CLEVELAD STATE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: ASSISTANT SOFTBALL COACH HALEY CARROLL
The Cleveland State Aluimni Association recently posted an article on the Cleveland State main website spotlighting Cleveland State Assistant Softball Coach Haley Carroll. Carroll, a former Lady Cougar Basketball and oftball Player is a member of the Cleveland State Athletic Hall of Fame. Below is the article that is posted on the school's main site and also appeared in the Cleveland Banner.
When the Lady Cougar Softball team at Cleveland State Community College started playing this season, they welcomed home a fellow team member and alumna, Haley Carroll, as the assistant coach.
At McMinn County High School, Carroll was an All-District pitcher before signing with Cleveland State in 1997. Carroll said, "I had other offers, but I'm just a hometown girl. I wanted to be closer to home. I graduated high school at 17, and Cleveland State gave me the opportunity to grow and mature more."
After two years of playing at Cleveland State including a season on the women's basketball team, Carroll transferred to Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) to play softball. Graduating with a bachelor's degree in exercise science, Carroll taught at a special needs school for two years then worked in the foster care program at the Department of Children's Services for more than 15 years.
In 2018, Carroll was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and realized that her job was causing her too much stress. "During this time, I was still working with kids and doing softball camps and volunteer coaching," said Carroll. "A position opened here (at Cleveland State), and I got it. It was a Godsend; everything happens for a reason. My dad tells me all the time that I should have been coaching all along. In foster care, I was mentoring. I love mentoring and helping these young ladies, talking to them and being there for them."
After part-time coaching at the college for a year, Carroll took an assistant coaching job at TWU with the softball team full-time for two years then returned to Cleveland State in 2024.
"It was a hard decision to leave TWU. We had a great season, but I wanted to come back to Cleveland State when the position opened," said Carroll.
"We are excited to have Haley return as an assistant softball coach," said Mike Policastro, Director of Athletics. "As an alumna of Cleveland State and a standout softball player, she is instrumental working with Coach Jaecks in guiding the women's softball team through the season and assisting with camps and clinics. She is a positive person who is a role model for our women softball players."
A member of the Cleveland State Hall of Fame and the McMinn County High School Hall of Fame, Carroll wants to give back to her community and make a difference in the lives of the players.
"I think it is important for these kids to see that you can go to school and play ball. I tell them to 'believe in yourself. You have people believing in you, but you have got to believe in yourself. You've got to keep going and never give up.'"
To show their support for MS Awareness Month, the team surprised Carroll and came out with orange ribbons in their hair for a game in March. She said, "It really meant a lot to me, more than they know."
"I had so many great coaches and mentors. Looking back on that makes me see how important that is, and that's why I had success. I want to be that for these young people," said Carroll. "I loved it here; it was the best thing I ever did, honestly. The small school and small atmosphere, it's a family here. When I came back to coach, it was like coming home. I've come full circle."
