Alabama Softball Completes Coaching Staff with Former National Champion
One of the best players in Alabama softball program history is returning home to join the Crimson Tide coaching staff.
After a decade as a college softball analyst for ESPN and SEC Network, Kayla Braud is Alabama's newest assistant coach as first reported by D1 Softball.
"First and foremost, I would like to thank Coach Murphy for this new opportunity for me and my family," Braud said in a press release. "After 10 years away from Tuscaloosa we are excited to come back home. I am filled with so much pride to be the newest assistant coach at Alabama Softball."
Braud is replacing Alyson Habetz, who retired last month after 25 years with the program as Patrick Murphy's longest-tenured assistant. Habetz primarily worked with outfielders and coached first base, so Braud will likely step into that role. She is also the second coaching hire this offseason with Murphy announcing Adam Arbour as the third assistant once the NCAA added the position.
"I will never be able to fill the shoes of Alyson Habetz, but my gratitude for all she did for this program will be in my heart as I work to impact the lives of the women that wear the 'A,'" Braud said. "As a coach I will bring my competitiveness and winning spirit to the field every single day. Having been part of the 2012 National Championship team, I know what it takes to win at this level and will do everything I can to ensure that the winning tradition of Bama U not only continues but thrives into the future.”
The new Crimson Tide assistant spent four seasons in Tuscaloosa as a player from 2010-2013 and was a major part of Alabama's national championship run in 2012. That season, Braud started in left field and batted leadoff with a .345 average, 40 stolen bases and 60 runs scored.
Braud holds the program record for batting average in a season with her .505 average in 2010, when she won SEC Freshman of the Year. (She also is second in the record books in that category with a .471 average in 2013.) She trails only Britainy Rogers in stolen bases in a season.
The former outfielder is now the third member of Alabama's 2012 national championship team on the Alabama staff in some capacity. Jadyn Spencer is the director of operations, and Ryan Iamurri is the coordinator of player management after spending a few seasons as a volunteer assistant.
"I am so happy to announce that Kayla is coming home to Tuscaloosa," Murphy said in a press release. "First and foremost, she is a great human who will be an outstanding role model for our student-athletes. We will support Kayla, her husband David and daughter Dylan as best as we can during their transition to UA. To have a former player say yes to Alabama twice in her career means a lot to me.
"We tell every young lady who enters the Rhoads House that this is a long-term relationship that extends far past their playing days. Our current staff can’t wait to start working with Kayla. I know our players will absolutely love her competitiveness and her ability to relate to their experiences on and off the field.”
