A former Clemson Softball superstar is now a coach.

Valerie Cagle, a four-time All-American at Clemson and the 2023 Collegiate Player of the Year, has joined the Furman Softball coaching staff.

Following is a press release from Furman Athletics on the addition of Cagle to the Paladins staff:

Greenville, S.C. – Four-time NFCA All-American and 2023 USA Collegiate Player of the Year Valerie Cagle has joined the Furman softball staff as an assistant coach, it was announced this week by first-year Paladin head coach Mary Beth Dennison.
 
Cagle rose to national prominence leading Clemson to 189 victories, the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title, and three consecutive NCAA regional appearances during her five-year collegiate career from 2020-24. An original member of the Clemson softball program, she captured first team NFCA All-America honors in 2022, ’23, and ’24 after earning second team honors in 2021. 
 
“The addition of Valerie to our staff immediately elevates the competitiveness of this program,” said Dennison. “She has a wealth of knowledge and playing experience at multiple positions that will enable her to contribute in a variety of ways to our student-athletes.”
 
After pacing the Tigers to a 19-8 mark during the program’s inaugural, COVID-19 shortened season in 2020, Cagle became the first player in ACC history to garner player of the year and freshman of the year honors in the same season. She batted .404 with 17 home runs while fashioning a 28-7 record and 1.16 ERA in the circle to power Clemson to a 44-8 record, 29-5 league mark, the program’s first ACC regular season championship, and an NCAA regional berth.
 
In 2022, Cagle paced the Tigers to a 42-17 mark and the school’s first NCAA regional title and appearance in the super regionals. The left-handed hitter batted .308, clubbed 13 homers and registered 16 wins in the circle to secure first team NFCA All-American accolades.
 
The versatile Cagle notched her second consecutive first team All-American citation the following season when she blistered opposing pitching with a .469 batting average, 15 doubles, 19 homers, and 57 RBI. In the circle, she went 25-8 with a 1.56 ERA as Clemson posted a 49-12 record, won its second straight NCAA regional and reached the super regionals for the second consecutive season. The ACC Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons, Cagle was named USA Softball and D1 Softball National Player of the Year while also being named ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
 
The two-way superstar capped her collegiate career in 2024 by hitting .338 with seven homers, and 42 RBI en route to earning her third straight NFCA All-America First Team nod. Clemson won 35 games and once again reached the NCAA regionals.
 
A native of Yorktown, Va., the Clemson graduate finished her collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in games played (243), games started (243), batting average (.379), at bats (759), hits (288), doubles (49), home runs (66), RBI (224), slugging percentage (.721), on-base percentage (.457), walks (101), total bases (547), appearances in the circle (153), starts in the circle (114), victories (86), innings pitched (756.1), lowest opponent batting average (.204), strikeouts (819), complete games (79), saves (14) and solo shutouts (28)
 
Cagle was selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 AUSL Draft and played over 250 games in the league before playing professionally in the Netherlands. She has appeared with the United States National Team at the junior and senior levels. In 2001, she helped the USA claim gold at the Junior Women’s World Championship and Junior Pan American Games by posting a 0.00 ERA and batting average over .500 in both tournaments. Cagle was also selected to represent her country at the senior level for the 2023 and 2024 Japan All-Star Series.
 
The addition of Cagle completes Dennison’s staff, which also includes assistant coach Kristina Burkhardt and graduate assistant Emme Buzhardt.