OMAHA, Neb. – College of Saint Mary Assistant Softball Coach Chad Bray has been named the 2024 Easton/NFCA NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the winners Tuesday afternoon.
There are 195 colleges/universities that compete at the NAIA level in softball. A committee selected Bray after receiving numerous nominations for him from NAIA head coaches.
Bray has served as the CSM Assistant Softball Coach for four years after serving as a volunteer assistant for three years prior to that.
Bray took over interim head coaching duties on March 17, 2024, when Head Coach Carolyn Todd Bray suffered a severe head injury during a Flames game in the Spring Games Tournament in Clermont, Fla.
“I can’t even explain how Chad stepped up in the biggest way possible to help our student-athletes work through a very traumatic event,” Carolyn Todd Bray said. “Yes, he was there to actually coach on the field and fulfill the head coaching duties, but it was the other things that he did that showed why he deserves this award.”
When the Flames returned back to Omaha, Bray kept checking in with the student-athletes on a regular basis. He encouraged CSM administration to provide counseling for individuals and planned a team event with therapy dogs. He ran practices and coached games. He went the extra mile on a daily basis to make sure everyone was doing OK – all while also still performing his full-time teaching duties at Millard North High School and also being the primary caregiver for his injured wife.
“My injury couldn’t have happened at a worse time during our season,” Carolyn Todd Bray said. “But Chad was the saving grace – both for me and for our athletes. He got very little sleep and was running on fumes, but you wouldn’t have known it based on the effort he was giving.
“I will always be grateful for what he did this year and I know our athletes feel the same way.”
Other coaches garnering honors this year were Becca Carden (Boston University / DI), Kelsey Thompson (Augustana University / DII), Gabby Smart (DePauw University / DIII), Jessica Smith (McLennan Community College / NJCAA DI), Kevin Connell (Northeast Mississippi Community College / NJCAA DII), Al Falkowski (Corning Community College / NJCAA DIII), Jim Bollier (Mt. San Antonio College / Cal JC) and Cierra Woods (Clackamas Community College / NWAC).
The winners will be recognized on Dec. 7 during the NFCA Convention’s Awards Brunch in Dallas, Texas. The Flames are also planning a special recognition for him during a softball game this upcoming year.
