HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Wallace State Community has hired former Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) softball coach Megan Curry to lead the Lions softball team, President Dr. Vicki Karolewics announced today. Sarah Cespedes has been hired as assistant coach.
“Wallace State sets a high bar for Lions Softball and we are excited to add Coaches Curry and Cespedes to the Lions coaching staff to continue our winning tradition,” said Karolewics.
Curry joins the Lions as the team completes an Alabama Community College Conference Championship season. The Lions’ ACCC title was the program’s fourth straight and 16th overall, followed by its 16th National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Softball World Series appearance. Wallace State softball has won two NJCAA Division I national championships.
“I am very excited to be at Wallace State. It’s a blessing to be a part of such a winning culture and great success rate. I just want to continue that,” Curry said.
Her coaching philosophy is person first, player second.
“We’re just trying to grow young women and prepare them for what’s next,” she said. “If we can do both of those things a lot of greatness will come.”
Curry comes to Wallace State after a successful first season at BSC, where she was named the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Coach of the Year. She led the Panthers to a 24-17 overall record and earned conference runner-up, with a 13-5 regular season SAA record.
Before her stint at Birmingham-Southern, Curry served as head coach at Asbury University and as assistant softball coach at Mercer University and her alma mater, Samford University, where in 2023 she was inducted into the Samford Sports Hall of Fame.
As a player at Samford, she was on the 2016 NCAA Division I Southern Conference Softball Championship team. She was named the 2016 Southern Conference Softball Player of the Year and to the 2016 NFCA All-Regional South Softball Team (First Team). In three consecutive years from 2014-2016 she was named to the Southern Conference, All-Conference Team (First Team). Curry broke the Samford softball single-season records for hits, batting average, at-bats, doubles, and stolen bases. In her career, she broke records for hits, at-bats, and triples.
She graduated from Samford in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in sports administration and from Asbury University in 2024 with a master’s degree in business administration, specializing in sports management. A native of Louisville, Ky., and raised in Paducah, she moved to Fairhope in 2006, graduating from Fairhope High School in 2012. Her husband, Parker Curry, formerly played in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and is now on the UAB baseball staff. They have one daughter.
Cespedes brings with her a specialty in coaching softball pitchers. She also served as assistant coach under Curry at Birmingham-Southern and provided key support for that program’s success.
“I’m just so excited to continue the championship legacy that Wallace State always had and to do it alongside Megan,” Cespedes said. “I’m excited to see what things are in store for us next.”
Prior to joining the BSC coaching staff, Cespedes played for five years at UAB, pitching 401.2 innings with a 3.33 career ERA. She recorded 294 strikeouts, including 87 her senior year.
Cespedes has roots in the area. Her grandfather Fred Cespedes, a retired executive at American Proteins, is credited with helping Wallace State establish its poultry science partnership with Auburn University.
