MOBILE, Ala. – Former University of South Alabama softball All-American pitcher Hannah Campbell has been named an assistant coach for the Jaguars, following former staff member Rachele Fico's recent departure, USA head coach Becky Clark has announced.
 
Campbell will fill the position immediately after finishing her second season with the Akron Racers of National Pro Faspitch.
 
The Satsuma, Ala., native twice earned All-American distinction from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association during her collegiate career (2011-14), in addition to being named an All-South Region recipient all four seasons at the university.
 
Campbell was drafted third overall in the 2014 NPF Draft, becoming the first-ever Jaguar softball player to advance to the professional stage and the first-ever South Alabama female student-athlete to be drafted professionally. The left-hander was a two-time first-team all-Sun Belt Conference honoree and was a top-25 finalist for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player-of-the-Year award as a senior after finishing the campaign with the third-best ERA in the NCAA, which helped the Jaguars claim the national ERA title that year.
 
"The University of South Alabama is home to me," Campbell said. "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to come back and coach at USA. Having played here for four years, I understand what it means to be a Jaguar and hope to instill that in the current and future student-athletes. I am looking forward to working with Coach Clark and the staff, who have done great things with South Alabama softball."
 
Said Clark of the hire, "I can't say enough about Hannah and how excited I am to have her joining our staff. Her collegiate career speaks for itself, and the experience she is getting in the professional ranks is going to prove to be invaluable to our pitching staff. When I look at how much she has already invested in our program and how much she genuinely cares about South Alabama softball, I know she is the perfect fit for this position.
 
"Our goal year in and year out is to have one of the nation's top pitching staffs," Clark added. "Hannah has been a part of that as a player and now will have the opportunity to realize that goal as a coach. Her overall knowledge of pitching mechanics and love for competition makes her one of the up and coming pitching coaches in our sport. With this addition, South Alabama not only gets a great coach but a quality individual who will work tirelessly to help South Alabama Softball maintain its position as one of the nation's top programs."
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).