Courtney Oliver named new East Carolina softball coach

Director of Athletics, Jeff Compher announced Courtney Oliver, a five-time NCAA Regional participant as an assistant coach, the new head softball coach at East Carolina.

“Since 2011, I have played against East Carolina and I have always had the upmost respect for the program. I think that the athletes are very talented here. I’m excited to work with them; I’m excited to raise the bar,” Oliver said.

Compher announced Oliver’s hiring June 12 at the ECU Softball Stadium. Oliver’s hire makes her the fifth head coach in ECU softball program history.

“Obviously her credentials speak for themselves, the fact that she was a great player and has been a great coach, but what I’ve found is the ease to which I could talk to her and sit down with her and discuss the program,” Compher said. “The first thing she talked about to the team was communication and you could almost hear a sigh of relief from the team understanding that’s what she believed in.”

Oliver has experience in the softball world, as she brings seven years of NCAA Division I coaching experience with her. She spent three years at N.C. State where she was an assistant coach serving as the team’s pitching coach and working with infielders.

“When she came here she looked around at everything we had and her response was ‘Why can’t we win here?’” Compher said. “When I saw that level of enthusiasm and comfort that I felt with her, I just thought it was a great fit for East Carolina and the Pirates.”

With Oliver’s help, the 2015 N.C. State pitching staff owned a team ERA of 2.61 ranking them 34th in the nation and second in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Wolfpack had its first ever top-25 finish concluding the 2015 season at No. 19 in the final polls. N.C. State won the NCAA Regional before making an appearance in the University of Oregon Super Regional with Oliver alongside for it all. Oliver helped lead two players in her last season with N.C. State to be drafted by the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch.

“You look for talent wherever it is, and obviously the best talent we saw was at N.C. State,” Compher said. “I have the ultimate respect for N.C. State and I also have a lot of respect for Courtney Oliver and what she’s going to bring here.”

Oliver herself was a pitcher and player at Hofstra from 2004-08 where she was a four-time NCAA Regional participant. She was part of Hofstra as they completed their NCAA-record run of 11 consecutive conference championships. While on the team, she was a component in her team winning four Colonial Athletic Association championships, advancing to two NCAA regional finals.

“We’re really ready to have some stability in the team; we’re excited to have Coach Oliver,” senior outfielder Meredith Mitchell said.

She finished her collegiate career as a two-time All-CAA Tournament Team selection, and a two-time First Team All-CAA player. Oliver had 40 RBIs with a 10-3 mark, posting a 1.12 ERA overall.

“Three years ago when [the ECU] job opened up is when I moved down to Raleigh to take my job at N.C. State and I remember saying to myself, ‘If I just had a couple more years experience, [ECU] is the place that I would really want to be,’ ” Oliver said. “It’s always been a dream job.”

Oliver spent two seasons as the pitching coach at Hofstra. She helped lead the Pride in winning the CAA Championship and the NCAA Los Angeles Regional Championship in 2012.

“I have been waiting for this day for my entire career and it’s just an honor to become the head coach at East Carolina,” Oliver said. “My philosophy is I want every player to be fundamentally sound. I want them to learn the game, I want them to understand it, I want them to have a passion for it and hopefully we can build that here.”