The University of Tennessee Southern

Murphy Davis begins her fourth season as head coach of the UT Southern softball program in 2025–26. In just her second year at the helm, Davis led the Firehawks to the NAIA Opening Round final, coming just two wins short of advancing to the NAIA World Series—this was the program's fourth NAIA Championship apperance.

Davis brings a wealth of experience from NCAA Division II, having coached at two respected programs—Lee University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). Before her arrival in Pulaski, she served as the top assistant coach at Lee University for four seasons, where she played a key role in the team’s success and development.

Her coaching career began as a graduate assistant at UAH in 2019, laying the foundation for her rise in the collegiate coaching ranks.

A native of the Atlanta area, Davis is a graduate of Lassiter High School, where she was named Defensive Player of the Year as both a junior and senior. She went on to play collegiately at Young Harris College, where she was a four-year starter and key contributor for the Mountain Lions as an infielder.

Davis’s impact at Young Harris was felt both on the field and in the classroom. She was named to the Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Team after her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons and earned Second Team All-Peach Belt Conference honors as a sophomore.

As a senior, she posted a .311 batting average, a .388 on-base percentage, and a .418 slugging percentage. She tallied 55 hits, 31 RBI, 31 runs scored, three home runs, and 10 doubles, while recording 11 multi-hit games and tying a career-high with five RBI in a single game against Georgia Southwestern.

Over her four-year career, Davis played in 214 games, scored 110 runs, and drove in 113 runs. She totaled 27 doubles across her final three seasons and was a steady presence in the lineup and on defense throughout her time at Young Harris.