POPLARVILLE, Miss. – Pearl River head softball coach Christie Meeks has named Katelyn Gruich associate head coach for the 2024-2025 season.
Gruich joins the staff after spending the past three seasons on the coaching staff at East Central Community College.
“Katelyn is going to bring so much to the table, especially with our offense. She is exactly what we need with her knowledge of the league, the connections in recruiting, and her passion for the game.” Pearl River head coach Christie Meeks said. “I believe she will come in and make an immediate impact on our offense. I also feel like she will bring positive passion and energy to our team. Katelyn’s impact on recruiting will also make a huge difference.”
Meeks announced the addition on June 10.
“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Wildcat family.” Gruich said. “I would like to thank Dr. Breerwood, Jeff Long, Patrick Ochs and Coach Meeks for this opportunity to represent Pearl River Community College and the softball program. I’m looking forward to joining coach Meeks and bringing all I can to assist with the continued success of Wildcat softball.”
COACHING CAREER
Gruich was an assistant at East Central for the past three seasons. East Central had a combined 93 wins during her three years on the staff, highlighted with the Warriors 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association DII Tournament at-large bid.
Gruich started her collegiate coaching career as a 2021 Mississippi Gulf Coast coaching staff member. In 2021, the Bulldogs reached the National Junior College Athletic Association DII Tournament and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the nation.
PLAYING CAREER
Following a decorated career at St. Martin, Gruich started a combined 58 games for South Alabama during their consecutive 2017 and 2018 winning seasons in her freshman and sophomore years. She had a career .232 batting average and .951 fielding average for her South Alabama career. While at South Alabama, Gruich excelled in the classroom, being named an Easton/NFCA All-American Scholar in 2018. She was a Sun Belt Conference Commissioner List scholar in 2018 and a Sun Belt Conference Honor Roll member in 2020, 2019 and 2017. After the 2020 season, Gruich was the co-recipient of the program’s “Extra Mile” Award, given annually to a softball player who “exemplifies unselfishness, hard work, positive attitude and the true meaning of a great teammate.”
EDUCATION
Gruich earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Sports Management from South Alabama in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Gruich is a 2016 graduate of St. Martin High School in Ocean Springs.
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