Courtesy of Mercer Athletics
MACON, Ga. – After leading the Mercer softball program to a breakout 37-win season and a trip to the Atlantic Sun Conference finals, head coach James DeFeo was rewarded with a three-year contract extension as announced by Director of Athletics Jim Cole on Monday.
DeFeo, who owns an 85-76 overall record in three seasons with Mercer, is now solidified as the leader of the team through the 2017-18 academic year.
“This extension reflects the level of confidence we have with James as head of our softball program,” Cole said. “Each season he’s improved his product and we look forward to many years of success in the future.”
DeFeo’s most recent campaign rewrote the Mercer record books, setting new standards for wins in the 56-game era (37), conference wins (16), runs scored (302), hits (424), doubles (74) home runs (56), RBI (275), total bases (678) and slugging percentage (.462).
The 2014 squad became just the second team in program history to advance to the A-Sun Tournament final and finished the year ranked No. 42 in the NCAA Division I RPI.
DeFeo’s tutelage also saw MacKenzie Woody earn A-Sun Batting Champion titles in back-to-back seasons and Sarah Santana earn the league’s Scholar Athlete of the Year award in 2013.
“The Mercer University athletics program has grown immensely and achieved so many great things in my short time here in Macon,” DeFeo said. “This success is a direct result of the support that President Underwood, Jim Cole, Sybil Blalock and the entire athletic department gives us. My staff and I are excited about the direction that our softball program is going and we are looking forward to competing in the Southern Conference in the years to come. It’s definitely a great time to be a Bear.”
Mercer is set to return 14 players in 2015, including seven starting position players. Among returners are sophomores Taylor Miller, Kirsten Stevens and Caroline Taylor, who all earned Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team recognition a year ago.
