SUNY-Buffalo hires Hampton U's Peel as head coach

COACH TRENA PEEL
(Photo Courtesy Hampton University)

BUFFALO, New York  –  A proven winner at every level of competitive softball, Trena Peel has been named the eighth coach in the history of Buffalo softball, Director of Athletics Danny White announced Friday.  Peel most recently served as head coach at Hampton University, where she led the team to its first MEAC Championship and NCAA Tournament berth since 1996.

Peel spent three seasons at Hampton, improving the team's win total each season.  After a 13-win season in her first year, she nearly doubled Hampton's total in her second season and took the Pirates to the conference semifinals.  In 2013, her team finished 34-26; an improvement of nine wins from the previous year, and won the MEAC Title.  The Pirates traveled to Gainsville, FL for the NCAA Tournament Regionals.

Prior to her first head coaching job at Hampton, Peel was an assistant coach at Mississippi Valley State, who went 27-23 in 2010. Four Devilettes were named All-SWAC: pitcher Lisa Jansen and right fielder Ashley Hobs were First Team All-SWAC selections, while outfielder Haleigh Eubanks and catcher Alexandria Robertson were named Second Team All-SWAC.

"Trena has tremendous enthusiasm for the game of softball and has been successful at all levels as both a player and a coach," said White.  "Her commitment to winning and the development of student-athletes makes her the ideal choice to build our softball program at the State University of New York at Buffalo."

Peel has also been an assistant coach at both the University of Maryland (2006-08) and George Washington University (2003-04).

A 2003 graduate of LSU with a bachelor of science in Kinesiology, Peel has enjoyed a professional career in the National Pro Fastpitch League that has included stints with the Akron Racers (2004, 2008-09), New York Juggernauts (2005), Chicago Bandits (2006) and Philadelphia Force (2007). In the summer of 2009, Peel participated in the MLB Celebrity All-Star Game during MLB All-Star Weekend in St. Louis, Mo.

In her rookie season with Akron, she finished with five home runs, three triples, 27 RBI and a league-high 27 stolen bases. The two-time NPF All-Star (2004, 2005) was especially productive in two seasons with Philadelphia. In 2007, she signed as a free agent and ended the campaign leading the team with five home runs and tied for second on the team with 20 runs scored. In 2008, she had eight home runs (tied for fifth in the league) along with eight stolen bases, 20 RBI and a .508 slugging percentage.

Peel played at LSU from 1999-2002, where she earned NFCA Second-Team All-American accolades and was a semifinalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year as a senior. She was named SEC Athlete of the Year in 2002 and was also a three-time All-SEC honoree, selected twice to the All-South Regional Team. She was a 2001 NCAA Region 3 All-Tournament team member and a 2002 SEC All-Tournament selection.

As a Tiger, Peel tallied a .323 batting average with 269 hits, 45 doubles and 27 triples, which ranks first in LSU history.  Her triples total is also in the Top 20 in NCAA history. As a junior, Peel led the nation in triples per game and broke the LSU and SEC single-season triples record while ranking fourth in NCAA history with 14.

While at LSU, Peel was a 1999 USA Junior Olympic Softball team member and played on the 2001 USA National Red Team. She was also selected to the USA Elite Team in 2002 and 2003. The 2002 SEC Player of the Year, Peel was also a semifinalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS