ERA over a full run per game with only 112 earned runs allowed across 390.2 innings.
With the award, Sanders joins a group of assistants from the remaining respective divisions of college softball that include: Pattie Ruth Taylor (University of Texas at Austin / DI), Kelsey Aikey (Simpson College / DIII), Dan Bressler (Madonna University / NAIA), Courtnay Foster (Northeast Alabama Community College / NJCAA DI), Saige Vandiver (Murray State College / NJCAA DII), Holly Frampton (Corning Community College / NJCAA DIII), Marco Aragon (Feather River College / Cal JC) and Taylor Gould (Mt. Hood Community College / NWAC).
These awards recognize the efforts of coaches from the various NFCA membership categories for their tireless dedication to the sport of softball and to the continued education, growth and development of young women, both on and off the playing field. The winners will be recognized on Dec. 12 during the NFCA Convention's Awards Brunch in Atlantic City, N.J.
The winners were nominated by NFCA member coaches and voted for by a panel of their peers on the NFCA Awards Committee.
