University of North Georgia Women's Softball

Davenport is entering his 20th year at the University of North Georgia and 17th season as the universitys head softball coach. He has built one of the nations premier softball programs with an amazing six 50-win seasons and a winning percentage north of .750. Overall, the Nighthawks have amassed a 705-200 (.779) record under the direction of Davenport. In 2016, Davenport was named the Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year for the sixth time, giving him more than any other coach in PBC softball history and breaking the tie at five he had held with PBC Hall of Fame coach Scott Whitlock of Kennesaw State.  In 2015, Davenport led the softball program to the schools first-ever national championship in any sport by running through the losers bracket to win the NCAA Division II Softball Championship in Oklahoma City. Davenport and his staff were named NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year for their incredible run in 2015.   The UNG skipper has built a culture of championships at North Georgia winning 10 conference regular season titles, nine conference tournament, four NCAA Southeast Region Championships, and one NCAA DII National Championship. He has established UNG as a powerhouse in NCAA Division II softball, taking North Georgia to three-consecutive Division II Championship appearances from 2009-2011 and returning the Nighthawks to supremacy in the Southeast Region in 2015 with a return trip to the DII Championship. After winning the 2015 national championship in Oklahoma City, Davenport returned to the diamond almost immediately serving as the head coach of the USSSA Florida Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch league. He lead the Pride to a NPF regular-season title and an appearance in the Cowles Cup series. In 2010, Davenport led North Georgia to a  51-game winning streak , the second longest in NCAA history. The then-Saints entered the College World Series with a perfect record of 50-0 that season. UNG has reached perfection in conference play twice under the guidance of Davenport, posting 20-0 records in 2003 and 2010. The foundation to UNG softball is set every year under Davenports program, building a strong team atmosphere opening each school year with RBI Week, (Respect-Balance-Intensity). Team members come together and participate in team building exercises as well as a pre-season conditioning program. The squad is challenged mentally and physically as it finishes the week at UNGs Pine Valley Ropes Course traversing both low and high elements. RBI Week has allowed the team to build each others trust and respect before entering each school year. The softball skipper began his career at North Georgia with the womens basketball team in 1996 as assistant coach and served in that role until 2000 when he took over the roll as head softball coach in August. He has served in that role as well as instructor in the Health and Physical Education Department since. During his time with the North Georgia womens basketball team, he helped guide the squad to three conference titles and three NAIA National Tournament appearances. While growing up in central Illinois, he played basketball and baseball at Peorias Richwoods High School before moving to Central Oklahoma and graduating from Guthrie High School in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After playing one year of junior college baseball, he focused his attention on coaching and joined the rich tradition of Cowboy Baseball at Oklahoma State University under head coach Gary Ward as a student-assistant. The opportunity to coach led him to Gainesville, Flaorida, where he spent three years as an assistant baseball coach at Santa Fe Community College under head coach Harry Tholen. The DuQuoin, Illinois native is a 1994 graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation and a 1998 grad of North Georgia, where he earned his Master of Education. Davenport and his wife, the former Melanie Ralston of Gainesville, reside in Dahlonega and are the proud parents of one daughter, Margaret Isabella and one son, Michael Harper.  

On September 10, 2024, Brooke O’Hair was hired as the third head coach in the esteemed history of North Georgia softball, marking a new chapter for the program.  O’Hair took over the Nighthawk program following her remarkable career at Mississippi College where she amassed 531 wins, becoming the winningest coach in that program's history.  She quickly continued that trend in Dahlonega, recording a record-breaking season with UNG that culminated in an NCAA Division II Softball Championship appearance for the ninth time in 17 years. The Nighthawks went 48-16 in O’Hair’s first season which included a 19-5 Peach Belt Conference record and an 11th straight PBC Regular-season Championship. In her first season, O’Hair mentored three National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Americans including an NFCA First Team All-American, Freshman of the Year and Catcher of the Year in Carleigh Knowles. The rookie was also named the PBC Freshman of the Year along with four other PBC All-Conference teammates. UNG’s performance in 2025 was bolstered by one of the best team offensive seasons in program history. The team's 83 home runs and .579 slugging percentage were far and away the best power marks for a single season in program history. In the program's 29-year varsity history, the 2025 Nighthawks also sat second for single-season totals in RBIs (448), runs scored (489) and triples (28) while ranking third in on-base percentage (.421), at bats (1,789), hits (612) and doubles (118). UNG also showed record-setting discipline at the plate this year, recording the fourth-most walks (205) in a season and the second-fewest strikeouts (173) in the NCAA era in program history   Key Highlights of O'Hair's Career:   - 531 career wins at Mississippi College - Two-time Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year (2023, 2024) - Nine NCAA postseason appearances, including two Super Regional berths - Mentored 7 NFCA All-Americans and 141 All-Region selections   A Chattanooga, Tennessee native, O'Hair brings a wealth of experience to UNG, including valuable insights from her time as a volunteer assistant at her alma mater, Mississippi State. As a standout player, O'Hair was instrumental in the most successful era of Bulldog softball, helping the team reach the SEC Tournament all four years and the NCAA Regional in three seasons. Her excellence extended beyond the field, as she earned SEC All-Academic honors three times before graduating with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education.   O’Hair and her husband, Tony, have two children, Sydney and Cooper.   Updated: January 2026

Darren Harmon enters his second season as an assistant coach with the UNG softball team after joining the program in 2024 upon the hire of Brooke O’Hair as the third head coach in UNG softball history. Harmon joined O'Hair and the Nighthawks in 2024 after having spent the previous five seasons as an assistant with O'Hair at Mississippi College.  In his first season in the dugout, Harmon helped lead the team to one of the best offensive seasons in program history. The Nighthawks went 48-16 and won the Peach Belt Conference Regular-season Championship and NCAA Southeast Regional Championship while breaking records along the way. The team's 83 home runs and .579 slugging percentage were far and away the best power marks for a single season in program history. In the program's 29-year varsity history, the 2025 Nighthawks also sat second for single-season totals in RBIs (448), runs scored (489) and triples (28) while ranking third in on-base percentage (.421), at bats (1,789), hits (612) and doubles (118). UNG also showed record-setting discipline at the plate this year, recording the fourth-most walks (205) in a season and the second-fewest strikeouts (173) in the NCAA era in program history. UNG’s accolades were highlighted by four PBC All-Conference selections including the PBC Freshman of the Year in Carleigh Knowles, a trio of All-Region honorees and three All-Americans including Knowles who was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) First Team selection and the NFCA Freshman of the Year and Catcher of the year. While Harmon was MC, the Choctaws won over 130 games. Over the course of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, O'Hair and Harmon led MC to a 91-21 record which included appearances in the 2023 NCAA South Regional Tournament and the 2024 South Super Regional.  Prior to joining O'Hair's staff at MC, Harmon spent nine years as a youth softball and baseball coach for various organizations throughout Mississippi. He spent three seasons as the head softball coach at Canton Academy High School in Canton, Miss. Updated: June 2025

Alea Medina is entering her fourth season as the UNG softball program's full-time assistant coach following a one-year stint as a graduate assistant coach and player at the University of Central Florida. In her first season at UNG, the Nighthawks captured the program's second National Championship, as Medina helped direct one of the best pitching staffs in NCAA Division II en route to a historic 2023 National Championship run that saw the Nighthawks break the program record for wins in a season (64). In years two and three with Medina in the dugout, UNG has continued to remain as a powerhouse in collegiate softball across the country with NCAA Regional Runner-Up and National Championship finishes in consecutive seasons.  During Medina’s time in Dahlonega, the Nighthawks have compiled a staggering 164-36 record, winning the Peach Belt Conference Regular-season Championship in all three years and the NCAA Southeast Regional title twice.    Following her decorated career as a player, Medina joined UCF head coach Cindy Ball-Malone’s staff as a graduate assistant and helped lead the Knights to a 49-win season and their first hosting nod as the No. 16 national seed. The Black and Gold made more history by sweeping their way through the Orlando Regional, punching their first ticket to the NCAA's Super Regionals. As a pitcher, she holds UCF’s all-time career wins mark with 99 and was a three-time NFCA First Team All-Region nod (2018, 2019, and 2021), becoming the first player in UCF program history to accomplish the feat. The three-year captain also collected American Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference honors following her senior year. Updated: June 2025