BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb head softball coach Tom Cole stepped down from his post on Tuesday, ending a 20-season tenure with the program.
 
Cole's resignation is effective immediately. Former Gardner-Webb standout and current Associate Head Coach Lani Ries will lead the program for the remainder of the 2021 season.
 
Cole wraps up his career in Boiling Springs as the program's winningest head coach (417 wins). Cole was also named 2002 NCAA Division I Independents Coach of the Year and 2004 Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year, helping lead Gardner-Webb to full Division I status early in his career.
 
His 2007 team won 35 games and was the No. 2 seed in that year's Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The 2020 season was on track to be the best in program history, with a 24-5 start before the season was cancelled on March 11.
 
Cole's teams were consistently well respected by their peers, winning Big South Conference sportsmanship awards in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 2016 and 2017. He tutored 11 All-Atlantic Sun Conference performers and 37 All-Big South Conference selections.
 
During his time in charge of the Runnin' Bulldogs, Cole recruited and mentored three Big South Freshmen of the Year choices, one Big South Player of the Year and two Big South Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
 
One of his star pupils, Samantha Meenaghan was recently named to the Big South Conference All-Decade Team and was a four-time All-Big South Conference selection.
 
Cole joined the Gardner-Webb program as head coach prior to the 2001 season after serving as head coach for five seasons at Division III Elmhurst College in Illinois. The Jamison, Pa., native also spent time as an assistant coach at Kutztown (Pa.) University and was the head coach at Broward (Fla.) Community College from 1988-1992.
 
He got his start in athletics as athletics director and head coach at Orlando Christian (Fla.) High School.
 
Cole graduated from NC State in 1977.