Codee Yeske & Alison Owen

June 2024 Issue

by Edwina Hoyle
Photography (top) by Cassidy Dunn Photography

 

Codee Yeske and Alison Owen are enthusiastic and talented members of the athletic staff at the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB). Codee entered her third season as the head coach of USCB's softball program in 2024. Alison joined USCB in 2022. She serves as the assistant softball coach/camp coordinator but has added on a new role as the academic coordinator for the USCB Athletic Department. Alison will now oversee academics and academic standards across all 13 Sand Shark sports. The Sand Sharks are the USCB athletic teams in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 2022–23 academic year.

Both women are helping to lead USCB through three years of provisional status in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They are currently in the second year and have transitioned out of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Codee explained they both came from universities with NCAA status in which the rules are more stringent.

“We are developing our athletes and building a team culture,” Codee said. “This is one of the coolest jobs. Our athletes are in their early twenties, a time when they are making life choices. So, between August and May, for four years, we get to be a small part of their journeys. It’s almost silly to call this a job.”

“In this day and age, coaching is also counseling,” she continued. “We’re like second moms. Our jobs entail much more than coaching softball. Our athletes go through all the things people their age go through in their social lives -- their social structure, their love lives, and breakups. But they are going through these things with twenty best friends because, for the first time, they are not under the same roof as their parents. They know we will be here; this is a safe space. Whether they need tough love or hugs, whatever their needs are, we will guide them.”

Alison agrees. “We are showing up for them and being consistent. Whether it’s the loss of a boyfriend, the loss of a parent or grandparent, or failing their first class, we check in on them. As athletes, they want to excel. So, for us, it’s family first.”

“We play in the Peach Belt Conference, one of the most competitive ones in the country. We want to train high caliber, talented athletes. Recruiting is a major part of our program,” Alison said.

Codee and Alison hold their athletes accountable to a rigorous schedule. Their day starts between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. and goes late into the evening. For ten months they get up for workouts, treatments, classes, and practice. Their early morning workouts consist of three days in the weight room for strength training and two days running. The athletes carry a full academic course load and must maintain their grade point average. Practice is played off campus in Hardeeville, which adds driving time to their schedule. Then, after a full day, they retreat to their dorm rooms for homework and study.

Community outreach is another part of the athletic program. Their athletes have read books in schools, held T-ball events for the non-profit organization Pockets Full of Sunshine, and are exploring opportunities to collect for the homeless or help at an animal shelter.

“Our core value is People First,” Codee said. When they serve the people in this community, they build relationships that will serve them well. It’s a two-way street.”

Alison said, “We are also exposing our players to service leadership. Mentoring them at the grass roots level, they experience personal fulfillment.” Codee added, “I believe in women empowerment. Mentorships with women who have had successful careers are powerful.” She said they would love to find opportunities to introduce their athletes to female role models. Alison explained their idea would be to host meaningful conversations with women—to sit around tables with popcorn, while letting their athletes ask questions.

USCB has plans to add on-campus ball fields and other facilities to improve their athletic facilities. The school has outlined plans for a new baseball field, a new softball field and a renovated soccer field with a 400-meter track and field, plus two 750-seat bleachers. Funding sources have yet to be identified.

“We are looking for donors, and we know that small-college donations go a long way and make a big difference,” Codee shared. “USCB has less than two-thousand students and we hope donors will get in at the grass roots level and be a really big part of this.”

Up Close:
Codee Yeske—Hometown: Columbia, SC
Codee earned SEC Player of the Week honors (5/5/14) and holds the distinction of scoring the first University of South Carolina run and hitting the first USC home run at Carolina Stadium at Beckham Field (3/15/13). She also hit the first grand slam by a USC player at the stadium (4/24/13). Codee graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management and earned her master’s in leadership and organizational administration (with a concentration in strategic leadership). Codee has coached several teams before coming to USCB. She also competed on the USA Baseball Women’s National Team as part of the 36-member Trial Team in 2015 and 2016. She earned a gold medal at the Pan-American Qualifying Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Alison Owen—Hometown: Newnan, GA
Prior to joining USCB, Alison was on the Georgia Tech softball staff and served as an assistant coach for the Akron Racers, a team in the National Pro Fastpitch. She also pitched for the team for three seasons from 2014-16. Before joining the Racers coaching staff, Alison was an assistant coach at East Mississippi Community College. She earned her master’s degree in Kinesiology from Mississippi State, where she played for two seasons and finished her career as the program’s all-time leader in almost every pitching record, including strikeouts (473), strikeouts looking (102), lowest opponent batting average (.193), fewest walks allowed per seven innings (1.05) and most strikeouts per seven innings (8.83). Alison helped carry Mississippi State to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Education: Bachelor’s, Youth Studies, Mississippi State, 2014; Master's, Sports Administration, Mississippi State, 2016.