East Mississippi Community College softball coach Kate Neely has stepped down after four full seasons at the helm of the Lions' program to take another position at the college.

    In her first season in control of the East Mississippi Community College softball program, Kate Neely ended the Lions’ playoff drought.

    Neely then proceeded to produce three more playoff berths including the school’s first MACJC North Division championship. But maintaining that success will now fall on someone else as Neely stepped down as softball coach last week to take another position at the college working in the school’s new Student Union.

    “She’s done a great job and has taken the program to a higher level,” EMCC athletic director Mickey Stokes said. “They’ve made the playoffs the past four seasons in a row and won the North last year. They’ve done some great work.

    “We really appreciate the job she’s done. From what I know, this was an opportunity she didn’t want to pass up.”

    Neely, who has a bachelor’s degree in fitness management and a master’s degree in health promotion/education from Mississippi State, said she is excited about her new position as an event coordinator in addition to getting an opportunity to teach.

    “I am excited to see where this leads,” she said, adding that she is preparing to get married and wants to have more time to spend with her family. “When a door opens, sometimes you have to take it.

    “And I am not giving up on softball. I will still be here helping out and conducting our camps this month. And I may get back into coaching later. But I guarantee I will be at every home game they have that I possibly can, plus some of the road ones.”

    Taking over the head coaching position late in the 2008 season following three years as an assistant, it didn’t take long for Neely to make her mark. The following season, she led the Lions to a 24-23 mark including a 15-9 North record and the school’s first MACJC state tournament appearance since 2002. EMCC then finished second in the North in 2010 at 18-6 before winning the division for the first time in 2011 at 19-5.

    “I’m very proud of making the postseason all four years,” Neely said. “But what’s been an even better accomplishment is seeing the success our girls have after they leave here. They are now graduating, getting jobs and getting married and that is such a pleasure for me.

   “When you recruit these young ladies, you get to know them so well and their families. So that’s going to be a tough thing to leave. We just had our meeting with them and that was tough to do.”

    EMCC continued its playoff streak this past season, finishing 12-12 in the division and 18-24 overall as Neely went 85-100 in her four full seasons at the helm. With that foundation, Stokes said the college is looking for a coach that can build from there and take the Lions to national prominence.

    “We’re hoping to find someone that has proven they can do an excellent job with experience, preferably at the college level although that isn’t a prerequisite,” Stokes said. “We want someone that is a proven winner. And they need to be an excellent recruiter, since as a two-year school, that is a constant thing at our level.

    “We want someone that can provide leadership and take us to the state and national limelight.”