Entering her 10th season at the helm of the RedHawks squad, head coach Brandie Paul continues to build on her successful softball program. Since her 2001 arrival, Martin Methodist softball has compiled a 321-181 record with seven consecutive postseason appearances beginning in 2002. In her 13 seasons as a head coach, Coach Paul sports a 399-269 overall record.
A Mobile, Alabama native, Coach Paul graduated from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama in 1995 with a B.A. in accounting. Paul was a four-year started for the Lady Hawks, earning player of the week honors in her freshman and junior seasons. The Hawks were ranked in the top ten in NAIA polls all four years, making National Tournament appearances in 1992 and 1994. She was named as an All-Conference shortstop as a junior, and placed on the All-Tournament team after helping her team to a 3rd place finish at the 1994 National Tournament.
Coach Paul began her career as a coach as head softball and volleyball coaches at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, Alabama. She took the reins of the softball program in February of 1998, where the team posted an 8-37 record to finish last in the state tournament. Under the direction of Coach Paul, however, the team finished the 1999 season at 32-33 with an All-Conference player and two Academic All-Americans. In her third and final season at JDCC, Coach Paul led her 2000 squad to a 38-18 finish and their first break into the Junior College national poll. In addition, the team placed third at the state tournament and earned an All-Conference selection and two Academic All-Americans.
The 2001 season brought about a move to Martin Methodist College for Coach Paul, where her team recorded a 22-25 record. In just three additional seasons, the RedHawks produced a complete turn around under the guidance of Coach Paul. The team finished out 2004 at 39-18 with their best season yet on the horizon.
An instrumental figure in the success of Martin Methodist softball, Coach Paul had a career-best season in 2005. The RedHawks finished the season 46-16, bringing home their first-ever TranSouth Tournament Championship. The honors, however, did not stop there as Coach Paul would earn her first TranSouth Coach of the Year accolade. Ranked as high as 11th in the national polls, MMC softball would go on to make their first-ever NAIA National Tournament appearance with the program’s first named All-American.
After a successful 2007 season in the TranSouth Conference, Coach Paul was named as the TSAC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. Posting a 39-15 record, the 2007 squad made their sixth straight appearance in the Region XI Tournament. April 6, 2007 brought about Coach Paul’s 300th career win, while the RedHawks saw their first break into the NAIA Top Ten in 2007.
In 2008, Coach Paul led the RedHawks to a 45-15 mark with a No. 17 NAIA rank to close out the season. MMC finished as the TranSouth regular season runner-up before advancing to the Region XI Tournament to capture runner-up tournament accolades.
2009 was another great season for Coach Paul and for Martin Methodist. She lead the RedHawks to their first ever TranSouth Athletic Conference Regular Season Title and a first ever Elite Eight appearance in the 2009 NAIA Softball National Championship. The RedHawks were a top the NAIA Polls all season and were ranked No. 9 in the final poll.
As a proven leader on the field, around campus and in the NAIA Coach Paul hopes 2010 will be the best season yet for the RedHawks.
