Former Chattanooga Christian School and Lee University goalkeeper Leah Wilson Presley is the new women’s soccer head coach at King University in Bristol, Tenn. Saying in a King release that she is “very honored and excited,” Presley added, “I am looking forward to coaching at a place that is so well supported by everyone on campus and also the surrounding community. For me, coaching soccer is an opportunity to make a positive impact and help others build success both on the field and off, and King is a place that will make that happen.” She has been an assistant coach the past three seasons at the University of the Southwest in Hobbes, N.M. She was part of three NAIA championships at Lee, where her four-year keeper record was 63-5-2, including 20-1-2 as a senior. The coach she had at Lee, Matt Yelton, is a former King player and coach who said Presley “possesses all of the characteristics of a quality coach, but more importantly she is a person of character who will inspire her team on and off the field. I fully expect Leah to make a lifelong impact on her players.” Said King athletic director David Hicks: “The search committee identified several attributes of an ideal candidate. Among those were a track record for winning, knowledge of soccer in the Southeast and a strong Christian commitment with a desire to impact lives through soccer. Leah is from Chattanooga, played at Lee, won three national championships and possesses a strong faith with a desire to lead, mentor and develop young women.”
Softball
– The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team was picked to tie for sixth place with Western Carolina in the Southern Conference coaches’ poll released Thursday, but UTC junior shortstop J.J. Hamill from Chickamauga, Ga., and sophomore catcher Amanda Beltran from Orange County, Calif., were voted to the preseason all-conference second team. Furman was the choice to win the league, led by preseason player of the year Candace Johnson, with Samford second and Mercer and UNC Greensboro tied for third. East Tennessee State was picked fifth.
Basketball
– The Lee University women’s basketball team shot 52 percent from the field and held North Alabama to 35 percent shooting in a 91-72 Gulf South Conference victory for the Lady Flames on Thursday in Cleveland. North Alabama won the men’s game 79-76. Carrie Cheeks had 22 points and nine rebounds and Lindsey Roddy had 19 points and four steals for the Lady Flames, who got 13 points and five assists from Abby Bertram and 12 points and four assists from Erin Walsh. Keevin Tyus had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Lee men, while Cody Farley scored 13 points and Jervon Johnson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.