Christopher Newport University Women's Softball

Keith Parr has led the Christopher Newport University softball program since 2003, and has guided the Captains through an amazing 22-year era in the program’s history. Christopher Newport has developed into one of the elite softball programs in all of Division III with Parr at the helm, and the Captains won their first NCAA National Championship in 2022. Following the remarkable 47-1 season, Parr was voted the National Coach of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Heading into the 2026 season, Parr has compiled a career record of 736-215-1 for a winning percentage of .774. Parr ranks seventh among active coaches at the Division III level, and tenth in the history of DIII collegiate softball in winning percentage. The Captains have advanced to 18 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Parr's leadership, and his squads have reached the National Finals four times (2010, 2011, 2022, and 2023).  Last year, the Captains registered a final record of 37-6 and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final at Captains Park. His CNU squad in 2024 concluded the year with a mark of 34-7, and advanced to the Super Regional round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Parr's CNU squad returned to the National Finals in 2023, and finished with a 31-13 final record and an eighth-place ranking in the final poll from the NFCA.  Parr recorded his 700th career victory when the Captains defeated Rowan in the opening game of a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional on May 23, 2024, in Glassboro, N.J. He reached the 600 career victory mark during the storybook 2022 season. CNU captured the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference crown to advance to the tourney, then won ten straight NCAA tournament games, including two over Trine in the finals, for the national title. Parr was selected the Coach of the Year in the C2C, as well as National Coach of the Year in 2022. The Captains were ranked the top team in the nation for the last nine rankings of the season by the NFCA.   The 2021 CNU squad received an at large bid to the tourney, falling in Texas in regional play to end the year at 28-14. Parr’s Captains were 12-1 in 2020 prior to the cancellation of the remainder of the season due to CoVID. Christopher Newport was ranked third in the nation by the NFCA when the season was halted.   CNU gained its first-ever #1 ranking during the 2019 season, as the Captains were picked as the top team in the nation in back-to-back weeks by the NFCA. Christopher Newport recorded a record of 37-9 and advanced to the Super Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament, ending the year as the 15th-ranked squad in the country.   It didn’t take long for Parr to make a splash after taking over the program from Paul Weiss, whom he had assisted for several years. In his first year as head coach of the Christopher Newport program in 2004, Parr directed his team to a 36-7 record, the best in school history at the time. The Captains were ranked in the Top-25 nationally for most of the year, reaching as high as sixth in the poll. CNU cruised to the USA South regular season championship with a 15-1 record. For his efforts, he was named conference Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm. He also received the same honor from the Virginia Sports Information Directors for Divisions II and III in Virginia.   Along with the outstanding record, Parr has also been instrumental in the development of 15 All-Americans. Jamie Martin and Candace Slaw both received All-American status following the 2025 season, the second All-America honor for Martin, who also was honored as Academic All-American. Kaitlyn Hasty was selected All-American three times during her illustrious career, and was also honored as the National Rookie of the Year in 2019. She became the first three-time All-American in CNU softball history in 2022, and was selected the first National Player of the Year in program history. Patty Maye Ohanian was named All-American by the NFCA following the 2018 season, becoming the first CNU freshman student-athlete in any sport to receive first-team All-American honors. Ohanian again was selected All-American following the 2019 season.   In 2004, Dallas Slosjarik was named All-America, marking the first time CNU softball had a first-team pick. Jamie Martin (2022), Caitlin Abernethy (2022), Rachael Payne (2017), Scoop Simon (2016), and Sabrina Hill (2015) are other recent All-American selections under Coach Parr, joining Lauren Batson, Katie Moyers, Taylor Morgan, Jessie Atkinson, Jennifer Falin and Chelsea Mitchell.   For his efforts, Parr was named the USA South Coach of the Year four times (2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011),  the Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year twice (2015 and 2018), and the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2022. He has also received statewide recognition from VaSID (Virginia Sports Information Directors), which has named him Division II-III Coach of the Year in 2004, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2022.   Parr graduated in 1999 from Christopher Newport with a degree in Recreation, Sports, and Wellness Management. He assisted former head coach Paul Weiss for four years from 2000-03, a span that saw the Captains go 131-38-2 for a winning percentage of .772, at the time the most successful four-year stretch in CNU softball history.   At CNU, he played four years of baseball for head coach Curt Long. During his senior year, Parr had a 2.66 earned run average, leading the team in that category. He recorded five wins in 12 appearances, including five starts. Opponents hit just .217 off him that year as well.   Parr was instrumental in organizing and founding a successful team in the Tidewater Collegiate Summer Baseball League in which he was a player/coach for three years. Parr also was involved as an instructor for numerous collegiate baseball and softball camps. He also worked for the Virginia Roadsters of the Women’s Professional Softball League in the summer of 1999.   CNU softball is definitely a family affair for him. He is married to former CNU softball player Joy Davison. They have a son, Drew, a CNU graduate, and a daughter, Jordan.

Daulton Teaford joined Christopher Newport as the head coach of the track & field and cross country program overseeing sprints, hurdles, and jumps in the summer of 2023.    Teaford returns to Christopher Newport after beginning his coaching career with the Captains nearly eight years ago. Starting in the fall of 2015, he spent two separate stints working with the sprinters in Newport News while also serving as an assistant in the strength & conditioning department. During his initial tenure with the program, he helped the track & field teams claim 10 league championships while serving as a member of the 2020 Capital Athletic Conference Men's Indoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year.   In addition to his early years with the Captains, Teaford also spent time in 2018 completing a prestigious internship with ALTIS, a world-renowned organization focused on elite training and sports performance.   After leaving Newport News in 2020, Teaford was the head track & field coach for two years at Corvuss American Academy in India. During his time at the international boarding school, he also worked as the strength & conditioning coach.   Since returning to the United States in the summer of 2022, Teaford has been an assistant sports performance coach at the University of Vermont. With the Catamounts, he was responsible for designing and implementing training programs for the track & field teams as well as women's soccer and swimming & diving.   Along with his professional endeavors, Teaford was a decorated sprinter during his time at Christopher Newport. In his four years with the Captains, he earned two All-American citations and won five conference titles. He was also a three-time national qualifier, including a pair of bids in the outdoor 200.   Making his mark on the national stage, Teaford placed fourth at the 2015 NCAA Championships in the 200 after coming in fifth in the event two years earlier. He set a PR of 21.26 during the 2013 nationals, which still ranks as the third-fastest clocking in program history. Additionally, he remains in the school's top-10 all-time in the indoor 60, 200, 400, and heptathlon as well as the outdoor 100 and 400.   Teaford graduated from Christopher Newport with a degree in organismal biology in 2015. He later spent a year volunteering with the Peace Corps in Malawi, Africa.

Christopher Newport University Head Coach Keith Parr  announced the hiring of Morgan Smith as Assistant Softball Coach in July of 2024. Smith, the former Head Softball Coach at Richard Bland College of William & Mary, was a first team All-American and four-year starter while at Rowan University. Originally from Millsboro, Delaware, Smith graduated from Rowan in 2018, and was a key part of four NCAA Tournament teams with the Profs.   Smith became the fourth Head Coach in Richard Bland softball history, and led the program for three seasons. Her teams there advanced to two appearances in the Region 10/South Atlantic District Tournament. Previously, she began her coaching career as an assistant at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, and then spent a season as a graduate assistant and recruiting coordinator at Eastern Mennonite University before taking over at Richard Bland. When Smith's outstanding playing career at Rowan concluded, she was the all-time leader in career doubles (61) and walks (89), and she holds single-season records for doubles (22) and runs batted in (62). Smith finished her career with a .389 batting average, and helped lead Rowan to the NCAA Division III Tournament in each of her four seasons. In two of those seasons, the Profs advanced to the National Championship Series. In addition to her All-America status, Smith was an NFCA All-Region selection all four years, and was also voted to All-Regional teams four times. While at Rowan, Smith earned the Joy Solomen Leadership Award and was named to the Schutt Sports/NFCA Player of the Year watch list. Smith earned her Bachelor of Science in General Studies at Rowan with a minor in Education. She earned a Master's in Organizational Leadership from Eastern Mennonite.

Savannah Couch, who played for two seasons for the Captains and Head Coach Keith Parr as a student-athlete, continues to be a key part of Parr's staff as Assistant Softball Coach. A native of Colonial Heights, Va., Couch played for the Captains in 2017 and 2018, and helped lead the squad to back-to-back conference titles. She was named second team all-conference in the Capital Athletic Conference following her senior season. Couch transferred to Christopher Newport from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN., where she played her first two seasons.   Couch started all 47 games as a senior in 2018 with the Captains, hitting .268 with 31 runs scored and 30 hits as the squad recorded a 37-10 overall record and a 13-1 mark in the Capital Athletic Conference, and also captured a conference championship. She saw action in a dozen games in her junior campaign in 2017, starting four times and posting a .278 average on a 34-10 team that also went 13-1 in league play en route to the NCAA Tournament. Couch graduated from Christopher Newport in December of 2018 with a bachelor of arts degree in communications, and is currently working on her master of science degree in athletic leadership. She has seven years of travel softball coaching experience in the Richmond area, and spent two years as the softball graduate assistant coach at Castleton University in Vermont before accepting the position on the Captains staff.

Tessa Trate enters her second season as a member of the CNU coaching staff in 2025-26. Trate was a record-setting member of the Captains from 2020-24.  After helping lift the Captains to the first C2C Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in program history as a player, Trate joined the staff in 2024 and promptly helped lead CNU women's tennis to a second straight conference crown. Trate helped lift Christopher Newport to a 13-win season, tying for the most wins in a season under head coach David Weiner, including a 4-1 win over UC Santa Cruz in the conference championship. Trate helped coach a pair of CNU players to NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship appearances. During the season, the Captains collected the highest national ranking in program history, at No. 14, while CNU also set new standards in  the singles and doubles national rankings. Raine Weis was ranked No. 14 in singles while Weis and Kylie Schaefer were ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation.  As a player, the Boone, N.C. native helped establish the Captains as a regional power and national threat. She was named the 2021 ITA Region Rookie of the Year, becoming just the third player in CNU history to garner the recognition. That year, she played with Amanda Yermal and earned Conference Doubles Team of the Year honors. She repeated that honor in her senior year when she paired with Raine Weis for one of the most impressive doubles campaigns in program history.   Trate made history for the Captains as the first ever four-time first team All-Conference selection in both singles and doubles. She also garnered All-State recognition seven times (three singles, four doubles) and, with Weis in 2022, was part of the first partnership to qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championships. She qualified for nationals twice, repeating the selection in 2024, and also qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship in her senior year.  Not just a dominant player, Trate was also named the C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2024 and was a first team Academic All-District selection in 2023. She earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors and was a Virginia Sports Information Directors Academic All-State pick.  Trate graduated with a degree in Psychology in 2024.