BULLDOG BITS
Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Legendary Mississippi State softball alumna Iyhia Mcmichael was selected by USA Softball to serve as an assistant coach for Team USA'S U-15 national team. Mcmichael, who played at State from 2001-04, now serves as a high school coach in Texas.
The U-15 team is set to play in the Pan American Championship in Lima, Peru, on April 1-8 and the Utsugi Cup in Takasaki, Japan, on June 2-4.
While the Nacogdoches, Texas, native is making her Team USA debut as a coach, she is no stranger to the Red,
White and Blue. Mcmichael played with the USA Softball Women's National Elite Team in 2003 and was a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalist in 2004. She was a three-time All-american and two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year while at MSU and earned Academic All-american honors as a senior. She closed her career as the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural National Pro Fastpitch draft.
“It's so much bigger than me, and I just want to serve the team well," Mcmichael said in a release from Frisco ISD. "Coming back to the national team as a coach is a real full-circle moment for me."
Mcmichael ranks inside the MSU single-season top 10 in every major batting category, and her career numbers ranks inside the top five in every major category except total at-bats. She was a dangerous outfielder that runners learned to respect. She holds MSU'S single-season and career records for outfield assists, throwing out an impressive 23 runners in her four-year career. Mcmichael also holds MSU records for the longest hitting streak (25 games) and longest reachedbase streak (41 games).
Mcmichael's coaching career has included stops at multiple high schools and a assistant coaching stints at
Virginia (2006), Trinity University (2007), Ohio (2015) and Texas Tech (2016) after beginning her career as a graduate assistant at Stephen F. Austin (2005).
"The relationships with the kids keep me young and the high school kids are my people," Mcmichael said. "The things that I learn I can bring back to them."
Mississippi State is ranked No. 23 in the NFCA Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Bulldogs open the season at the Paradise Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Florida, on Feb. 9-11. State's first game of the year will be against the host Owls at 5 p.m. on Feb. 9.