Melanie Davis - Softball Coach - Troy University Athletics

Melanie Davis

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
medavis@troy.edu
Phone:
3446

Entering her 21st season as head coach of the Troy softball program, Melanie Davis looks to add to her already impressive resume. Her accomplishments include over 800 career wins, 31 wins or more in 18 seasons at Troy and a winning season in 21 of her years of coaching.

Troy battled through several injuries in 2013 to win 21 games. The Trojans reached the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, defeating FIU before being eliminated by North Texas.

Three Trojans were honored by the Sun Belt Conference in 2013 for their performances on the field. Kacie McAllister took home first team honors, while Hannah Renn and Caitlin Ortiz earned second team accolades.

In 2012, Troy continued its success on the playing field and in the classroom as Davis led the Trojans to a 31-24 record; including wins over Auburn, Florida State and Louisiana-Lafayette, all who were ranked inside the top-25 when Troy defeated each team.

Davis, a 2012 Alabama ASA Hall of Fame Inductee, led the Trojans to a ranking of 28th in a midseason RPI report, after Troy defeated then #8 Louisiana-Lafayette.

In the classroom, Troy had the highest GPA among any team in the Sun Belt Conference in 2012, as well as receiving an award from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for the 7th-highest team GPA in the country.

Davis, already a member of the West Alabama Softball Hall of Fame and a member of the National Fastpitch Association’s 800 win club, is the all-time winningest coach at Troy. Her 758 wins are the most for any coach in Troy’s history in any sport. The record was formerly held by Chase Riddle who coached the Troy baseball team from 1979-1990.

With a desire to excel and a passion for winning, Davis has guided the Trojans to eight seasons of 40 wins or more, including a school-record 52 victories in 1995.

In 1993, Davis brought her winning attitude to the Troy staff as the head volleyball and softball coach. During her tenure as the volleyball coach, Davis led the Trojans to a 70-44 record, with back-to-back 20-win seasons in 1994 and 1995, placing Troy in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament in each of those seasons.

She gave up her volleyball duties in 1995 to focus on softball. She became Troy’s Senior Woman Administrator in 1998, a role she relinquished to former Troy softball great Sandy Atkins.

Davis has guided the Trojans to postseason conference tournaments each season since 1999. Her teams never finished lower than second in either the regular season or tournament in seven of their eight seasons in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2006, the Trojans have posted a 234-182 overall record, including a 82-76 mark in conference play. Those seven seasons are highlighted by a SBC Tournament Runner-Up finish in 2007 and again in 2010.

In addition to winning the A-Sun title in 2005, Davis’ team swept perennial national power Florida State, split a doubleheader with No. 17 Georgia Tech and ended the season ranked No. 27 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/USA Today Coaches Poll.

The Trojans 2004 season saw the Lady Trojans go 35-30 with a 15-5 record in the Atlantic Sun. Defeats of Penn State and Maryland highlighted the Trojans non-conference schedule. The Trojans had two four-game winning streaks and three three-game winning streaks. Troy also faced No. 3 Florida State, No. 22 Georgia Tech, and No. 23 Auburn during the season but fell short against each.

In 2003 the Trojans went 39-23 and 16-6 in Atlantic Sun play, capping the program’s 10th consecutive season with at least 30 victories. That season also saw the Trojans pick up wins over No. 3 Nebraska and No. 28 Southern Illinois. The victory over Nebraska on March 8 marked the highest ranked team to ever be toppled by the Trojans. The previous high was a win over No. 17 Florida State on April 30, 2001.

Also in the 2003 season, Davis notched her 400th win at Troy. The victory came against Florida A&M on March 18 when the Trojans defeated the Lady Rattlers, 2-1.

In 2002, Troy collected 46 victories, the most since 1999. In the process, the Trojans played 10 teams that advanced to the NCAA Regionals. Troy also recorded an 11-game winning streak to end the month of April, marking the second-longest winning streak in school history.

In 2001, Davis guided Troy to a 38-23 record and a 7-7 record in the A-Sun, which placed the Trojans as the sixth-seed at the A-Sun Championship. After falling in the first round to top-seeded Florida Atlantic, Troy won three consecutive games to advance to the championship round against FAU. The Owls claimed the victory, 1-0, to clinch their fourth straight A-Sun title.

Two years prior, in 1999, Troy finished the season with a 48-23 record and was seeded No. 2 in the tournament. The Trojans again fell to the Owls in the championship game.

In 1996, Troy made its first appearance in the NCAA Regionals, advancing from its Mid-Continent Conference championship and a win over Southeast Missouri at home in the NCAA play-in series. Troy finished the season with a 47-22-1 record after losing to South Florida and eventual national champion Arizona in Phoenix.

During the 1995 season, Davis guided the Trojans to a school-record 52-18 overall season record, 8-4 Mid-Con record, and an appearance in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament. During the second round of the tournament, the Trojans fell to eventual champion DePaul.

Davis came to Troy following a three-year stint at Bevill State Community College. While at Bevill, Davis was the head coach for women’s basketball, softball and volleyball. During her time there, Davis turned the softball squad around to a 26-13 record following a disappointing 8-32 season the year before her arrival.

Her 1991-92 softball team finished fourth in the Alabama Collegiate Conference state tournament with a 39-26 record.

Davis’ volleyball teams at Bevill State won three consecutive Alabama Junior College Athletic Association championships while posting a 92-19 overall record. She was named Alabama Junior College “Coach of the Year” each of her three years as well as Southeast Region “Coach of the Year” in 1990-91. Prior to Bevill State, Davis had a successful career as volleyball and basketball coach at Fayette Academy. As head coach from 1985-91, Davis led Fayette to the 1989 AISA state volleyball championship and the basketball team to a Final Four appearance.

Davis graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1984 with a degree in education. In 1985, she received her master’s in education from Alabama. She also finished her master’s level teaching endorsement in biological sciences at Alabama in 1991.

In 2010, Davis was inducted into the Wiregrass Hall of Fame. In 2012, she was inducted into the Alabama ASA Hall of Fame.

Davis currently resides in Troy with her Siberian Huskies, Montana and Dakota, and her two Siamese cats, Simba and Simone. She also has a stray chow mix that she has adopted, named Joe, and a labrador named Buddy. She is the daughter of Gene and LaVonne Davis of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.