Lisa Navas Not Returning In 2022
Navas spent past eight seasons as associate head coach for the Gamecocks
COLUMBIA, S.C. —- South Carolina softball associate head coach Lisa Navas will not be returning for the 2022 season. Although Navas will not be back with the program, her eight seasons in Columbia were highlighted with success thanks in part to her contributions on and off the field.
“I am grateful to Coach Navas for her contributions to the Gamecock softball program,” head coach Beverly Smith said. “We reached many milestones in her tenure. Coaching provides the opportunity to positively impact young lives and Coach Navas has done that her entire career.”
In 2018, with the help of Navas, Carolina reached the SEC Tournament Championship game for the first time since 2001 and its second-ever super regional. Navas helped the 2018 Gamecocks to one of the program’s best defensive years in program history, dropping several school records on their way to a program-best .979 fielding percentage.
The .979 fielding percentage was good enough for second-best in the conference while the 31 double plays turned were the most in the SEC this season, a school best and the fifth-most for a conference school in SEC history. The 38 team errors were the fewest for the Gamecocks in a season since 1982 and the second fewest ever.
Since her arrival prior to the 2013 season, the Gamecocks have improved their fielding percentage from the previous year five times and turned 22 or more double plays in all but two seasons. Behind the plate, Carolina catchers have thrown out 10 or more runners attempting to steal a base five times with her help.
At the start of her South Carolina career, the 2013 Gamecocks garnered their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in six years, going 34-25 on the year. Carolina set six team offensive records on the season, while the defense improved its fielding percentage from the year before.
