July 26, 2007

CANYON, Texas - For the first time in program history, the West Texas A&M softball team will have a full-time assistant coach. Sarah Harman joins the Lady Buff coaching staff under head coach Kevin Blaskowski for the upcoming 2007-08 academic year and will work primarily with the team's pitching staff.

"I'm very impressed with the administrative effort here at West Texas A&M to get the softball program to a championship level," said Harman. "The expectations and goals have been made clear and I am confident and thrilled to have this opportunity to assist Coach Blaskowski in building Lady Buff Softball into a winning program."

Prior to making the move to Canyon, Harman spent two seasons as an assistant softball coach at Norfolk State University. Previously, Harman was a graduate assistant coach at Ball State University, where she worked with the pitchers.

Harman brings a stellar record of experience, including a standout career at Division III Defiance college where she played for four seasons (2000-03). She earned Heartland Collegiate Conference All-Conference first team honors three years she played. A standout pitcher at Defiance, Harman holds school records for strikeouts (381), innings pitched (665 1/3) and games started (103). She is second all-time in wins (39) and third in school history in complete games (72) and shutouts (8). She holds the second, fourth and fifth-highest single-season strikeout totals in the program's history.

Harman was a three-time all-conference selection, was named the team MVP her junior and senior seasons, and was named the Defiance Female Athlete of the Year in 2003.

Harman, who also played volleyball at Defiance, earned her bachelor's degree in sports management with a minor in recreation in 2003.

A native of Port Clinton, Ohio, Harman graduated with a master's degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration from Ball State in 2005. While at Ball State, Harman was a recipient of the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics for the 2003-04 school year.