Middle Tennessee softball’s coaching staff features two familiar faces, but how has Gretchen Mead made an impact as a Blue Raider?
The MTSU softball roster is dwindling to just two players from the 2023 Conference USA Championship team. Accompanying those two players is a coach who played a major role in securing the championship.
Gretchen Mead’s decision to stay at Middle Tennessee for her graduate year eventually paid off, bringing her a brand-new opportunity to teach the game she loves.
“It’s been great to see one of our former players come and excel at the coaching level, and it’s definitely rewarding,” head coach Jeff Breeden said. “She brings a love to this university, a love for our program and she is a great role model.”
Mead’s last season as a pitcher for the Blue Raiders was the best in program history, as she was an essential piece of the team’s CUSA championship. But that historic season almost didn’t happen.
Following her senior season, Mead almost walked away from the game but chose to return for her graduate season.
“We just couldn’t find a way to win, and there were a lot of one-run losses,” Mead said. “I worked too hard to let that be the end of it.”
The fifth year provided additional experience, making it easier to lead a team as a pitcher, Mead said.
Her decision to push through the previous season’s struggles paid off in the end, as she threw 120 strikeouts in 174.0 innings pitched, earning her a spot among the top 25 pitchers in the nation.
“As a player, she was hardworking, but she didn’t have a lot of success early in her career,” Breeden said. “She stayed the course and kept getting better and better and finally reaped all the benefits.”
After a successful final season, Mead was set to become a graduate assistant, something she had been considering since her senior year. Heading into 2024, Mead prepared to recruit players alongside assistant coach Helen Pena, but after Pena announced her departure, the pitching coach position was left vacant.
After several interview processes with coaches outside the organization, Director of Athletics Chris Massaro and MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee decided to bring back a familiar face, hiring Mead.
“It was awesome,” Mead said. “I’m super grateful, but it was definitely different.”
The new coaching position posed some challenges for her, as she had to adjust and learn what her role required when coaching her former teammates.
“We always think about our teammates as our friends, and all of a sudden, I have to tell them things they don’t want to hear,” Mead said. “But that’s what good coaches do, they love you, but they coach you to make you better, and that was a good lesson for me to learn.”
Throughout Mead’s three years as a coach, she’s leaned on her former teammates to help her learn and grow.
Senior catcher Ansley Blevins saw brief time behind the plate during Mead’s final year but their relationship grew since Mead joined the coaching staff and Blevins took over at catcher.
“She [Blevins] is a voice of reason, and she’s very mature,” Mead said. “She’s able to take the things that we are saying or things that need to be done in practice and be the voice of reason between us, the staff, and the players.”
Throughout her three seasons with the Blue Raiders, Mead coached former MTSU pitcher Leila Ammon to the CUSA All-Freshman team and helped two pitchers earn the CUSA Pitcher of the Week award.
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