The 2014 season will be Fred Gillum’s second full year as an assistant softball coach with Piedmont College after a wildly successful first season with the green and gold in 2013. Also serving as the Head JV Coach for the Lady Lions, Gillum’s debut season saw Piedmont put up its winningest season as a NCAA Division III member with a 34-10 record that included the program’s third trip the NCAA postseason in four seasons.
The 2013 season for the Lady Lions was yet another stellar performance as the squad made the program’s third trip the NCAA National Tournament in the last four seasons care of a 34-10 overall record and an at-large selection in Piedmont’s first year as a member of the USA South Athletic conference. Making its debut in the league with the 2012-13 academic year, Lady Lion softball came to play earning a share of the conference regular season title with a 19-3 mark in league play after being picked to finish 4th in the preseason poll.
Though the 2013 season was one of great team success standing as the winningest season in program history, it was also a great season of individual success for Piedmont as the team boasted both the Rookie Pitcher and Player of the Year for the USA South as well. Six players were named All-Conference award winners including three on the first team and three on the second team with its award total tying the top number in that category amongst all USA South member institutions.
Over his collegiate coaching career which spans now 17 seasons, 14 of those seasons came as a head coach with Gillum recording more than 250 wins at the helm of a collegiate softball program. Also a veteran of the Southeast softball camp circuit with a myriad of experience from summer events, Gillum has served both on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee as well as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 Ranking Committee and also operated as a NCAA Representative for both Regional and Super Regional events.
Before coming to Piedmont, Gillum served six seasons as the Head Softball Coach at Tusculum College in Tennessee where he posted an 11-win improvement in just his first season with the Pioneers taking an 18-32-1 team from the year prior to his arrival to a 29 win season in 1997 which tied the school record at the time. His 2011 and 2012 teams would go on to break his own team’s season wins record with 32 in each of those seasons as both teams collected their fair share of big-time victories. In 2011, Tusculum defeated the nation’s #2 in the University of North Georgia as well as 4th ranked Alabama-Huntsville and 13th ranked Cal PA while the 2012 team followed up that showing with a win over #23 Columbus State.
In his half dozen seasons at the helm of Tusculum Softball, Gillum mentored a trio of All-SAC (South Atlantic Conference) second team as well as first team selections including one National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region performer. Perhaps more impressive is Gillum’s team in the classroom as his Pioneers raised their team GPA from a 2.9 to better than a 3.3 in his time with 22 of 23 seniors with no remaining eligibility obtaining their degrees under his leadership. At Tusculum, Gillum earned his reputation as one of the region’s best recruiters brining in an average of 20 players from ten different states as well as Canada.
Gillum’s success as a head coach in the collegiate ranks was not limited to his time at Tusculum as he became the all-time wins leader with 73 victories in just his first three seasons at Mars Hill College, another NCAA Division II program. Leading the Lions from 2001 to 2005, Gillum’s squads at Mars Hill set program single season win records three times in his four years while individual players rewrote the school’s record book as well.
Two of Gillum’s Lions at Mars Hill were awarded first team All-Conference honors while three others were named to the second team as the coach again turned out a double-digit win improvement in his first season at the helm of a collegiate program. In 2005, his final season as the school’s Head Softball Coach, Gillum led his team to 25 wins including victories over a pair of nationally ranked opponents in #22 USC Upstate and #25 Wingate University.
During the time between his five-year stay at Mars Hill and his six-year tenure at Tusculum, Gillum gained a year of experience at the NCAA Division I level serving as an assistant softball coach at Stephen F. Austin State University where he helped the program to win improvements both overall and in conference play. Gillum served as the recruiting coordinator during his time with the Texas school assisting with administrative tasks and the day-to-day operation of a NCAA Division I softball program collecting invaluable experience.
From 1999 to 2001, Gillum was the Head Softball Coach at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro leading the program to its single highest win total in a six-year period. Taking over a 3-win team upon his arrival, Gillum demonstrated his knack for turning around college programs once more by tallying 12 wins in his debut year with the Division II school.
Gillum’s coaching career started with a head coaching stint at Sue Bennett College in London, Kentucky where he took over a winless team from the 1995 season that had just one true pitcher returning to the 1996 roster. In that ’96 season, Gillum’s squad picked up a half dozen wins before building further to the 1997 season when the team finished with 17 wins including a regular season victory over Brescia, the only loss suffered by the eventual conference regular season and tournament champion that year.
For his efforts with Sue Bennett, Gillum was named the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) Coach of the Year for the 1997 season which would be his second and final season with the team. Gillum also mentored a pair of All-KIAC selections that season for the NAIA member school, the first such honorees of a long and decorated career for the softball veteran.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Gillum also works with several softball camps throughout the Southeast including his time as an instructor with the Blue-Chip Fastpitch Showcase as well as Carolina’s Blue-Chip Camp and camps with Shorter University, North Georgia University, and Wingate University. Also on his resume is camp work at several Division I softball programs including the University of Tennessee, Coastal Carolina, Kennesaw State University, USC Upstate, and Tennessee Tech.
Gillum graduated from Cumberland College in Kentucky during the spring of 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in English as well as a minor in Physical Education. Gillum assists Piedmont Head Coach Terry Martin with all aspects of the softball program with his main responsibility being total oversight of the school's new junior varsity team.
