Kristina Ely enters her second year coaching from the bench, after making the adjustment last season from player to coach. A 2008 graduate of Valdosta State University, Ely was also one of the premier players on the Lady Blazer Softball team.

Last season, Ely played a role in coaching the Lady Blazers to an all-time best 57-8 season that culminated in the Gulf South Conference Championship. The team broke records for most wins in a season, runs (503), hits (638), runs batted in (452), doubles (105), home runs (98) and bases on balls (175). On the pitching rubber, the 2009 squad set a new standard for complete games at 65.

There were also new individual records in 2009. Andi Braswell swung for a new high batting average of .436 and scored 69 runs. She notched 96 hits on the year. Marti Littlefield set school, conference and national records for home runs and RBIs with 25 homers and 103 RBIs on the year.

In her senior year, Ely was part of a 48-19 season and helped lead the team to a 17-6 finish in Gulf South Conference action. She earned All-America and All-South Region honors for the first time in her career and received her second All-Conference honors. Ely was a two-time Academic All-American at VSU.

She hails from Sarasota, Fla., and came to Valdosta State from Manatee Community College. In her time in the infield, the righthander started 108 of 110 games played with the Lady Blazers. In 2007 she batted .336 on the season for the third highest hitting percentage on the team. She followed that up with a .322 average her senior year, but she led the team in homeruns with 19 on the season.

Ely notched 67 hits for 51 RBI (second on the team) in a successful campaign for VSU, but she played well on defense too. She finished with a .971 fielding percentage.

Head Coach Thomas Macera likes Ely on his staff because she has great knowledge of the game, but, more importantly, is a good teacher of the game. That should come in handy for her as she pursues her graduate degree in physical education.