Howard Community College Names First Coach of New Softball Program

COLUMBIA, MD – Howard Community College Director of Athletics Erin Foley has named Shannon Riley as the first head coach of the newly formed softball program. Riley will be entrusted with the task of building the program from the ground up in time for the 2021–2022 season.

“Coach Riley brings a wealth of softball knowledge and experience, as well as a work ethic that will create a positive environment for student-athletes” said Foley. “She has been dedicated to serving the Howard Community College Dragons for several years, and this new role allows her to create a strong foundation for the team.”

The college announced April 27 that its Dragons softball program will join NJCAA Division II in Region 20, which will allow athletic scholarships to be awarded to the student-athletes. The addition of softball will bring in at least 15–25 female student-athletes annually to Howard Community College. The Dragons will be the 17th community college in its region to field a softball team.

As the new coach, Riley already has experience working with the Dragons, joining the athletics department as an assistant to the athletic director in August 2018. She was later promoted to manager for student-athlete academic success, while serving as an assistant coach for the women’s soccer team.

Riley comes in with an impressive resume, having played NCAA Division I soccer and softball at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. She served as the director of operations for the University of Maryland College Park softball team from 2011–2014. She also gained experience as an assistant coach for the 12U USA softball Region 2 team, while also serving as the director of the USA High Performance Softball Program for the region. More recently, she was the head softball coach of Glenelg High School from 2019–2020 as she led the team in its best season in program history. Additionally, she continues to hold the position of director for the 5 Star Athletics Softball Company.

"I am extremely happy to be given the chance to start the softball program at Howard Community College," said Riley. "I would like to thank our Director of Athletics Erin Foley for trusting me to be the head coach for Howard Community College. For years, many Howard County softball players had to go out of county to continue their careers at the NJCAA level. I look forward to starting the process of building a prestigious program right here in Howard County."

Recruiting for the softball team will begin immediately. Any future or current students interested in playing softball are asked to complete the prospective student-athlete form on the Dragons athletics website at howardccdragons.com.

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