Southwest Mississippi Community College Women's Softball

Shea Johnson is in his 11th year as head coach of the Southwest Lady Bears softball team. He works primarily with the catchers and infielders.   The Lady Bears earned post-season berths in three of Johnson’s first four years at the helm. His first team made the first-ever playoff appearance in program history. The 2018-19 team recorded the most wins in team history (29) while tying the team mark for conference wins (16) and set the team record for consecutive wins (11). Nine players set team individual or career records.   The Lady Bears have had a great deal of success in the classroom under Johnson’s watch. The 2019-20 Lady Bears continued the program’s academic excellence as they were named an NJCAA All-Academic Team for the 12th straight year. Seventeen members of the 2021 squad received conference or national JUCO academic honors.   In Johnson’s first season with the team, as assistant coach, the 2015 Lady Bears handed the top-ranked Jones County Bobcats their first defeat of the season.   A native of Chalmette, LA, Johnson is a 1986 graduate of Promised Land Academy. Following high school, he attended Southwest and was a two-year member of the football team before receiving his Associate's degree in 1988.   Johnson received a Bachelor's degree in Education from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1991. He then began run of over 20 years with the St. Tammany Parish (Louisiana) school system, with 16 of those years spent coaching softball at Slidell and Northshore High Schools, before retiring in 2011.   Following his retirement, Johnson returned to Southwest as assistant softball coach, a position he held until taking over the top job in 2015.   He compiled an 82-38 record as head coach at Slidell. As an assistant at Northshore, he helped guide the team to six district titles, 10 playoff appearances (in 10 years) and four Top-Eight appearances.   Johnson and his wife, Jody, are the parents of a son, Case, and a daughter, Camryn.  

Dean Clower is in his second year as Head Coach of Southwest’s Men’s and Women’s Tennis programs. Despite it being his first coaching job on the collegiate level, Clower is no stranger to the game or being a tennis instructor He is also the Tennis Pro at FitLife Sportsplex in McComb, a role he has held for seven years. There he worked with a range of age groups. He also had experience working with Southwest Tennis players of the past. Prior to moving to McComb, he was The Director of Tennis at Indian Springs Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While there, he had several collegiate athletes come through his program. Clower was named the CCA National Tennis Director of the Year in 1997. He also received an Oklahoma Player Development Award and was named Mississippi Pro of the Year in 2021. Clower is married to his wife Robin, who is the Assistant Coach of Southwest Tennis. Clower’s son, Dean Jr., is the Head Women’s Tennis Coach at the University of Wyoming.  

Larry Lippert is in his third year as assistant coach with the Lady Bears. The Kansas City, MO-native is no stranger to the coaching ranks, having logged nearly two decades in the profession coaching both baseball and softball. Lippert comes to Southwest following a run as the head softball coach at Russell Christian Academy in Meridian. During his 13-year tenure as the softball coach the Lady Warriors found immense success and were state tournament qualifiers in 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023, winning the 2023 State Title. In 2018, Lippert was also named the District Coach of the Year. Lippert was also a member of the Warrior Baseball staff from 2011-13, winning the District Championship during his final season. Before Russell Christian, Lippert was out of coaching, working in the business and finance world. He began his coaching career in 1995 as the baseball coach at South Choctaw Academy in Toxey, AL. There he helped lead South Choctaw to a State Championship in 1996. He left South Choctaw in 1999. Lippert attended Livingston University in Livingston, AL (now West Alabama University) where he played second base for the Tigers. He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management. Prior to Livingston, Lippert played second base for two years at Longview Community College in Kansas City where he earned a First Team All-Region nod. Lippert is a 1984 graduate of Ruskin High School in Kansas City where he was a three-sport letterman. There he earned an Outstanding Senior Award in Baseball. He is also a Certified Hitting Coach at Nokesport a program run by Matt Nokes, former Major League Baseball Player and Silver Slugger Award Winner. Lippert and his wife, the former Kim Massey, are the parents to Payton Lippert Cherry and Brenley Lippert.