Jeremy Reece
enters his seventh season at the University
of North Alabama with the most head coaching
wins in the program’s history. His 171
career victories and .518 winning percentage
are tops in both categories and has helped
the Lions rebuild to become annual
competitors in the Gulf South Conference
race.
In 2002, Reece
took over a program that had produced just
two winning seasons in the previous 12
seasons. The program’s fourth head coach
guided the team to a 63-98 mark in his first
three years before producing a winning
season during a breakout 2005 campaign.
Reece's 2005
club broke or tied 15 team and individual
school records as UNA went 36-20 on the
year. The team advanced to the Gulf South
Conference tournament for the first time
since the 2000 season and produced two
All-South Region selections (Jessica Liddy
and Krystal Hand) and the GSC East Division
Freshman of the Year (Lindsey Greene).
The 2006
campaign reached 40 wins and advanced to the
NCAA Division II tournament for the first
time in school history. The Lions went 40-20
on the year and concluded the season with a
berth in the South Region
Tournament. The
club, which also advanced to the GSC
Tournament for the second straight year,
broke or tied 24 team and individual school
records, including most wins in a season.
Under Reece,
the 2006 Lions also produced the school’s
first All-American in softball when junior
Jessica Liddy was selected to the Louisville
Slugger/NFCA second team All-America list.
UNA went 32-21
in 2007, falling short of the conference
tournament on the final day of the regular
season. Four players received All-GSC honors
while Liddy and Greene were also tabbed
second team all-region. Four players from
Reece’s first four seasons left their marks
in the career record books at UNA.
Prior to
becoming head coach at UNA, Reece had seven
years of collegiate softball coaching
experience. He was a volunteer assistant
coach at Union University from 1995-97
before first coming to UNA in 1998, where he
served as graduate assistant coach.
After spending
the 1999 season as assistant coach with the
Lions, Reece coached fastpitch softball,
football and junior varsity and varsity boys
basketball in 2000 at the Southern Baptist
Educational Center (SBEC) in Olive Branch,
Miss. He also taught physical education and
chemistry.
His last
coaching job (2001) was with the Tishomingo
County School District in Burnsville, Miss.,
where he also coached fastpitch softball,
football and basketball. In addition to
coaching, Reece taught physical education
and health.
Reece has
helped UNA take the initial steps in
rebuilding the softball program and bringing
it back to a position as a contender for the
Gulf South Conference championship. UNA went
20-30 in his first season and 24-35 in 2003
before posting a 19-33 mark in 2004.
Reece received
his B.S. degree in physical education and
health at Union University in 1997 and a
Master's degree in education from UNA in
1998.
Reece is
married to Kristi Edmondson Reece and has
three daughters, Bailey (8) Gracen (5) and
Tate (2).
