Barb Sherwood is in her second season as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston and works with the Cougar pitching staff.
Under her tutelage, freshman Izzy Berouty developed into one of the top pitchers in the Colonial Athletic Association, ranking fifth with an ERA of 2.56 while winning 12 games, setting a school record with four saves and earning three CAA Rookie of the Week honors and a berth on the all-rookie team. Brittany Violette was also enjoying a breakout year with a 1.40 ERA, the second-best in the league, before missing the second half of the season with an arm injury.
Sherwood joined the Cougar staff after spending three seasons as the head coach at Portland State and serving as an assistant at Troy, Wisconsin, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
While at Portland State, Sherwood coached 18 All-Big Sky Conference players as well as 21 Big Sky All-Academic team selections. Seven Vikings earned berths on the 2015 all-conference team, and that team also showed dramatic improvement in the circle, lowering its ERA by almost two-and-a-half runs from the previous season.
Prior to Portland State, Sherwood spent six years as the pitching coach aand lead recruiter Virginia Tech while also serving as the head coach of the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch League, leading the Racers to a second-place finish and NPF Coachig Staff of the Year accolades. She was a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Regional Coaching Staff of the Year with the Hokies in 2012 and 2013.
In her first season at Virginia Tech in 2009, she guided a pitching staff that produced 28 wins including eight shutouts despite having only two healthy arms for the majority of the year. In 2012 she directed Jasmin Harrell to state pitcher of the year honors after a 31-win campaign, and in Sherwood’s final season the Hokies defeated nationally-ranked UCLA, Arizona, Michigan and Kentucky en route to a 42-21 record and a berth in the NCAA Regional finals.
Virginia Tech had a record of 170-123 during Sherwood’s time there, including 80-42 her final two seasons.
Sherwood began her career at her alma mater, Troy, in 1998 as a student coach but quickly moved up to the top assistant’s spot after earning her master’s degree in education in 2000. She also served as recruiting coordinator and brought in Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year Jocelyn McCallum and four-time Canadian National Team catcher Tamra Howren.
She produced a pair of 20-win pitchers and a team ERA of 1.45 in 2005 before making the move to Wisconsin and then Florida State. In her lone season with the Seminoles, Sherwood helped pitcher Tiffany McDonald win 18 games with 244 strikeouts and earn All-ACC honors.
Sherwood earned a degree in physical education from Troy in 1999. She was a three-time team captain and helped lead the Trojans to the 1996 Mid-Continent Conference championship and a berth in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
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