Wallace State Community College has hired former Lions softball player and assistant coach Sallie Beth Burch to lead the softball program, President Dr. Vicki Karolewics announced Thursday.
“We are excited to welcome Sallie Beth Burch back to Wallace State, where she was part of the 2008 national championship team,” Karolewics said. “Her experience as both a player and coach for the Lions are invaluable as we continue the Lions’ winning tradition.”
Burch played second base for Wallace State from 2008-09 and was part of the team’s first of two national championships when the 2008 squad won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I title.
After graduating from Wallace State, Burch transferred to Jacksonville State University, where she continued playing softball for the Gamecocks from 2010-11.
Burch returns to Wallace State after most recently serving as associate head softball coach at UAB. She previously served as the associate head softball coach and assistant softball coach at Jacksonville State and she served as an assistant coach at Wallace State from 2016-19.
“I am very excited for this opportunity to come back to Wallace State,” Burch said. “I take great pride in being able to come back to help represent and carry on the legacy of this program. It’s a full-circle moment for me.”
The 2024 softball team earned Wallace State’s fourth straight Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) title — and 16th overall — and made its 16th appearance at the NJCAA Division I World Series. Along with their 2008 national championship, the Lions also won the national title in 2013.