DEMOREST, Ga. – Piedmont softball coach Terry Martin has announced the hiring of Mallory Parson as assistant softball coach following a year spent at Belhaven University as a graduate assistant pitching coach. Parson spent her own collegiate career within the state of Georgia spending a season at Georgia Military College before finishing her career and degree at Georgia State. 

Parson will be in charge of the pitching staff after spending four seasons as a pitcher herself at the junior college and NCAA Division I level. Parson has Division III coaching experience from her time at Belhaven giving her knowledge of the DIII rules and regulations. 

"I am excited about joining Piedmont's softball program and grateful for the opportunity," Parson said. "Coach Martin and Coach Winters have created a successful and hard-working program. I am looking forward to contributing and being a part of the success. North Georgia is where I grew up, so being able to come back here and coach is very special. I'm ready to get to work and looking forward to the upcoming season."

Parson was a member of the 2017 Georgia Military College team that was GCAA conference tournament champions and made an NJCAA World Series appearance and a top-10 finish. She had a 6-1 record with a 2.27 ERA for GMC and totaled 43 appearances with the GSU Panthers. She earned her first win as a Panther in her debut season with the team and earned 12 starts over her junior and senior seasons with the team. 

Coaching with the Belhaven Blazers in the spring 2021 season, Parson was part of the 2021 ASC coaching staff of the year and the Blazers were the 2021 regular season co-conference champions. The team also made its first NCAA postseason appearance in school history and earned its first NCAA postseason win. The team also was ranked as high as 7th in NCAA DIII. 

While with the Blazers, Parson's pitching staff posted the team's lowest ERA since 2016 (2.20 team ERA), had a pitcher receive 1st team All-American honors, seven ASC pitcher of the week awards and two national pitcher of the week awards during the 2021 season. 

"We're excited to be able to bring Mallory back to the local area and believe her Division I experience will be a great addition to our staff," Martin said. "Coaching at Belhaven, a nationally-ranked DIII program, strengthened her resume and made her a standout candidate and we can't wait to see her impact on our pitching staff after a successful 2021 campaign."

Outside of her collegiate coaching career, Parson has also served as a pitching instructor with D-Bat and Discovery Christian High School in Jackson, Mississippi, and served as an intern with Champions Fastpitch Academy in Marietta, Georgia. 

Parson earned a bachelors degree in business administration of finance from Georgia State University in 2020 and is pursuing an MBA with a concentration in Sports Administration from Belhaven University.