Fayetteville plans to hire softball coach

Pending board approval, Sue Carpenter will be the next softball coach at Fayetteville.

Carpenter last coached the 18U team for the Impact Gold Softball Organization in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. She was an assistant at the University of Arkansas from 2009-15. The Razorbacks reached the NCAA Regionals four times during that span.

Bulldogs athletic director Steve Janski said he was “fired up” about the hire, for a number of reasons.

“It’s not just one thing; it’s a combination of factors,” Janski said. “It starts with her collegiate and high school experience. Couple that with her seven years here, and she knows our area, our people, our community. What impresses me is the relationships she’ll build with our student-athletes. It’s going to be a phenomenal experience for our players.”

The position opened when Jason Shirey resigned at the end of the Lady Bulldogs’ 6-18 season. Shirey won state championships in 2006 and 2007.

Janski said he received about 15 formal applications for the opening as well as numerous inquiries from coaches “interested from across the region and state, in just about every class-action and in college” before zeroing in on Carpenter. She also was an assistant at Wright State University and Cedarville University, where she was a two-time All-NAIA shortstop.

“There is a standard of excellence that is Bulldog Athletics,” Carpenter said in a release. “And I am so grateful to be a part of it and to continue to build on the foundation that has been created.

“My family and I called Fayetteville ‘home’ for seven years, and we are truly excited to be home.”

Fayetteville superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt will recommend Carpenter’s hiring to the school board during Thursday’s meeting.