Erin Ward completed her fifth season as the Pacers’ assistant coach in the 2013 season. Her main duties at USC Aiken are assisting in on-field instruction and recruiting.
Ward has helped guide the Pacers to the NCAA Division II Tournament in two of the last five seasons and the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals in each of the last three years
Prior to joining the USC Aiken softball program, Ward was a successful 18U SC X-Treme travel softball team head coach in Summerville, S.C. for three seasons. She was able to recruit highly competitive players that contributed to placing in the top-two spots in 75 percent of the tournaments in which her teams competed.
Ward coached two future all-Americans and saw 91 percent of her players go on to receive a softball scholarship, including five of them that came to USC Aiken.
“Erin brings an excellent knowledge of the game of softball to our program,” Snyder noted at the time of Ward’s arrival. “She has a high level of enthusiasm and expects perfection from the players she works with. She has a great eye for talent and has an abundance of connections in the travel ball ranks up and down the east coast. Erin is a perfect fit for our program and is a vital piece of the puzzle of our success.”
Ward was so successful that her team of 16-under won the ISA World Series held in Florence, SC in 2004. She also assisted in expanding the organization from one team to six.
Before taking over the 18U SC X-Treme program, Ward was the Head Softball Coach at Ashley Hall School in Charleston, S.C. where she was responsible for the everyday operations of the team.
Ward was also the Head Coach at the Summerville Little League in Summerville, S.C. where she oversaw the entire league, major and minor league teams. She was responsible for developing basic softball skills in young players.
Ward played collegiate ball at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, W. Va. where her team was crowned the conference champions in 1996.
Ward graduated from Thomas Edison State College in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering and technology. She completed a five-year tour of duty in the United States Navy aboard the USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75) from 1997-2001.
