Softball

Varsity
Head Coach: Kelli Smith
Assistant Coaches: Susan Ross, Tom Watson

Middle School
Head Coach: Kelli Smith
Assistant Coaches: Susan Ross, Tom Watson

Kelli Smith

If there were ever an iconic figure for Baylor softball, it would be Kelli Smith, head coach of the Baylor softball team since 2003.

A member of Baylor’s class of 1995, Smith (then Kelli Howard) played on Baylor’s first state championship team as a sophomore in 1993 and a second in 1994. Since taking the reins of the program, Smith has led the Raiders to state championships in ’03, ’04, ’05, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, and ’19, making her part of every Baylor state title. As Baylor’s head coach, Smith has more than 500 wins and has been named Coach of the Year numerous times by four different organizations. More than 25 girls who played for Coach Smith have signed college softball scholarships.

As a Baylor student, Smith was an important member of the softball and basketball teams and was named Most Outstanding Athlete by her peers and Best All-Around Athlete by the Baylor coaches her senior year. The Chattanooga Times Free Press named her the 1995 recipient of the Scrappy Moore Athlete of the Year Award. Smith was inducted into the Baylor Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

Smith signed to play softball at Georgia Tech and started every game for the Yellow Jackets as a freshman. A shoulder injury ended her Tech career and she finished her college education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

“At Baylor, the tradition of excellence and winning is present in all we do,” says Smith. “In the classroom and on the field, we coach kids to be champions, preparing them academically and athletically to be successful at the next level. My experience as a Baylor student-athlete was incredible and shaped me into the person I am today. Baylor has been my ‘second home’ since 1991, and I am so honored to be coaching here.”

“I love kids, I love the game, I love the competition, and I love winning,” continues Smith. “But the greatest joy is helping kids learn the value of commitment, hard work, teamwork, and accountability in the development of their character - pushing them to excel without compromising doing what is right. Seeing kids work hard to achieve individual and team goals while working through adversity on and off the field is very rewarding. I take the responsibility and privilege of coaching young ladies very serious and understand the impact I have on them. I enjoy building relationships with my girls that continues after they leave Baylor. Nothing is more exciting than watching them become successful in their careers, as wives, and as mothers.”