Maryville University announced Courtney Conley as the new head coach of the Saints softball program for the 2019 season. She comes to Maryville after two seasons as an assistant coach with Lindenwood University. In 2018, the Lions posted a 30-win season and won two games at the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Tournament. Conley coached four All-MIAA selections, including two first-team honorees. In her first season in St. Charles, Conley helped the Lions improve by six victories in the win column. The offense improved in nearly every category, including scoring 0.30 runs more a contest, and ranked fifth in the MIAA in batting average.
Conley began her coaching career at Missouri State University, spending three seasons with the Bears. She started at MSU as a volunteer coach and worked two seasons as a graduate assistant. During her tenure in Springfield, the Bears won 80 games, and she helped the team earn Missouri Valley Conference runner-up honors in the 2015 regular season and 2015 conference tournament. The 2015 team broke the program’s single-season home run record by 15 homers, and the 2016 squad was among the nation’s leaders in fielding average.
Conley was a four-year starter at third base for the University of Alabama and won the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series with the Crimson Tide. During her four seasons at Alabama, she was a part of three SEC regular season championships and two SEC tournament titles. Conley played in NCAA Tournament all four seasons and advanced to two College World Series.
In her career, Conley had 91 RBI, 90 runs, 24 home runs, and 21 doubles. She had numerous big hits throughout her career, with the biggest being a RBI double and scoring a run in the 2012 World Series title-clinching game against Oklahoma. Conley helped the Crimson Tide post a 60-8 record en route to the national title.
Conley is a native of Robertsville, Mo., and was the 2007 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Player of the Year at Eureka High School. She also earned Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year honors during her time with the Wildcats. Her final high school numbers included 127 runs, 155 hits, 19 home runs, 47 stolen bases, and 42 RBI.
Conley graduated from Alabama in 2013 with a degree in communicative disorders, and she earned her master’s from Missouri State in 2016 in business administration. She earned four NFCA academic awards during her playing career, was a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and selected for the All-SEC Volunteer Award.
