Nov. 20, 2008

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (Thursday, November 20, 2008) - Redhawks softball coach Lana Richmond has announced the hiring of Jeff Dabney to her coaching staff for the upcoming season. Dabney will round out the coaching staff as he joins Michelle Summers as assistant coaches for the upcoming season.

"I am very pleased with the addition of Jeff Dabney to our coaching staff," said Coach Richmond. "He will immediately take over the role as our pitchers and catchers coach a role that he has shown great success with based on his past experiences."

Dabney comes to Southeast after serving as the Head Coach of North Florida Community College in Madison, Florida. His team featured nine All-Conference players and one Athlete of the Week honoree. Dabney's duties at NFCC included administering over every aspect of the softball program including: recruiting, fundraising, conditioning, and scouting.

Prior to coaching at NFCC, Dabney was an assistant coach the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. During his time at Florida, the team went 42-23, which was good enough to finish third in the Southeastern Conference and finished with a final national ranking of 16. The team also featured four All-SEC Selections, four All-SEC Freshman Team players, one SEC Player of the Year, three CoSIDA Academic All-District selections and three players signed to professional contracts.

While at Florida, Dabney's responsibilities included scouting, video production, assisting in the development and implementation of skill development for practices and games and other administrative assistance in adhering to all NCAA, SEC, and UF rules and regulations.

From August 2005 to March 2006, Dabney was at the helm of the program at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He coached seven All-Conference selections and participated in the Southland Conference Tournament for a record 10th time.

Spending the majority of his career at Neosho County College in Chanute, Kansas, Dabney worked there from 1998 to 2005 and has held the positions of Head Softball Coach, Assistant Softball Coach, Assistant Sports Information Director, Academic Athletic Coordinator and an instructor over the seven years. Some of his duties as head coach included recruiting, fundraising, promotion, weight training and scouting.

As head coach at NCC, Dabney notched over 200 wins, averaging 35 a season. His accolades include 2004 Region Champions, 2004 Coach of the Year, 2003 Conference Champions, and back-to-back Academic National Champions in 2002 and 2003. Collectively his teams have encompassed ten All-Americans, 36 All-Region selections, and 32 All-Conference selections. Along with 54 Academic All-Americans, the team also received one Student Athlete of the Year and six Female Athlete of the Year awards.

Dabney graduated from Wichita State University with a degree in Sports Business and Administration.

"With his past head coaching experience he brings in vast knowledge of the game and a new dynamic to our staff," commented Coach Richmond. "Over the years I have crossed paths with Jeff at every major D-I recruiting tournament as we were both evaluating prospects. This is where I see him benefitting our program, through his established recruiting contacts with summer coaches, Junior College coaches, and many D-I coaches."