Southern Miss Softball Completes Staff for 2023 Season
9/1/2022 3:58:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss softball coach Natalie Poole announced her staff for the 2023 season with the addition of assistant coach Aaron Longenecker, joining assistants Mark Mulvany and Izzy Werdann, who were already with the program.
"Our staff is already connecting and working well together," said Poole. "It was a blessing to have Mark Mulvany stay on as an assistant. He has a great relationship with the athletes and has a passion to coach at USM. I am also thankful that Izzy Werdann stayed on as our Volunteer Assistant Coach. She is an up-and-coming coach in our profession who is eager to learn and yet has already been a big help to me.
"Aaron was the final piece we needed to round out a great staff. I feel like there is a ton of alignment in our core values and coaching styles. As we begin our fall, we look forward to both complementing and challenging each other."
Longenecker comes to Southern Miss after a season at the University of Louisville in which will join her staff as a volunteer coach in August 2021.
"I am excited to have Aaron on board as a member of our staff," said Poole. "He is a true student of the game, passionate about our sport, and has a ton of knowledge to share with our athletes."
In his one season with the Cardinals, Louisville posted the third most home runs for a team in a campaign with 56 to go along with 74 doubles and 18 triples as UofL finished 27-25 on the year. The triple total ranked No. 9 in the nation.
Longenecker joined the Cardinals after three seasons as an assistant coach at Central Baptist College where he worked primarily with outfielders while also serving as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.
While at Central Baptist from 2019-21, Longenecker helped lead the Mustangs to more than 80 wins and two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament appearances. With Longenecker on the coaching staff, CBC produced two NAIA All-Americans and 13 All-American Midwest Conference selections as well as two conference Newcomers of the Year and one Player of the Year.
Most recently, Longenecker helped guide the Mustangs to the 2021 NAIA Championship, where they advanced to the finals of the Hattiesburg bracket and finished the season with a 34-15 record. Additionally, CBC was a mainstay in the NAIA top-25 rankings during his time there, reaching as high as No. 13 in 2021.
In 2020, the Mustangs were off to a 15-2 record, the best start in program history when the season ended due to the spread of COVID-19. He helped guide the Mustangs' offense to a .370 team batting average, and a .661 slugging percentage, both of which stood among the top five in the nation.
In his first season with CBC, the Mustangs compiled 34 wins and reached the NAIA championship for the first time in seven seasons.
Prior to joining the Mustang coaching staff, Longenecker served as a volunteer coach at Hendrix College (2017) and spent five years (2012-2017) coaching travel softball in the state of Arkansas.
A native of Parker, Kansas, he graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in anthropology and geography in 1992. Prior to that, Longenecker played baseball at Neosho Community College in Kansas, where he was an outfielder and pitcher.
After graduating from KU, he spent several years playing fastpitch softball in Kansas and California.
A retired U.S. Secret Service Agent of 20 years, Longenecker and his wife Amber have two children, Shaylan and Brandon.
Mulvany, who was hired in July of 2019, returns for his fourth season with the program. was named Assistant Coach for the Golden Eagles Softball Program in July of 2019. Werdann also returns for her second season with the Golden Eagle in a volunteer role, after working two seasons as the program's graduate assistant coach.
"Our staff is already connecting and working well together," said Poole. "It was a blessing to have Mark Mulvany stay on as an assistant. He has a great relationship with the athletes and has a passion to coach at USM. I am also thankful that Izzy Werdann stayed on as our Volunteer Assistant Coach. She is an up-and-coming coach in our profession who is eager to learn and yet has already been a big help to me.
"Aaron was the final piece we needed to round out a great staff. I feel like there is a ton of alignment in our core values and coaching styles. As we begin our fall, we look forward to both complementing and challenging each other."
Longenecker comes to Southern Miss after a season at the University of Louisville in which will join her staff as a volunteer coach in August 2021.
"I am excited to have Aaron on board as a member of our staff," said Poole. "He is a true student of the game, passionate about our sport, and has a ton of knowledge to share with our athletes."
In his one season with the Cardinals, Louisville posted the third most home runs for a team in a campaign with 56 to go along with 74 doubles and 18 triples as UofL finished 27-25 on the year. The triple total ranked No. 9 in the nation.
Longenecker joined the Cardinals after three seasons as an assistant coach at Central Baptist College where he worked primarily with outfielders while also serving as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.
While at Central Baptist from 2019-21, Longenecker helped lead the Mustangs to more than 80 wins and two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament appearances. With Longenecker on the coaching staff, CBC produced two NAIA All-Americans and 13 All-American Midwest Conference selections as well as two conference Newcomers of the Year and one Player of the Year.
Most recently, Longenecker helped guide the Mustangs to the 2021 NAIA Championship, where they advanced to the finals of the Hattiesburg bracket and finished the season with a 34-15 record. Additionally, CBC was a mainstay in the NAIA top-25 rankings during his time there, reaching as high as No. 13 in 2021.
In 2020, the Mustangs were off to a 15-2 record, the best start in program history when the season ended due to the spread of COVID-19. He helped guide the Mustangs' offense to a .370 team batting average, and a .661 slugging percentage, both of which stood among the top five in the nation.
In his first season with CBC, the Mustangs compiled 34 wins and reached the NAIA championship for the first time in seven seasons.
Prior to joining the Mustang coaching staff, Longenecker served as a volunteer coach at Hendrix College (2017) and spent five years (2012-2017) coaching travel softball in the state of Arkansas.
A native of Parker, Kansas, he graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in anthropology and geography in 1992. Prior to that, Longenecker played baseball at Neosho Community College in Kansas, where he was an outfielder and pitcher.
After graduating from KU, he spent several years playing fastpitch softball in Kansas and California.
A retired U.S. Secret Service Agent of 20 years, Longenecker and his wife Amber have two children, Shaylan and Brandon.
Mulvany, who was hired in July of 2019, returns for his fourth season with the program. was named Assistant Coach for the Golden Eagles Softball Program in July of 2019. Werdann also returns for her second season with the Golden Eagle in a volunteer role, after working two seasons as the program's graduate assistant coach.
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