Oliver Resigns as ECU Head Softball Coach | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.


    GREENVILLE, N.C.     East Carolina University Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert announced Saturday he has accepted the resignation of head softball coach Courtney Oliver.

    "I'd like to thank Courtney for her six years of dedicated service to ECU Athletics," Gilbert said. "We appreciate the leadership and guidance she has provided to the Pirate softball program. Courtney has been a leader and friend to many. We wish her the best and thank her for her time at East Carolina."

    Oliver recently completed her sixth season as head coach of the softball program. ECU finished the 2021 season with a 16-33 mark. During Oliver's tenure in Greenville, three Pirates earned All-AAC honors in senior infielder Rachel McCollum (2021), Erin Poepping (2018) and Lydia Ritchie (2017).

    "I am incredibly thankful to the group of current and former student-athletes and coaches who I have worked with over the past six years at ECU," Oliver said. "I appreciate the loyalty, commitment and dedication of all involved as we worked together to move the program forward. This has been a challenging 12 months with the pandemic, but I'm extremely proud of what we accomplished. I'm forever grateful to have been a part of Pirate Nation."

    Oliver guided the team to a 14-9 record in 2020 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pirates had the 22nd-ranked recruiting class in 2018. Poepping earned American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team accolades in 2018 after accruing a 13-16 record with a 3.26 earned run average and 95 strikeouts in 165.1 innings pitched. East Carolina picked up seven wins against 2018 NCAA Regional qualifiers Ohio, JMU (twice), Wichita State, USF (twice) and Houston.

    Under Oliver's watch in 2017, the Pirates improved their win total by three from the previous season and picked up their first-ever American Athletic Conference tournament victory. ECU hit a school and American Conference single-season record 64 home runs to go along with 64 doubles. In her first season at the helm, Oliver guided the Pirates to a 23-31 record — a seven-win improvement from the previous season.

    Prior to her arrival in Greenville, Oliver spent seven years as an assistant coach with stops at NC State, Hofstra, Boston University and Monmouth University. The Swansea, Mass., native was an accomplished pitcher and designated player at Hofstra from 2004-08 where she was a four-time NCAA Regional participant. She was part of a Pride program that completed a NCAA-record run of 11 consecutive conference championships. She and her teammates won four conference titles and advanced to two NCAA regional finals, becoming the winningest class in school history.

    Oliver earned both her bachelor's degree in business administration and master's degree in communications from Hofstra.