Hokie Club
BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech softball coach Pete D'Amour announced the addition of Sami Fagan to the staff on Wednesday, taking on the role as coordinator of player development.
Fagan joins the Hokies after playing professionally in Japan for two years and in America for three years.
"Whenever a prospective student-athlete sits in front of a college coach during the recruiting process, one thing they will always hear is the importance of coaches 'developing players as people off the field," D'Amour said. "It's become so common that it's almost cliché. In my years of coaching, I haven't seen a player mature and develop as a person off the field more than Sami."
"Through an extraordinary work ethic, she became one of the most feared hitters in the country, learning how to swing away after her freshman year in college, after having been exclusively a slapper up until that point. I'm looking forward to having Sami in Blacksburg."
No stranger to high-level college softball, Fagan was an All-American at Missouri and graduated in spring 2016. The infielder earned All-SEC second-team honors twice (2015, '16) and was the fourth overall pick to the Akron Racers in the 2016 National Pro Fastpitch Draft. Her first year in the NPF she earned Rookie of the Year.
Following her graduation in Columbia, Fagan played in the NPF and Japan Women's Professional League. After her time in Akron, Ohio and Mooka, Tochigi, Japan in the summer of 2016, she also worked with the strength and conditioning staff of the Tigers' athletics department the fall of 2016.
"I played under Pete at the University of Missouri, so I know the knowledge he has and how great he is at developing his players on and off the field," Fagan said. "My goal is to learn as much as I can from him and the rest of the staff, and I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to be here."
Tech will begin its season on Feb. 8, taking on Wichita State and Central Michigan in Charleston, South Carolina at the Holy City Showdown, as College of Charleston plays host.