DeLand, Fla. – If, as the expression goes, “Home is where the heart is,” then Patricia Wilson Field is the perfect place for Shellie Robinson to be.
Robinson, a DeLand native, was named the seventh head coach in Stetson University softball history on Monday. The former NCAA All-American and National Pro Fastpitch star served the past two seasons as an assistant coach to Frank Griffin, who retired in May following a 25-year career with the Hatters.
Now one of the youngest head coaches in Division I, Robinson, 28, is ready to pour her passion and energy into leading her hometown team.
“The opportunity to lead the Stetson Softball program is truly a dream come true,” Robinson said. “DeLand is home for me, and the past two years have really shown that there is nowhere else I would rather be. The passion that I have for this team, this university and this community is unmatched. I am ready to get to work and hit the ground running.”
Stetson Associate Athletic Director Mike McKercher led the search to fill Stetson’s highly-coveted softball position.
“After an extensive national search, everything pointed to Shellie Robinson as the right person to be our next head softball coach,” McKercher said. “One thing she made clear from the beginning of the process is her passion and dedication to the Stetson softball program, its student-athletes and the DeLand community. The vision she has for the program and for the student-athlete experience was evident throughout the interview process, as was her eagerness to make the program successful on and off the field. I can’t wait for Shellie to get started, and I look forward to watching her teams consistently compete for ASUN championships.”
Robinson takes over a program steeped in tradition. Stetson’s Fastpitch dates back to 1985, when the Hatters played games at DeLand’s Johnson Park. The team moved to the Sperling Sports Complex in 1988 and eventually onto campus after Patricia Wilson Field was constructed in 2003. Read more here…
