In her second season at Kennesaw State, Marshall helped lead the Owls to a groundbreaking year where KSU secured its first ever NCAA Division I Regional win after defeating Auburn 1-0 in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
The Owls went 27-27 overall and 10-5 in ASUN conference play. The Owls faced seven Power Five schools including Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Auburn. Recording upsets over the Yellow Jackets, Tigers and Knights.
KSU earned an at-large bid into the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament where they were seeded No. 4 in the Tallahassee Regional. The Owls entered NCAA regional play with a 56 RPI and the No. 29 strength of schedule according to D1Softball.
As a team, KSU finished the season ranked first in the conference in triples (11), second in hits (359), doubles (64), RBIs (188) and slugging percentage (.409) while ranking third in runs (198) and shutouts (8).
In her first season, helped guide KSU to a historic start before the season was shortened by the NCAA due to COVID-19. The Owls raced out to a 21-4 record before ASUN Conference play, highlighted by wins at a Top-25 Auburn squad, Iowa State, Penn State, and a 13-1 home record.
The Owls dominated at the plate and in the circle. The team’s .350 average ranked seventh nationally. The Owls were sixth in the country with 47 doubles, and eighth with 12 triples. KSU carried a .419 on-base percentage that was 14th best in the country, and ranked 18th with an average of 6.64 runs per-game.
Meanwhile, KSU was top-50 with five shutouts, a 1.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 63rd with a 2.65 ERA. The Owls paced the ASUN with a .964 fielding percentage.
Individually, three times an Owl earned ASUN Player of the Week honors with Katie Greep claiming a pair and freshman Cheyanne Sales earning the season’s first.
Seven Owls hit above .324, including four above the .400 mark. Brea Dickey was sixth in the NCAA with 49 hits, and eighth with four triples. Freshman Melanie Bennett was off to a heralded start to her career with a 1.85 ERA, 8-2 record, and two saves with seven complete games.
The Owls suffered just one loss in the Troy Invitational, I-75 Challenge, and Colorado State Classic. They swept the Phyllis Rafter and Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournaments. The victory at Auburn was the first home-opening loss in Tiger history. KSU also downed NCAA Tournament regulars Colorado State, Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Illinois.
Prior to joining the Kennesaw State Coaching staff, Amanda Marshall served as assistant coach at Emory University from August 2017 through June 2019. While at Emory, Marshall was head coach and program mentor at the Georgia Fire 2017 to July 2019. Before Emory, she served as the head coach of the Georgia Mustangs Softball from 2015 through 2017.
While Coaching at Emory (2017-2019), Emory softball was rated with the highest strength of schedule in the NCAA Division 3 in 2018 and 2019. The Eagles won the UAA Conference both years, and in 2019 Emory finished 2nd in the NCAA Division 3 National Championships. During the summer of 2018, Marshall was appointed Emory Interim Coach during their formal national head coach search and through the transition process. While at Emory, Amanda’s duties included recruiting, working with catchers, outfielders and on hitting.
As a player, Marshall played at Nicholls State University as catcher and outfielder. She was a member of the Great Britain National Softball Program and Roster Pool from 2011 through 2014, playing in the 2013 Junior Women’s World Softball Championships, competing against national programs including Team USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia, China and Taiwan.
Amanda graduated from Milton High School in 2012 and was a four-year varsity starter and letter winner as a catcher, corner and outfielder. She played travel ball for the Georgia Fire 18 Gold in 2010 and the Georgia Impact 18 Gold 2010 - 2012, playing in the 2011 ASA 18 Gold Nationals. Amanda also played with the renowned Wilson Select 23U team in 2013 & 2014.
Amanda has guest coached at a number of softball development camps around the US, served as the Varsity Community Coach at Milton High School (GHSA Region 5-AAAAAAA) 2017 & 2018, and is a National FastPitch Coaches Association (“NFCA”) Three-Star Master Certified Coach.
