Gardner-Webb University Women's Softball

Gardner-Webb University introduced Bailey Wigness as its new softball head coach on May 28, 2021.   Wigness previously served as head coach at USC Beaufort for three seasons.   “Bailey Wigness is a proven winner,” praised Gardner-Webb President Dr. William Downs.  “As a player, she’s won a National Championship.  As a coach, she’s turned programs around, had 40-win seasons, and won conference titles.  She’s exactly what we need right now to energize GWU softball and power us to greatness.”   Wigness’ success as a head coach came quickly. She won 78 games in just three seasons in charge at USC Beaufort, leading the Sand Sharks to a 40-13 record, conference tournament title and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament in her first season.   That team started the season with a 19-0 record and lost only twice at home all season, showcasing the strengths of Wigness’ teams – good pitching and team speed. The Sand Sharks forged a 2.43 ERA on the season and swiped 73 bags in 53 games.   In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Wigness led her team to 13 wins with a 2.54 team ERA and 29 steals. In 2021, the Sand Sharks won 25 games, posted a stellar 2.21 team ERA and stole 40 bases.   “We had a strong candidate pool and Bailey quickly separated herself from the rest as she shared her vision for our softball student-athletes and the Gardner-Webb program,” said Vice President for Athletics Chuck Burch. “She has won at all levels, as a student-athlete, as an assistant coach and most recently as a head coach. I am confident Bailey has developed the skills necessary to lead our softball program to compete for Big South Conference championships.”   Prior to taking over as head coach at USC Beaufort, Wigness served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Boise State University. In 2018, she was part of a staff that delivered a school-record 40 wins, the first conference title in program history and the Broncos’ first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. During her time in Boise, Wigness helped develop an offense that twice produced top-10 national team batting averages.   She was an assistant coach at Arizona Christian University for one season, and made a tremendous impact on that program in 2015. The program saw a 20-win improvement from the previous season – winning 31 games. That marked the biggest turnaround in the NAIA nationally that season.   “I am thrilled to be joining the Gardner-Webb family and excited for the opportunity to lead the softball program,” said Wigness. “It truly is a great place with so much potential and I felt at home the moment I stepped onto campus. I want to thank Dr. William Downs, Chuck Burch and the rest of the search committee for this incredible opportunity. I can’t wait to begin working with our student-athletes and developing a culture that sets them up for success on and off the field.”   Wigness played at national power Arizona State University, three times earning All-Pac 12 honors and leading the Sun Devils to the 2011 National Championship. She finished her career with a spectacular .371 batting average, stole 40 bases and scored 130 runs.   She was also a three-time Capital One Academic All-America selection in Division I and a member of the Pac-12 All-Academic first team with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She earned the NCAA’s Elite 89 Award in 2013, which is given annually to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA who is also competing in their respective sport’s championship event. Wigness remains ranked among the program's all-time leaders in career batting average (8th) and stolen bases (11th).   The Casa Grande, Ariz., native graduated from Arizona State with a degree in communications and political science. She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership in 2018 from Boise State.

Sylvia Kirk will join the Gardner-Webb softball coaching staff as the program's assistant and pitching coach for the 2026 season Kirk joins the Runnin' Bulldogs following her most recent stint at the University of West Georgia, where she spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons as both a graduate assistant and a pitching coach. Kirk helped to set up the Wolves program for its first Division I season this past spring, coaching a pair of Gulf South Conference Honorable Mention pitchers across the Wolves final seasons in Division II.  Prior to arriving at West Georgia, Kirk spent time on staff at both Polk State College and at Webber International University. While serving as both an assistant and pitching coach Polk State, Kirk coach a trio of All-Conference selections, as the program improved its overall win total between 2022, Kirk's first year, and her second season in 2023.  While serving as the program's pitching coach at Webber International in 2021 and 2022, Kirk helped lead the team to an NAIA World Series appearance, as well as Regional and Sun Conference Championships. Kirk helped ignite the Weber International pitching staff during her time with the program into one of the nation's best, as the Warriors finished with 15 shutouts for the season and a team 1.86 earned run average. Kirk coached not only the Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year, but the Regional Pitcher of the Year and an All-American as well during her time with Webber International in Kayla Swinson. Under Kirk's guidance, Swinson posted a 20-5 record with a 0.71 ERA in 176.2 innings of action. Her earned run average ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in 28 appearances along with holding opposing batters to a .148 batting average and striking out 147 batters, both league bests. While outside of coaching collegiate softball, Kirk has spent the last several years as a private pitching instructor. While providing individualized instruction to young athletes, Kirk has been able to develop talent seen across all levels, stretching from the NAIA and JUCO, all the way up through NCAA Division I, II and III. Kirk entered coaching after a decorated collegiate career at Warner University. The native of Auburndale, Fla. was a Sun Conference First Team selection three times, won Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week on multiple occasions, and was awarded Warner's Female Athlete of the Year in 2018-19. Kirk put together a 33-13 record in the circle during her time at Warner, while posting a 2.26 earned run average.

In 2023-2024, Puglisi enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Runnin' Bulldogs after spending the 2023 season as the video and analytics coordinator at the University of Virginia.    Puglisi joined the Cavaliers in September of 2022, where he worked closely with all facets of the game, but primarily with scouting film and data for both games and practice. He started with private baseball and softball clinics for fielding, hitting, and catching. He worked with ages from 10-22, including hosting clinics for 42 All-State award winners from 2014-2022.    Prior to joining Virginia, Puglisi served on the Seton Hall University staff for one season as a volunteer assistant coach from 2016-2017. He worked primarily with the defense, in which the team’s fielding percentage improved from .947 in 2016, to .963 in 2017.    Puglisi operated as the U-18 head coach and program head of infield development for the NJ Pride for nine years (June 2014-August 2022). He was also an assistant coach at Kinnelon High School from 2020-2022, while the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, the team made the state sectional final in 2021 and won it in 2022 before losing in the state finals. He was also an assistant coach at Immaculate Heart Academy from 2015-2016, which led to back-to-back state championships. He worked as a volunteer soccer and basketball coach for his hometown in North Haledon, NJ from 2013-2016, and as a volunteer assistant coach for ice hockey at Immaculate Heart Academy in the 2015-2016 season.   Puglisi graduated from William Paterson University in December 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Biology before returning to WPU in 2021 to earn a second bachelor's degree in Chemistry.