Kailey Snell brings a wealth of experience and knowledge having played her high school days at Cascade, followed by a stellar career at UT-C. (Photo courtesy of Ray Soldano, Chattanooga Athletics)
Snell joins the staff at Shelbyville Central after graduating from UT-C this past year. (Chattanooga Athletics)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
Any chance a coaching staff gets a chance to add a five-year Division I player to the coaching staff, you take it.
Any time that player is a local who became one of the best players in the county’s history, well, it’s a win-win for everyone.
After wrapping up her five-year career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Cascade graduate Kailey Snell has made her return to Bedford County and will join head coach Stepfon Ransom on the Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglette softball staff.
Snell wrapped up her undergraduate degree in 2024, studying Child and Family Studies and is currently pursuing a masters degree, while joining the Shelbyville Central faculty.
“Chattanooga was great for my five years but there’s no feeling like being home in Shelbyville,” she said.
“I will be teaching ACT Prep and helping out with the softball program,” she said.
Head coach Stepfon Ransom also expressed his excitement to have Snell join the program as well.
“Getting a coach like her is key for the program. Intangibles of the game are undeniable and the want and will to win is there as well. As we go through this year we will have to shift the mindset of player to coach but that’s, why we do this for the love to help the youth become great teammates and women in this world,” Ransom said.
While her path eventually led her to the dugout as a coach on the Eaglettes’ staff, Snell didn’t always see herself coaching after her playing career.
In fact, her path to coaching branched out from giving lessons to players.
“It was always in my mind, but I started giving some lessons to some girls here and there, and that’s when I really fell in love with coaching—seeing all the young girls grow in the sport that has given so much back to me. I love to see that in them, too,” she said.
Throughout her playing career at UT-C, Snell fell in love with a perfect fit in the city and camaraderie in the coaching staff—something she hopes to help build with the Eaglettes.
“It feels really good to have played all my years at UT-C. I’ve really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed kind of being close to home. It was a perfect fit. I think this extra year was what I needed to be able to close that chapter as a player and now ready to open another as a coach,” she said.
As far as what she hopes to impact on the field, Snell wants the Eaglettes to be known for their work ethic on and off the field.
“A big thing for me is work ethic. I think that’s going to be my No. 1 thing I try to teach because all the character you build on the field is going to carry you through life,” she said.
Ransom echoed Snell’s sentiments as well.
“We will learn from her as a group and I know she wants to learn as well. Diamonds in the rough are rare,” he said.
“Softball is just a game, but if we can grow from it, I think that’s the biggest lesson I want to help teach to them,” Snell added.
