Softball
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
- Email:
- softball@liberty.edu
- Start Date:
- 08/01/2021
Former All-American infielder Sami Fagan joined Dot Richardson’s coaching staff at Liberty in the summer of 2021 as a volunteer assistant coach and was elevated to assistant coach in July, 2022.
Fagan joined her sister, associate head coach Kasey Fagan, on Liberty’s coaching staff. She assists in Liberty’s hitting program, as well as assisting in outfield instruction. In addition, Fagan aids in all aspects of running a successful NCAA Division I softball program.
The Lady Flames finished the 2025 season with a 50-15 record, setting a new program record for single-season victories. Liberty won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles for the second year in a row. The team made history at the 2025 NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional, winning two out of three games against No. 1 Texas A&M to earn its first-ever Super Regional appearance. The Lady Flames were the first team in the Super Regional era to knock out the No. 1 national seed in the Regional round. Additionally, Liberty obtained its highest ranking ever, finishing 15th in both the Softball America Top 25 and D1Softball Top 25.
During the 2025 season, Liberty set program single-season records in nine offensive categories. Rachel Roupe had a record-setting campaign with 23 homers and 73 RBI. She was named CUSA Player of the Year while earning All-American honors from three different outlets and also garnering the Rawlings Gold Glove in right field. Fagan also instructed all-conference batters Savannah Jessee, KK Madrey, Brynn McManus and Savanah Whatley.
In 2024, the Lady Flames (38-25) won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles, becoming the first team since 2015 (WKU) to win the CUSA championship in its first year in the league. Liberty earned a program-record six victories over Top 25 opponents, including wins over No. 10 LSU and No. 11 Georgia. The Lady Flames made their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, qualifying for the Regional final for the second year in a row and fourth time in the last six full seasons. The squad finished the season ranked in both the D1Softball.com and Softball America Top 25.
Fagan guided Rachel Roupe to an outstanding 2024 season, as the junior outfielder was named to the NFCA All-Region second team after leading the CUSA in five different offensive categories. Additional all-conference hitters included second-team selections Raigan Barrett, Megan Fortner and Sierra Kersten. KK Madrey made four plays in the outfield which made SCTop10.
In 2023, the Lady Flames posted a 40-22 record and earned its first-ever NCAA Regional at-large berth. For the first time in program history, Liberty had two players (Caroline Hudson, Rachel Roupe) with 50 or more RBI in the same season. Also, Hudson, Roupe and Megan Fortner became the first trio of Liberty teammates to all hit 10 or more homers in the same campaign since 2007. Two of Fagan’s outfielders, Roupe and Madrey, earned first team ASUN All-Conference honors.
Fagan made a major impact during her first year as hitting coach for the Lady Flames in 2022. Under her tutelage, the Lad Flames set program single-season records in both walks (201) and RBI (313). She also guided several Lady Flames to breakout seasons at the plate, including ASUN Player of the Year Caroline Hudson, who went from two homers in 2021 to 17 during the 2022 season. Sami also coached the outfielders, helping Mary Claire Wilson transition from infielder to the everyday center fielder.
The 2022 Lady Flames’ offense finished in the top five in program history for single-season runs, RBI, walks, batting average, hits, home runs, extra-base hits, total bases, slugging percentage and sacrifice flies.
Sami Fagan spent three seasons (2019-21) on Pete D’Amour’s staff at Virginia Tech, including one year as director of player development and two years as a graduate assistant and camp director During her time at Virginia Tech, the Hokies posted a 105-30 overall record, including 46-15 in ACC play. The Hokies made NCAA Regional finals appearances in both 2019 and 2021, advancing to the Super Regional in 2021.
Fagan has played professionally in the United States for five years, beginning in 2016 when she was drafted fourth overall by the Akron Racers in the NPF Draft. She was named 2016 NPF Rookie of the Year, her first of two years with the Racers before joining the Scrapyard Fastpitch League in 2018. Fagan also played three seasons in the Japan Women’s Professional League (2016-18). She played for Athletes Unlimited during the 2020 season, serving as a team captain. Most recently, she spent the summers of 2022 and 2023 playing for the USSSA Pride in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPF) league.
She was a 2016 NFCA All-America third team selection while at Missouri, her second straight year on the All-SEC team. The infielder also was named to the 2016 NFCA Southeast All-Region second team. Fagan was a 2012 SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC All-Tournament Team honoree at Florida before transferring to Missouri. A two-time SEC Freshman of the Week and one-time SEC Player of the Week, Fagan was the NFCA National Player of the Week on Sept. 20, 2015.
Fagan has had extensive experience organizing and instructing camps, both at Virginia Tech and earlier in her career, at Missouri and in Ocala, Fla.
She was a team captain as a senior at Missouri, earning valuable leadership experience. Additionally, Fagan spent the fall of 2016 as a graduate assistant at Missouri, helping with the softball team’s strength & conditioning programs.
Fagan graduated from Missouri in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary studies, with emphases on Nutrition and Fitness, Business Management and Psychology of Sport. She earned a Master of Science in Applied Nutrition and Physical Activity from Virginia Tech in 2021.
