Area coaches rising in Division I ranks

With the recent hiring of former Bloomfield softball coach Nicole Fougerousse as the lead assistant softball coach at Tennessee State University, there are now three NCAA Division I coaches who graduated from Greene County high schools.

I find it pretty amazing that we have three Division I coaches hailing from an area with a population base of roughly 26,000.

What are the odds?

Nicole Fougerousse was a five sport athlete at Shakamak High School from 2001-2004, earning varsity letters in volleyball and cross country, and was a four-year letter winner in basketball, track and softball.

During her high school career Fougerousse set numerous softball records.

As a hitter she set Shakamak school records for most home runs in a game (three), season (six) and career (16). And in the pitching circle she set school marks for most strikeouts in a seven-inning game (17) and season (214).

This year she coached the Lady Cardinals softball team to the first sectional title of her five-year tenure, and the fifth in school history.

Fougerousse became aware of the Tennessee State opportunity through a connection she had made during her days of coaching the Clovers youth softball organization some 10 years ago. Current Tennessee State head softball coach Tom Opdenbrow was umpiring at a tournament the Clovers were playing in and the two became acquainted.

They kept in touch over the years and this year during spring break, Nicole decided to take a trip to Tennessee to watch Opdenbrow's Lady Tigers play at Murray State.

As Fougerousse recalled, Opdenbrow said he had a position available for an assistant coach and she said, "Great, I'm going to submit my resume for it."

Fougerousse says Tennessee State is trying to build a program and build a culture.

"I love it because it's a challenge and you get to build your program," she said.

With her drive, determination and love of the game of softball, I have no doubt she'll succeed.

I would not be surprised to see Nicole ascend to a head coaching position in a few years.

Linton's Rachael Pruett was already a member of the Division I coaching ranks as associate head men's and women's golf coach at Cleveland State University.

Four weeks ago Pruett was named head women's golf coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Pruett graduated magna cum laude from Ball State University in 2010 with a degree in exercise science and received a master's degree from Ball State in biomechanics in 2013.

Pruett was a four-year letterwinner in women's golf at Ball State from 2007-10, finishing her career with a 78.78 scoring average, second all-time in Ball State history. She played in the 2012 USGA U.S. Women's Amateur tournament and the 2006 USGA U.S. Junior Amateur tournament.

She was an Academic All-Mid-American Conference selection as a junior and senior and was a four-time NGCA All-America Scholar.

Her advanced degree in biomechanics means of course Pruett has expertise in the biomechanics of the golf swing and will be able to pass that knowledge along to her players.

As Drake University Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield Clubb said, "her background in coaching the mental aspect of the game and her master's thesis on the biomechanics of the golf swing means that Drake women golfers will have the benefit of her expertise."

The third member of the Greene County Division I coaching fraternity is White River Valley graduate and former Butler University basketball standout Matthew Graves.

Graves played at Butler from 1993 to 1998. He scored 994 points during his Butler career including175 made three pointers, second most ever by a Butler player at the time, and his 84.6 free throw percentage ranked third in Butler history.

Graves joined the Butler coaching staff in 2001 when he was hired as coordinator of basketball operations by then-coach Todd Lickliter. Brad Stevens promoted Graves to associate head coach in 2010.

In March 2013 Graves was hired as the head basketball coach at the University of South Alabama.

Graves had no idea Stevens would leave for the NBA or anywhere else. Neither did Stevens - until July 2013, when the Boston Celtics made Stevens an offer he couldn't pass up.

There was no deal for Graves to succeed Stevens.

"There was never a guarantee,'' Graves said in a 2013 interview with ESPN's Andy Katz.

Besides, Stevens wasn't going anywhere, right?

But when the Boston Celtics come calling, how do you say no?

Graves remained committed to building his program at South Alabama.

"No,'' he said when asked if he would be interested and if he would consider taking the job should Butler officials call and offer him the job. "I'm excited to be a part of South Alabama.

It's a wonderful opportunity to be the head coach and to get my career started. I'm very thankful and appreciative of that and I look forward to the upcoming season.''

Graves' goal is to instill a culture at South Alabama similar to the formula that has been so successful at Butler the past two decades. The "Butler Way" embodies all the characteristics Hoosier basketball fans appreciate - fundamentals, teamwork, unselfishness and effort.

As Graves explained, "It's about establishing a culture. It's not about a recruiting quick fix. Establishing a program built on character and values is much more important to me than trying to figure out a quick way to win."

Upon accepting the South Alabama job, Graves stated he would attempt to instill a style of play similar to Butler's. He said to expect "very hard-nosed and tough" defensive play and "a defensive-oriented team."

Linton-Stockton forward Austin Karazsia was Graves' first South Alabama recruit.

Graves wanted to find a player or two who would understand the type of culture he was attempting to build at South Alabama.

"I was able to get involved with recruiting Austin through his high school coach Joey Hart and after speaking with Joey I believed Austin was a perfect fit," he said.

Matthew Graves' building project at South Alabama hasn't progressed as quickly as he's hoped. The Jaguars were 11-20 in Graves' first season and finished 12-21 last year. But with four starters returning, South Alabama could be positioned to compete for a Sun Belt Conference title this season.

Best of luck to our three area Division I coaches this year.

Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com.