One of the first things that University of Charleston athletic director Bren Stevens said she was looking for as the school began the hunt for a new softball coach was to find someone who could keep the momentum of the program moving the way it had been going.
And, in Kimberly Stiles, Charleston believes it has found the perfect fit.
Stiles, who had served as the head softball coach at Davis & Elkins College for the last six seasons, was named UC's softball coach on Thursday. She replaces Ray Loeser, who left to take over at Division I Wright State after guiding the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Division II College Softball World Series last season.
"We needed to find someone who could continue to move this program forward. We were really looking for someone who could break things down and teach things the right way, and we think she's the right person to do that," Stevens said. "I was really impressed with her and her demeanor. Kim is a high-character person and I think she's going to add a lot to our athletic department."
During Stiles' tenure with the Senators, D&E won 20 or more games four times, marking the only 20-win seasons the program has had in the last 22 years. Last season, Davis & Elkins went 33-21 and had two first-team all-Great Midwest Athletic Conference selections.
A former Division I catcher at Pittsburgh, Stiles' success as a player has helped her make the seamless transition into the coaching ranks. It's something that Stevens sees as a major advantage moving forward now that she's with UC.
"Coming from that Division I background and then coaching at strong Division II schools, it brings a sense of confidence to her, and you feel that when you talk to her," Stevens said. "She has an incredible work ethic and a tremendously positive vibe that I really think will rub off onto the players. They'll really buy into that."
The Golden Eagles won 50 games last season and will return MEC Pitcher of the Year Alli Burdette, as well as first-team all-MEC first baseman Laura Ashlock, outfielder Rachelle Toppings and second-team pitcher Jessie Rowe.
Having that type of talent around to continue to build on is something Stiles is looking forward to as she prepares to get started.
"I'm excited to see how far we can go. Not to sound cliche, but I think the sky is the limit here," Stiles said. "There's a ton of potential to be very, very good for a long time."
It didn't take long for Stevens and the rest of the search committee to realize they had found their candidate not long after meeting with Stiles.
UC had more than 60 coaches interested in the position, ranging from assistant and head coaches at both the Division I and II levels, despite the search lasting into the beginning of the school year in September. Normally, that may surprise Stevens, but knowing that Charleston will be returning plenty of talent from last year's College Softball World Series team, she expected there would be plenty of interest from all over for the vacant position.
"We return some really great players at key positions and these girls have the experience of playing in a World Series, so it's an interesting opportunity where we could afford to be a little more picky about who we wanted to bring in because we knew how much attention this job would get," Stevens said. "But with Kim, we had a really great feeling from her right away. Our baseball coach [Andrew Wright] was also on the committee. After she was here, he stopped over and said, 'She's going to be incredible.'
"She came right in and just fit in perfectly with the people here. I think she's going to keep this program moving in the direction it's going in."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.