Malveauxs named co-HCs for Softball

[Tiger1992 1,018]

https://auburntigers.com/news/2024/6/5/auburn-names-chris-and-kate-malveaux-co-head-softball-coaches.aspx

AUBURN, Ala.—Chris and Kate Malveaux (mal-VO) have been named Auburn Softball co-head coaches, Athletics Director John Cohen announced Wednesday. Both come to Auburn after serving as assistant coaches at the University of Tennessee where they helped the Lady Volunteer program to back-to-back Southeastern Conference regular season titles in 2023 and 2024 and a Women's College World Series appearance last year.

Additionally, the two helped Tennessee to 136 wins over the last three seasons, which is tied for the 10th most wins nationally and second most by an SEC team. This past season, Tennessee not only won the SEC regular season title, but posted a 44-12 overall record and made an NCAA Super Regional appearance.

"In meeting with Chris and Kate, it was obvious that their synergy was an indomitable force," Cohen said. "Their contributions to Tennessee's success over the past three seasons are undeniable. We're so excited to welcome Chris, Kate and their family to Auburn."

Recognized as one of the top offensive minds in collegiate softball, Chris Malveaux guided six Lady Vols to All-SEC accolades in 2024, including a third straight All-SEC First Team selection for McKenna Gibson, and helped All-American KiKi Milloy rewrite Tennessee's record book to become the program leader in home runs, runs scored and total bases. Three of Tennessee's top five single-season home run totals came under Malveaux.

"We are incredibly humbled and excited to be a part of the Auburn Family! Kate and I are overly thankful to Karen Weekly and the entire Tennessee family for their sacrifices, opportunities, and guidance these past three years," Chris Malveaux said. "It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead this storied Auburn program into its next stage and are forever grateful for the trust of John Cohen and his incredible staff for believing in us. We can't wait to get to work! WAR EAGLE!!"

Kate Malveaux was on staff at Tennessee for three seasons and was elevated to an assistant coach ahead of the 2024 season where she worked with the Lady Vols' catchers and baserunners. Last season, she helped lead first-year Lady Vol catcher Sophia Nugent to All-SEC honors. Tennessee catchers committed just a pair of errors in 2024. The Lady Vols stole 50 bases in each of the past three seasons under Malveaux. Since her arrival in 2022, Tennessee has ranked among the top five in the SEC in stolen bases per game.  

"Chris and I are both honored and humbled to lead this new era of Auburn Softball. Thank you to John Cohen and all of Auburn Athletics for their faith in us to take on this role and support the program in such an impactful way," Kate Malveaux said. "Also, thank you to Karen Weekly, the Lady Vol Softball staff, and student-athletes for the opportunity and support of not only us, but also our family. Auburn has proved that it can compete on the national stage, and we are excited to build, develop, and grow this program into a national powerhouse."
 

CHRIS MALVEAUX BIOGRAPHY

Returning one of the most powerful lineups in the SEC, Tennessee led the league and ranked sixth nationally with 1.50 home runs per game average in 2024 and closed the season with 84 total, the third most in a single season on Rocky Top. 

Returning for a fifth year, KiKi Milloy earned Second Team All-America honors from D1 Softball. Tennessee's all-time leader in home runs (69), runs scored (266) and total bases (534), Milloy started in 53 games in her final season at Tennessee. A mainstay at the top of the lineup, she led the Lady Vols with a .347 batting average and 64 runs scored.
 
Milloy tied for the team lead in hits (59) and home runs (13), while leading the squad with 12 doubles and two triples. Milloy closed out the year with 24 stolen bases as she finished with 142 for her career – the second-most in Tennessee softball history.

The Lady Vols' offense was potent in 2023 as they averaged 6.87 runs per game – ranking best in the SEC and third nationally. Tennessee pushed across 419 runs during the season - marking the first time UT broke 400 since scoring 426 in 2016. The Lady Vols scored 10+ runs 16 times in 2023 and pushed across five or more runs on 40 occasions.

Senior Milloy set a single-season school record for home runs with 25 – a mark that also led the nation. Sophomore McKenna Gibson had a breakout season as she set career-bests in average (.362), OPS (1.232), runs (36), hits (59), doubles (11), home runs (15), RBIs (60), slugging (.718), walks (39) and on-base percentage (.514). She also recorded multiple RBIs in 14 games and ended the season on a 23-game reached base streak.

Under Malveaux's leadership, Milloy earned NFCA First Team All-America honors, while Gibson took home second team accolades.

In its first year under his guidance, Tennessee boasted the SEC's third-best scoring offense with 140 runs in conference games. The Lady Vols also ranked second in the league in doubles (39), slugging percentage (.540), on-base percentage (.398), and stolen bases (22) in SEC action while finishing third in home runs (38).

Tennessee posted remarkable home run numbers in its first season with Malveaux on staff, totaling 91 long balls for the second-highest single-season total in program history. The Lady Vols averaged 1.54 homers per game, ranking third in the SEC and 12th in the country.

In its preseason list of top 10 assistant coaching hires during the 2021 offseason, Extra Inning Softball tabbed Malveaux's hiring as the No. 1 assistant coach addition in the country.

Malveaux, a Houston, Texas, native spent the 2019-21 seasons at Missouri with one year as an assistant coach and two years as an associate head coach. During his three seasons in Columbia, the Missouri offense improved each year – hitting .284 in 2019, .290 in the COVID shortened 2020 season and jumping up to .320 in 2021.

The Tigers' .320 batting average ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in 2021. The Mizzou squad finished the season with 91 home runs, 382 runs scored and 184 extra-base hits.

In 2019, Mizzou's Brooke Wilmes was named to the All-SEC first team, as well as NFCA Second Team All-Southeast Region, in her first year under Malveaux. Freshman Jazmyn Rollin was a Top 25 finalist for the NFCA/Schutt Sports Freshman of the Year that same season.

Prior to joining Missouri, Malveaux was the video coordinator at Kansas in 2018 and served as the associate head coach at Louisiana from 2016-17 – it was his second stay with the Ragin' Cajuns as he was an assistant coach with ULL from 2009-11.

The 2010 Louisiana staff was selected as the NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year after compiling a 45-18 record, making an NCAA Super Regional appearance and earning a No. 16 national ranking. In his five combined seasons at Louisiana, Malveaux was a member of five Sun Belt Conference and Tournament Championships, five NCAA Regionals and two NCAA Super Regional bids.

A 2001 graduate of Texas A&M, Malveaux served as an assistant coach at Bradley from 2012-15 and was the head coach at McNeese State from 2005-08 after being promoted from assistant coach, a title he held at McNeese from 2002-04.
 

KATE MALVEAUX BIOGRAPHY

Kate Malveaux joined Tennessee's staff in June of 2021 and a year ago was elevated to a full-time assistant coach position after serving the 2022 and 2023 seasons as a volunteer assistant.

In her first full season as an assistant coach, Malveaux continued her work with base running and the Lady Vols catchers. Tennessee's catchers committed just two errors over the course of the 2024 season and threw out five base runners.

A first-year Lady Vol, Sophia Nugent earned All-SEC honors with her efforts behind the dish and at the plate. Nugent totaled 42 hits, including eight doubles and 11 home runs with 38 RBI. Starting 52 games, Nugent held a .933 fielding percentage and threw out four base runners. 

For the third straight season, Tennessee finished in the top five in the SEC in stolen bases per game, as the Lady Vols averaged 0.96 per game. Tennessee finished fifth in the league with 54 total stolen bases. 

Over her two seasons as a volunteer assistant, the Lady Vols won 92 games and in 2023 won the SEC regular-season and tournament titles – sweeping both crowns in the same season for the first time in program history.

In 2023, Tennessee secured its first 50-win season and reached the national semifinals at the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2013. The trip to the WCWS was its first since 2015 and its eighth all-time. Primarily focused on Tennessee's catchers, Malveaux helped Giulia Koutsoyanopulos transition from the outfield to playing behind the plate in 2023. Before coming to Knoxville, Koutsoyanopulos had never been a catcher but moved into the role and started 59 games for UT.

Also working with the baserunners, the Lady Vols stole 50 bases in each of the past three seasons. Since Malveaux's arrival, Tennessee has ranked among the top five in the SEC in stolen bases per game. UT was second in 2022 with an average of 1.49, fourth in 2023 at 1.43 and fifth in 2024 at 0.96.

Malveaux—formerly Kate Singler—was a member of the Missouri softball staff for the 2020 and 2021 seasons as its director of operations.

A standout softball player at Bradley, Malveaux served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Braves in 2012. As a student-athlete, she was a second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and a first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete. She also earned First-Team Capital One Academic All-District V honors as a senior.

In back-to-back years as a junior and senior, she led Bradley in RBIs, becoming just the fifth player in program history to do so.
 

QUOTABLE

Athletics Director John Cohen Quote
"In meeting with Chris and Kate, it was obvious that their synergy was an indomitable force. Their contributions to Tennessee's success over the past three seasons is undeniable. We're so excited to welcome Chris, Kate and their family to Auburn."

Co-Head Coach Chris Malveaux Quote
"We are incredibly humbled and excited to be a part of the Auburn Family! Kate and I are overly thankful to Karen Weekly and the entire Tennessee family for their sacrifices, opportunities, and guidance these past three years. It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead this storied Auburn program into its next stage and are forever grateful for the trust of John Cohen and his incredible staff for believing in us. We can't wait to get to work! WAR EAGLE!!"

Co-Head Coach Kate Malveaux Quote
"Chris and I are both honored and humbled to lead this new era of Auburn Softball. Thank you to John Cohen and all of Auburn Athletics for their faith in us to take on this role and support the program in such an impactful way. Also, thank you to Karen Weekly, the Lady Vol Softball staff, and student-athletes for the opportunity and support of not only us, but also our family. Auburn has proved that it can compete on the national stage, and we are excited to build, develop, and grow this program into a national powerhouse."

[WarTiger 3,987]

I really like this hire.  The start of bringing the program up where it should be. 

[AUBwins 10,184]

Offensive minded!!! I also like the idea of husband and wife leading the team to provide what should give a family feel to the team and cohesiveness.  As long as they keep marital problems at home 😆 

[AUBwins 10,184]

But really good accolades on the histories.  He was a part of those really good Ragin Cajun teams at ULL.

[AU9377 5,575]

Very pleased with the hire.  I believe the young women coming back will be excited as well.

[blakem 301]

Wonder if they will be doing a press conference?

[aubiefifty 17,492]

al.com

Auburn softball hires Tennessee assistants Chris and Kate Malveaux as co-head coaches

Updated: Jun. 05, 2024, 10:08 a.m.|Published: Jun. 05, 2024, 9:44 a.m.

4–6 minutes

TUSCALOOSA, AL - April 28, 2024 - Catcher Sophia Nugent #7 and Assistant Coach Chris Malveaux of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee AthleticsKate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Auburn softball has hired Chris and Kate Malveaux as co-head coaches, the program announced Wednesday.

The Malveaux couple comes to The Plains after having spent the past three seasons at Tennessee, where Chris Malveaux helped retool the Lady Vols’ offense and Kate Malveaux helped with the Lady Vols’ catchers and baserunners.

Together, they each had a hand in leading Tennessee to back-to-back regular season SEC titles in 2023 and 2024.

“In meeting with Chris and Kate, it was obvious that their synergy was an indomitable force,” Auburn athletics director John Cohen said in a release. “Their contributions to Tennessee’s success over the past three seasons are undeniable. We’re so excited to welcome Chris, Kate and their family to Auburn.”

During the 2023 season, Tennessee’s offense averaged 6.87 runs per game — a mark that ranked first in SEC and third nationally.

Chris Malveaux also had a hand in the development of Kiki Milloy, who in 2023 broke Tennessee’s single-season home run record with 25 long balls, which were the most of any Division I player that season. Milloy went on to be named an NFCA first-team all-American that season.

In 2023, Chris Malveaux also served as an assistant with USA Softball for the Japan All-Star series.

Before joining Karen Weekly’s staff at Tennessee, Chris Malveaux was a member of the coaching staff at Missouri from 2019-21 — spending one season as an assistant and two seasons as associate head coach. There with the Tigers of Missouri, Chris Malveaux helped the offense improve each year as the Tigers hit .284 as a team in 2019, .290 in 2020 and then .320 in 2021.

Meanwhile, Kate Malveaux served as Missouri’s director of softball operations in 2020 and 2021.

Prior to jumping into the SEC, Chris Malveaux also made stops at Kansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Bradley University and was McNeese State’s head coach from 2005-08. At McNeese State, Malveaux helped lead the Cowgirls to the Southland Conference Tournament title and the program’s second NCAA Tournament appearance in his first season at the helm.

Kate Malveaux got her start in coaching after having been a standout player at Bradley University, where she briefly served as an assistant coach in 2021.

“Chris and I are both honored and humbled to lead this new era of Auburn Softball. Thank you to John Cohen and all of Auburn Athletics for their faith in us to take on this role and support the program in such an impactful way,” Kate Malveaux said in a release. “Also, thank you to Karen Weekly, the Lady Vol Softball staff, and student-athletes for the opportunity and support of not only us, but also our family. Auburn has proved that it can compete on the national stage, and we are excited to build, develop, and grow this program into a national powerhouse.”

Now at Auburn, Chris and Kate Malveaux follows former Auburn head coach Mickey Dean, who in March announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2024 season after seven seasons on The Plains. Dean will now transition to an administrative role at Auburn, serving as a special assistant to the athletic director.

Auburn finished its 2024 campaign 29-21-1 (9-15 SEC) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they were eliminated by Florida State in the Tallahassee Regional.

Since the end of the Tigers’ season in May, a vast majority of Auburn’s players have vowed not to explore the transfer portal despite the approaching change in leadership.

However, Auburn will likely need to look to the transfer portal to add to its pitching staff as both Maddie Penta and Shelby Lowe have run out of eligibility, while Annabelle Widra has elected to enter the transfer portal. Together, that trio was responsible for more than 90% of Auburn’s pitching in 2024.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

[AU9377 5,575]

3 minutes ago, blakem said:

Wonder if they will be doing a press conference?

I'm fairly certain that they will.  I'm not sure when.

[saminbama 746]

Hopefully, they can bring in a good pitching coach.  Our offense will improve.

[AUSage 10]

This looks like a solid hire. If their fundamentals are as solid as their history suggests, recruiting and retention of tier-one talent will determine their trajectory at AU. I liked Mickey Dean and thought he was a good guy and an above average coach. However, I believe it was his inability to bring in and keep top-level talent that prevented him from having a winning record in the SEC. Hopefully the Malveauxs will be more effective in this regard.

[tigeraddikt 1,629]

My mind is spinning! Do they each get the same paycheck amount? One paycheck or two? Do they share the same office? If not, who gets the bigger office? What happens if they split up? Are we going to have to read “Co-“ in front of HC for both of them as long as they’re at AU?? So many questions!

[woodford 3,688]

Weird but I’m hoping for the best. WDE. 

[AuburnAlumFromThe423 106]

It worked for Tennessee for years when their head coach and husband were co-head coaches. Maybe she gave them some good pointers on how to make it work.

[AU9377 5,575]

This isn't the first time a softball team has had co-head coaches.   Tennessee did it for years.

[AuburnAlumFromThe423 106]

1 minute ago, AU9377 said:

This isn't the first time a softball team has had co-head coaches.   Tennessee did it for years.

Ha! Great minds think alike 9377 😀

[ArgoEagle 1,968]

Offense!!  Offense!!  Offense!!  Let's gooooo!!!!   We've had very little since Dean was hired.

[CCTAU 3,369]

This is interesting. I would not have guessed a co coach scenario even if you told me it existed. I like the out of box thinking. We get a cohesive coaching staff from the jump. 
Now let’s get, and KEEP, those top recruits. 

[AUBwins 10,184]

1 hour ago, AU9377 said:

Very pleased with the hire.  I believe the young women coming back will be excited as well.

Several more have responded.

 

 

[Golden Eagle 449]

Couldn't be happier with this hire!!!  I think Cohen hit it out of the park (so to speak).  They just need to hire a top-notch pitching coach to complete the team.  Hope Widra will consider returning - if not, I'm grateful for her time at Auburn and wish her the best.  Regardless, I think the Malveauxs can and will attract high-level talent to Auburn.   Would love to see them build a dynasty and stay for decades.  WAR.  DAMN.  EAGLE.

[ArgoEagle 1,968]

2 hours ago, AUBwins said:

Several more have responded.

 

 

I look at Chris & for some reason Caulk Gun comes to mind.

[slot canyon 1,360]

Folks usually curious about previous salary and info provided in this article.  The more I read, the more I like the hire.  Did not realize he made big improvements during time at Missouri.  

 

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/other-sports/2024/06/05/chris-malveaux-kate-auburn-softball-co-head-coaches-tennessee-karen-weekly/73983760007/

Edited June 5 by slot canyon

[tigerjonathan 9]

I have read our new SB coaches got a chance to work with the Tennessee coaching legend Ralph Weekly and his wife before Ralph retired in 2021.  Currently Ralph's wife is the current HC at Tennessee. I'm very impressed with today's hires.......Boom Baby! WDE! 

 

[tigeraddikt 1,629]

11 minutes ago, tigerjonathan said:

I have read our new SB coaches got a chance to work with the Tennessee coaching legend Ralph Weekly and his wife before Ralph retired in 2021.  Currently Ralph's wife is the current HC at Tennessee. I'm very impressed with today's hires.......Boom Baby! WDE! 

 

Tennessee softball has held Weekly meetings for the past 20+ years

[PUB78 1,393]

I like this hire!

[DAG 34,216]

Very good hire. Go big or go home. We see Texas vs OU in the dang championship game.