BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Head softball coach Tom Cole announced today that a pair of assistant coaches – Scott Long and McKenzi Corn – will join the staff for the upcoming season.
 
Long comes to Gardner-Webb after seven seasons at NCAA Division III Salem (N.C.) College where he built the program from scratch and guided the Spirits to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015. During his time at Salem, he compiled a 141-127-2 record.
 
In his seven years at the helm, Long coached more than 25 All-Conference student-athletes. Last season, the Spirits were the USA South tournament runner-ups and had four players named to the All-Tournament team. Long was honored as Coach of the Year, which was the second time he received the award in the past three seasons.
 
Throughout his tenure at Salem, the Spirits finished nationally ranked in several statistical categories. The 2017 season saw the Spirits conclude the season 11^th in home runs per game in Division III, 14^th in slugging percentage and 19^th in team batting average.
 
Long coached the Great South Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year (2015 and 2016), Pitcher and Player of the Year (2016) and USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Year (2017).
 
In addition to his coaching duties, Long was the fundraising coordinator for the athletic department, a position he held beginning in August 2015.
 
Long also coached within the Carolina Cardinals Fastpitch Softball Program, serving as the head coach of the 18U regional team and as an assistant coach for the 18U national team. The national team was the 2018 USA Softball and 2017 ASA 18U National Champions.
 
Long has also made stops at Calvary Baptist Day School in Winston-Salem and William G. Enloe Senior High School in Raleigh. He is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and is recognized as a Four-Star Master Coach by the NFCA. Long received his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Winston-Salem State University.
 
The second assistant to join Coach Cole's staff, McKenzi Corn, arrives at Gardner-Webb with familiarity with the Big South Conference, having spent the 2018 season on staff at Presbyterian College. Corn's Big South Conference experience also includes time as a player at Winthrop University.
 
Last season, Corn was in charge of the Blue Hose's outfielders and designed both off-season and in-season workouts, while assisting with hitting development for student-athletes. Additionally, she served as the camp director and coordinator, while also scouting opponents, helping with recruiting and fundraising.
 
Prior to her stint at Presbyterian, Corn served as a volunteer assistant coach at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. While with the Paladins, she in charge of the outfield and worked with slappers on offensive production, while charting pitches during games. Her pitch charts were used to build both scouting and post-game reports.
 
Corn was also a student assistant coach at Winthrop during the fall of 2014, coordinating individual hitting sessions and helping to run camps.
 
As a player at Winthrop, Corn was a four-year starter in the outfield and had a career-long 11-game hitting streak during her senior season. She served as team captain for three seasons and primarily played left field. For her career, she played in 200 games, starting 188. She ended her time with the Eagles with a .330 batting average, 39 extra base hits and 67 RBIs.
 
After the conclusion of her senior season, Corn received First-Team All Big South Conference honors, while also being named to the Big South All-Academic team.
 
Professionally, Corn spent two years in the Italian Softball League (ISL Division I), playing for Thermotechnik Bollate Softball Club. She played first base and outfield, hitting.427 and .386 in her two seasons. She was the 2015 Silver Bat recipient and had the fourth highest batting average n the ISL that season.
 
Corn graduated from Winthrop in December 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Health.
 
Gardner-Webb finished the 2018 campaign with a 29-29 overall record, its most wins since the 2007 season, and advanced to the Big South Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed. 
 
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