Furman University Women's Softball

Mary Beth Dennison was tabbed as the 11th head coach in the history of the Furman softball program in June of 2025 following a four-year stint as pitching coach at Georgia Southern.   “We are thrilled to welcome Mary Beth Dennison to the Paladin family as our head softball coach,” said Jason Donnelly, Furman's vice president for intercollegiate athletics. “Mary Beth distinguished herself amongst a talented pool of candidates and brings a depth of experience, passion for the game, and a demonstrated history of success. She is a teacher, a developer of talent, and has a plan to win. We are excited to have Mary Beth and her family join Furman athletics, and we look forward to supporting her vision for the program in the years ahead.”   Under Dennison’s leadership, Georgia Southern improved from a combined 30-68 mark over her first two seasons in Statesboro, Ga., to 30-21 in 2024 and 29-25 this past season. The 2025 Eagles posted the school’s first winning record in Sun Belt Conference play (13-11) since 2016 while Dennison’s pitching staff paced the SBC and ranked 14th nationally with a 2.50 ERA. The Georgia Southern staff also led the league in opponent’s batting average (.238) while ranking second in WHIP (1.22), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.85), and fourth in shutouts (8), including a 2-0 victory over No. 22 Michigan.   “I am honored by the opportunity to be Furman University's head softball coach,” said Dennison, at the time of her hiring. “Thank you to Jason Donnelly and his executive staff for entrusting me to lead the program. I believe in the vision of the university and athletic department and the opportunity for success at Furman. I look forward to serving the student-athletes in this role and building this program into a consistent Southern Conference contender.”   Dennison arrived in Statesboro after serving as a volunteer assistant at the University of Michigan under legendary head coach Carol Hutchins, the winningest coach in NCAA Division I softball history. While in Ann Arbor, Mich., during the 2019-21 seasons, she helped the Wolverines to NCAA berths in both years postseason play was held, including hosting an NCAA regional in 2019. The Wolverines compiled a 98-29 mark over the three-year stretch. Dennison and the Wolverine coaches were named the 2021 Great Lakes Region Staff of the Year after capturing the school’s second Big Ten regular season championship in three years.   Prior to her stint a Michigan, Dennison served as an assistant coach for two seasons at Georgia College, helping the Bobcats to a 36-15 record, a second-place finish in the Peach Belt Conference, and an NCAA Division II postseason berth in 2018. She also spent three seasons at East Georgia State, including one year as head coach and two as an assistant coach.    Dennison played her collegiate softball at Middle Georgia College before transferring to Georgia Southern to finish her bachelor's degree in sports management in 2011. She added a master's degree in higher education administration from Georgia Southern in 2014. She and her husband, Steven, have three children: Averi, Anna Beckett, and Brock.   WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT DENNISON…   “Congratulations to Furman athletics for bringing Mary Beth Dennison home to be your next head coach. Mary Beth has tremendous experience at all levels and is the right person for Furman softball.  Mary Beth is truly a people-first coach, who will utilize her skills sets to get the best out of each individual year after year. She will thrive in the tradition of great academics that Furman has to offer, and her competitive nature will help bring Furman to a national stage. I am thrilled to see Mary Beth in this leadership role. She will be a tremendous leader, coach, mentor, and representative of the entire university!”   Carol Hutchins Former Head Coach University of Michigan     “I’m excited for this opportunity for Mary Beth and her family. She brings hard work, passion, knowledge, and the ability to build great relationships. “   Sharon Perkins Head Coach Georgia Southern University     “Mary Beth is a great coach but an even better person. We have competed against one another for the past 10 years. She is an ultimate competitor who gets the most out of her athletes and she does it the right way! I have no doubt that she will lead the program to great success. A great hire by the Furman athletics department.”    Ryker Chason Pitching Coach Auburn University  

Four-time NFCA All-American and 2023 USA Collegiate Player of the Year Valerie Cagle joined the Furman softball staff as an assistant coach in August of 2025.   Cagle rose to national prominence leading Clemson to 189 victories, the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title, and three consecutive NCAA regional appearances during her five-year collegiate career from 2020-24. An original member of the Clemson softball program, she captured first team NFCA All-America honors in 2022, ’23, and ’24 after earning second team honors in 2021.    “The addition of Valerie to our staff immediately elevates the competitiveness of this program,” said Dennison. “She has a wealth of knowledge and playing experience at multiple positions that will enable her to contribute in a variety of ways to our student-athletes.”   After pacing the Tigers to a 19-8 mark during the program’s inaugural, COVID-19 shortened season in 2020, Cagle became the first player in ACC history to garner player of the year and freshman of the year honors in the same season. She batted .404 with 17 home runs while fashioning a 28-7 record and 1.16 ERA in the circle to power Clemson to a 44-8 record, 29-5 league mark, the program’s first ACC regular season championship, and an NCAA regional berth.   In 2022, Cagle paced the Tigers to a 42-17 mark and the school’s first NCAA regional title and appearance in the super regionals. The left-handed hitter batted .308, clubbed 13 homers and registered 16 wins in the circle to secure first team NFCA All-American accolades.   The versatile Cagle notched her second consecutive first team All-American citation the following season when she blistered opposing pitching with a .469 batting average, 15 doubles, 19 homers, and 57 RBI. In the circle, she went 25-8 with a 1.56 ERA as Clemson posted a 49-12 record, won its second straight NCAA regional and reached the super regionals for the second consecutive season. The ACC Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons, Cagle was named USA Softball and D1 Softball National Player of the Year while also being named ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year.   The two-way superstar capped her collegiate career in 2024 by hitting .338 with seven homers, and 42 RBI en route to earning her third straight NFCA All-America First Team nod. Clemson won 35 games and once again reached the NCAA regionals.   A native of Yorktown, Va., the Clemson graduate finished her collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in games played (243), games started (243), batting average (.379), at bats (759), hits (288), doubles (49), home runs (66), RBI (224), slugging percentage (.721), on-base percentage (.457), walks (101), total bases (547), appearances in the circle (153), starts in the circle (114), victories (86), innings pitched (756.1), lowest opponent batting average (.204), strikeouts (819), complete games (79), saves (14) and solo shutouts (28)   Cagle was selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 AUSL Draft and played over 250 games in the league before playing professionally in the Netherlands. She has appeared with the United States National Team at the junior and senior levels. In 2001, she helped the USA claim gold at the Junior Women’s World Championship and Junior Pan American Games by posting a 0.00 ERA and batting average over .500 in both tournaments. Cagle was also selected to represent her country at the senior level for the 2023 and 2024 Japan All-Star Series.  

Kristina Burkhardt joined the Furman softball program as an assistant coach in July of 2025.   Burkhardt arrived in Greenville after serving the previous two seasons as an assistant at Illinois State University. She helped guide the Redbirds to consecutive 16-11 records in Missouri Valley Conference play and back-to-back trips to the MVC Tournament semifinals. Burkhardt helped coach three Redbirds to All-MVC honors in 2025 while Illinois State rank second in the MVC with a .967 fielding percentage.   “I’m excited for the addition of Kristina Burkhardt to our staff,”, said Dennison, who was hired as the Paladins’ head coach in June. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will impact the program immediately.”   Burkhardt began her playing career at the University of North Carolina, garnering first team All-ACC honors in 2019 and second team honors in 2021 while patrolling the Tar Heels outfield. Academically, she earned undergraduate degrees in both sport administration and communication studies in Chapel Hill, N.C.   Prior to the 2022 season, Burkhardt transferred to the University of Michigan, adding Big Ten All Defensive Team and NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team accolades to her resume. She also earned the prestigious honor of being one of only nine inaugural winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award as a right fielder. Burkhardt is a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., with various ties to the athletics community, including sisters who played softball and volleyball in college, respectively. Her older sister played softball at Purdue University (2012-2015) and continued to play professionally for the Dallas Charge, while her younger sister played volleyball for Old Dominion University (2019-2022) and UAB.   In addition to her years as a coach, Burkhardt has gained experienced in operations and creative marketing from her time at Ashley Burkhardt Training, LLC where she implemented brand image helping to increase social media interaction. She was also a skills instructor for the company, providing training to athletes at camps and clinics across the country. Burkhardt recently earned her master's degree in sports management at Illinois State.