Tennessee softball pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith promoted to associate head coach
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Tennessee softball pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith was promoted to associate head coach, Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly announced June 10.
Rhodes Smith will continue to lead Tennessee's pitching staff as associate head coach. She has spent six seasons as an assistant on Weekly's staff after playing at Tennessee from 2005-08.
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"Megan is most deserving of this promotion," Weekly said in a school release. "In just six seasons, she has made an incredible impact on our program and specifically our pitching staff. The honors and numbers tell the story on the field – Tennessee pitchers get better every year under Megan's tutelage. Her contribution extends far beyond the bullpen, however, as she has been instrumental in developing our players' mental game skills.
"She is passionate about developing young women into courageous leaders. Our overall success is due in large part to the way she invests in each of our student-athletes as people first."
Tennessee has had one of the best pitching staffs in the nation the last several seasons. The Lady Vols led the nation in ERA in both the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and the pitching staff has consistently ranked in the top five in hits allowed, shutouts, strikeouts per seven innings and WHIP under Rhodes Smith.
Tennessee pitchers have combined for 13 no-hitters and four perfect games under Rhodes Smith, who was instrumental in the development of two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year Karlyn Pickens.
"I am honored to continue to represent this program and am committed to continuing to strive for greatness each year," Rhodes Smith said in a school release. "I am proud of the Lady Vol tradition of excellence and look forward to continue giving back to the next generation of Lady Vol softball players."
Rhodes Smith managed one of the deepest and most versatile pitching staffs Tennessee has ever had in 2026, and Pickens, Sage Mardjetko and Erin Nuwer all won at least 15 games. Mardjetko also earned NFCA first-team All-America honors for the first time in her career, while Pickens was named to the first team for the third time of her career in 2026.
Rhodes Smith also helped produce two first-team All-Americans in 2024 with Pickens and Payton Gottshall, and Ashley Rogers became the first player in program history to earn NFCA Pitcher of the Year honors in 2023.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee softball promotes pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith