Veteran softball coach Kama Tucker completed her seventh season as a member of the Seahawks’ coaching staff in 2021, including her sixth year as the program’s associate head coach.
Under Tucker’s tutelage, the Seahawks’ pitching staff has ranked among the best in the Colonial Athletic Association.
In 2021, junior pitcher/infielder Logan Bjorson earned Second-Team All-CAA distinction after leading the league with three saves, which matched a school record. Bjorson also paced the CAA by finishing 14 games for the Seahawks.
Graduate student pitcher Rylee Pate (3.06) and junior Janel Gamache (3.40) also ranked among the CAA's earned run average leaders, while Pate's 42 strikeouts were good for eighth in the circuit.
During the 2019 campaign, UNCW pitchers combined to rank third in the eight-team league with a 3.97 earned run average and 194 strikeouts. In addition, a pair of UNCW pitchers - Haley Lenderman and Laurel Koontz - earned Second-Team All-CAA notice.
In 2018, UNCW's hurlers ranked fourth in the CAA with a 3.46 earned run average and struck out 228 opposing hitters, which was good for third in the circuit.
UNCW finished second in the Colonial Athletic Association for the second consecutive season in 2017 after authoring a 2.56 earned run average, the fourth-lowest mark in program history.
Tucker also mentored a pair of All-CAA picks as right-handed hurler Peyton Jordan received First-Team All-CAA distinction while right-handed pitcher Sarah Davis earned a spot on the All-CAA Second Team.
Jordan finished her career among UNCW’s all-time leaders by posting a 2.70 earned run average and a 44-41 record. She also claimed All-CAA honors three times in her career, including Second-Team notice as a sophomore and junior.
Tucker also guided right-handed pitcher Haley Lenderman to a spot on the CAA’s All-Rookie Team in 2016 after ranking fourth in the CAA with a 2.28 earned run average while starting a team-high 17 games.
Tucker brings more than 14 years of collegiate coaching experience to the coast, including nine seasons as a head coach. She headed up the program at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., for three seasons prior to joining head coach Kristy Norton’s staff in July, 2014.
At Presbyterian, Tucker revamped the Blue Hose program into a winner. Her teams registered wins over Wisconsin, Georgetown and Coastal Carolina despite featuring 25 newly recruited players since Tucker’s arrival. She coached five All-Conference players during her time in Clinton and picked up her 200th career coaching victory during the 2014 campaign.
A 1998 graduate of Barton College in Wilson, N.C., Tucker started her coaching career as an assistant coach at Tustin High School before accepting an assistant coaching position at Peace College in Raleigh.
Following two seasons at Peace, Tucker made her head coaching debut at Greensboro College and coached the Pride to a 144-94-4 record over five seasons. Greensboro achieved a top-25 ranking on the NCAA Division III level with a 32-10 record in 2008.
Tucker then worked two seasons with Norton as assistant coaches at Colonial Athletic Association member James Madison from 2009-11. She working primarily with the pitching staff for the Dukes, but was also involved with other phases of the JMU program.
Tucker was an outstanding player at Barton during her collegiate days, earning All-Conference and All-Tournament Team MVP honors as a pitcher and infielder for the Bulldogs.
