Wingate, N.C.- Wingate University vice-president and director of athletics Steve Poston announces the hiring of Lani Shaffer as Wingate's new head softball coach. An introductory press conference will be held Thursday, Aug. 2 at 2 p.m. in LaVerne Banquet Hall on the Wingate campus. Bulldog media and friends are invited to the event to meet Shaffer. The Wingate University Sports Network will provide a free video stream of the press conference.

"We welcome Lani Shaffer to the Wingate Bulldog family," Poston says. "We believe she will continue our long tradition of softball success."

Prior to her last assistant coaching job at Bowling Green State, Shaffer spent two years as an assistant coach at her alma mater Gardner-Webb University. She was in charge of outfield and hitting, while her duties included preparing and conducting practice, recruiting, preparing scouting reports, assisting in fundraising, ordering equipment, maintaining the softball field, as well as supervising camps and clinics. She guided the Runnin' Bulldogs to the ninth-best turnaround in NCAA history in 2007, going from 12 wins in 2006 to 35 in 2007.

"I am very excited that Lani Shaffer has been named the new head softball coach at Wingate University," commented GWU Head Coach Tom Cole. "Michelle Caddigan has done a wonderful job at Wingate with her teams being talented, respected and successful year in and year out. But, with Coach Caddigan moving to an administrative position Lani Shaffer is the perfect choice to take over the reins."

The 2007 squad set school records in hits, batting average, runs, homers, extra-base hits, total bases, RBI, walks and stolen bases. The 35 wins rank second in school history, while Gardner-Webb made it to the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game for the first time in school history. Shaffer coached three all-conference selections and three all-freshman honorees. She coached a player who ranked 10th nationally in RBI per game, while also coaching the nation's 15th-ranked player in triples.

Shaffer played her college softball at Gardner-Webb where she was twice named the team's co-Offensive MVP, while also being named the team's defensive MVP her junior year. Shaffer stole 55 consecutive bases in her career, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division I history. She is the school's all-time leader in runs, consecutive steals and walks. She ranks second in triples, stolen bases, games played and games started, while ranking third in hits and RBI.

Shaffer graduated from Gardner-Webb in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Coaching. In 2007, she earned her Master's degree from Gardner-Webb in Sport Science and Pedagogy. Shaffer is a member of the National Physique Committee (NPC). She has placed in the top five in five NPC competitions since 2005, including two second-place finishes in 2011. She also played professional softball for the Michigan Ice in 2006-07.

"Lani had an outstanding career at Gardner-Webb and has since played professionally, earned her Master's Degree, and assisted in building a successful program at Bowling Green State University," continued Coach Cole. "As a player Lani took her God-given talents and worked hard at GWU to become the very best player that she could. As a coach she continued to work hard and gained a wealth of knowledge and experience. I have no doubt that the Lord has great things in store for both Lani and the Wingate softball program."

Most recently, Shaffer served as the assistant softball coach at Bowling Green State University. In her five years as the assistant coach, Shaffer coached the outfield, hitting and base running, while also serving as the first and third base coach. She was responsible for daily travel, practices, recruiting and scouting reports, while also monitoring the academic progress of the student-athletes. Bowling Green State softball ranked in the top five in the country academically in 2010 and 2011.

"Lani brings an energy and excitement to our team which will make our games very enjoyable to watch," Poston says. "She is a much appreciated assistant coach and a highly successful student-athlete. We are delighted to give her the opportunity to hold her first head coaching position. We believe she will make her mark in the conference, region and nation."

Shaffer was also a key part of fund-raising over $30,000 for the BGSU program through camps. During her time at Bowling Green State, Shaffer helped the team have the biggest turnaround in the country in 2012, winning 24 more games than the previous year. The team finished second in winning percentage in the Mid-American Conference in 2008, while the 35 homers hit the same year were good for second in school history.

In her five years at Bowling Green State, Shaffer coached seven first team All-Mid-American Conference selections and three second-team honorees. She also had four players earn All-MAC Tournament honors. Shaffer coached two All-Region selections; she mentored the 2010 MAC Freshman of the Year. She was also responsible for six players earning Academic All-MAC honors, with two student-athletes earning Academic All-America® accolades.

Shaffer takes over a Wingate program which has finished third place or better in the South Atlantic Conference in 13 of the past 16 seasons. Wingate also won at least 30 games 13 times in this span, winning two SAC regular season titles. Shaffer takes over for Michelle Caddigan, who won 529 games during her 16 years as the Wingate head coach. Caddigan reached the 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350-win plateau quicker than any other softball coach in South Atlantic Conference history. Caddigan now serves as the associate athletic director for internal operations at Wingate.

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