MARTY MCDANIEL AT A GLANCE
Hometown:
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Education:
Bachelor’s: Carson Newman College, 1989
Coaching Experience:
2020-Present: Georgia Tech Assistant Coach
2004-20: University of Tennessee Assistant Coach
1996-2004: Armstrong Atlantic State University Head Coach
1996-97: The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Assistant Coach
Marty McDaniel joined the Georgia Tech softball staff as an assistant coach on August 7, 2020. McDaniel serves as Tech’s pitching coach.
In McDaniel’s third season, the pitching staff turned in 323 strikeouts for a .251 batting average against and a 4.47 ERA. Over the course of the year, Tech’s pitchers compiled 13 complete games, eight total shutouts and eight saves. Primarily, McDaniel assisted Blake Neleman in finishing fifth in the ACC in strikeouts while Chandler Dennis ranked fifth in the league in saves. Neleman has also moved up to second in program history in career strikeouts under McDaniel’s wing.
In year two, McDaniel’s impact became starkly evident as the staff as a whole improved by nearly two runs down to a 2.92 ERA. McDaniel turned Tech’s presence in the circle into a strength, led by the two-headed monster of Neleman and Michigan transfer Chandler Dennis. Neleman continued to blossom in her first uninterrupted season of college ball as she dealt 220 strikeouts this season, good for second in the ACC and fifth in program history. She tossed a career-high 13 strikeouts twice on season, moving up to 421 career strikeouts, good for sixth in program history. Her 43 appearances tied for fourth all time, and her four saves were also good for fourth in the ACC and top 20 in the nation while her hits allowed per seven innings (5.20) were top five in the league. Dennis, meanwhile, led the team with 16 wins with 107 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA in her own right. The staff finished the year with 370 strikeouts with 12 shutouts and an opponent batting average of .218.
In McDaniel’s first season on The Flats, he most notably began to groom Blake Neleman as she picked up 12 wins on the season, including 10 complete games and three shutouts, while dealing 111 strikeouts. Neleman was also lights out at the end of the season, tossing a no-hitter against Syracuse in the ACC tournament and another gem against Clemson in the season finale.
A veteran collegiate pitching coach with a long history of success, McDaniel played a pivotal role in making Tennessee a top-tier team in the SEC over the last 16 seasons, earning NFCA Southeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors three times. During his tenure, McDaniel also helped lead the program to seven Women’s College World Series appearances and two SEC tournament titles.
McDaniel coached 34 NFCA All-Americans, 60 NFCA all-Region selections and 70 all-SEC or all-freshman selections at Tennessee. Among his 10 all-SEC pitchers are Olympic silver medalist, four-time first team all-American and eight-time pro all-star Monica Abbott, and two-time all-American and three-time all-SEC selection Ellen Renfroe.
In his first season at Tennessee in 2005, McDaniel’s pitching staff set a national record with 51 shutouts, while also setting program records in ERA (0.79) and wins (67). He went on to lead the Lady Vols to an NCAA-best 0.88 ERA to go along with 63 wins, 41 shutouts and a national single-season record strikeout-per-seven-inning ratio of 13.55 in 2007, on their way to becoming the first SEC team to reach the Women’s College World Series championship series.
Prior to his time at Tennessee, McDaniel was the head coach at Division II Armstrong Atlantic State from 1996-2004. He earned Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honors in 2000 after leading the team to the conference championship. In 2017, he was inducted into the Armstrong Atlantic Athletics Hall of Fame.
He also spent two years (1996-97) on Ralph Weekly’s coaching staff at Chattanooga, winning two Southern Conference Championships.
A native of Chattanooga, Tenn., McDaniel received his Bachelor of Science degree from Carson-Newman College in 1989 and also assisted with the baseball team as a coach for two seasons. As a top-rated pitcher, McDaniel has made numerous all-region men’s fastpitch softball teams.
