Aileen Morales was appointed the eighth head coach of the Highlander softball program on June 26, 2015, and made an immediate and significant impact.
In her first season, Morales engineered Radford to a dramatic turnaround of 23 more wins than the year prior, the most improvement of any NCAA Division I team. The Highlanders finished the 2016 campaign with a 35-26 record, their most victories since 2011, and posted 15 road wins, tied for second in program history. As a result, RU climbed 96 spots in the RPI rankings from the end of 2015.
In Big South play, Radford jumped from eighth to fourth in the conference standings, earning seven more regular-season victories. The Highlanders then won their first Big South Tournament games since 2012, winning three straight elimination contests to reach the semifinal round.
Each aspect of the team saw significant improvement under Morales as RU went from ninth to second in the conference in team ERA (6.66 to 2.90) and ninth to fourth in both fielding percentage and runs scored. Highlander pitchers led the Big South in fewest walks and helped generate a program-record 612 assists, while four returning upperclassmen posted career-best offensive numbers.
Pitcher Abby Morrow and shortstop Marissa Gagliano capped comeback seasons by earning All-Big South Second Team selections, while Morrow and Kayla Bishton were the first two Highlanders to claim Big South All-Tournament Team honors since 2012.
Prior to coming to Radford, Morales spent two years as head coach at Young Harris College. While with the Mountain Lions, Morales led the NCAA Division II program to 51 wins. In 2015, Young Harris posted a program-record 31 victories while six players were named All-Peach Belt Conference selections.
In her first season, the Mountain Lions had 20 wins and two players named to the All-Peach Belt Conference team, along with one to the NFCA All-Region team and one to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team.
Morales, who was an All-American shortstop for the Yellow Jackets, spent five seasons as an assistant at Georgia Tech. She was an assistant coach for four seasons after serving as an undergraduate student assistant in 2009 while completing her degree in management. The Yellow Jackets won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships during that time. She worked primarily with Georgia Tech's infielders and hitters while assisting with the day-to-day operations of the program, including recruiting.
Georgia Tech won 25 games in 2013 as shortstop Ashley Thomas was named the ACC player of the year. It marked the fourth consecutive year a Yellow Jacket earned ACC player of the year honors. Thomas, who was also named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Southeast Region second team in 2013, was one of three Georgia Tech players represented on the all-conference team.
The 2012 squad won the ACC championship as the team finished with a 37-23 record. Shortstop Kelsi Weseman and pitcher Hope Rush were named to the NFCA all-region second team for the second and third NFCA region honors of their careers, respectively. Weseman garnered her second consecutive ACC player of the year award under Morales' guidance, making her the third ACC player in league history to earn the honor in consecutive years.
The 2011 season brought about the third-straight regular season ACC title for Georgia Tech and its 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. That year also marked Tech's eighth All-American, Weseman, who Morales worked with closely both on the field and in the batting cages. Weseman also earned ACC player of the year honors and was named to the All-ACC first team for the third-straight season.
In 2010, Morales helped lead the Yellow Jackets to their second straight ACC regular-season and tournament title. Tech hosted its second consecutive NCAA regional and was a national seed for the first time in program history. The Yellow Jackets spent the entire season ranked in the NFCA Top-25 poll for the first time ever, including several weeks in the Top 10. Georgia Tech finished the regular season with its highest ever national ranking at No. 7.
In 2009, Morales coached two All-Americans and senior Jen Yee was a finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year award. She helped produce six All-ACC picks and had a hand in the Jackets breaking several school and conference records.
As a student assistant coach in 2009, Morales helped lead the Yellow Jackets to unprecedented success as they recorded a 46-15 record and advanced to the schools' first-ever super regional before falling to eventual national champion Washington. Tech finished 13th in the final NFCA and ESPN.com Top-25 polls, as well as 12th in the RPI, all school bests. Georgia Tech was a national seed (No. 14) for the first time in program history and hosted a regional and super regional for the first time. Morales coached a league-high six all-conference selections and two Easton All-Americans.
A native of Columbus, Ga., Morales set the program record for career stolen bases (154), games played (265), games started (265), at bats (850) and stolen base attempts (173). In addition, Morales ranks second in school history and third in ACC history in runs scored (216).
Morales was a three-time All-ACC, All-Region and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District pick, and was an NFCA and Easton All-American in 2007. She was selected in the second round of the 2008 National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Chicago Bandits in 2008. Morales played two seasons with the Bandits and led the team to the 2008 NPF Championship.
Morales also competed internationally as a member of the Puerto Rican National Team before being selected to their coaching staff last summer. She helped coach that squad to an eighth-place finish at the 2012 International Softball Federation Word Championship, which marked the best finish for the national team in over 10 years.
Morales earned her bachelor's degree in business management in May 2009 from Georgia Tech before acquiring her master's degree in sport management in May 2013 from Georgia Southern University.
What They’re Saying About Aileen Morales…
"Aileen has won at everything she's done, and she'll find a way to win at Radford, too. She's a natural born leader, who loves to compete. I expect to see her elevate the program to new levels and be a successful DI head coach for many years to come."
Ehren Earleywine
University of Missouri
Head Softball Coach
"I have known Aileen since she was a player at Georgia Tech ... I have no doubt she is a tremendous choice to lead the Radford softball program into the future. Aileen is a person of great character, positive energy and a great, young softball mind."
Scot Thomas
Virginia Tech
Head Softball Coach
“Coach Morales has a passion for excellence, not only for her players, but also for herself. She is one of the hardest working coaches I have ever known. Her passion and knowledge of the game will allow the Highlanders to have immediate success. She is a tireless recruiter with the energy to evaluate and attract the best players in Virginia and eastern U.S. Radford University administrators, coaches, alumni and players will all enjoy developing a championship program with Coach Morales.”
Rick Robinson
UT-Martin
Head Baseball Coach
The Aileen Morales File
PERSONAL
Hometown: Columbus, Ga.
Undergraduate: Georgia Tech, 2009
Education: Georgia Southern, 2013
COACHING CAREER
2015-pr.: Head Softball Coach, Radford University
2013-15: Head Softball Coach, Young Harris College
2012: Assistant Softball Coach, Puerto Rico National Team
2008-13: Assistant Softball Coach, Georgia Tech
PLAYING CAREER
2005-2008: Georgia Tech
2007-2010: Puerto Rico National Team
2008-2009: Chicago Bandits
