OXFORD, Miss. - Former South Carolina All-American pitcher Megan Matthews Buning has joined the Ole Miss softball staff as pitching coach, head coach Missy Dickerson announced on Wednesday. Matthews Buning replaces former assistant coach Tom McLauchlin, who retired after the 2009 season after 19 years as a college coach.
Matthews Buning comes to Oxford after coaching at Coastal Carolina for the past two seasons and serving as associate head coach this past season. In Oxford she will serve as assistant coach, primarily working with the pitching staff.
"I am very excited about Megan joining our staff,” Dickerson said. “Her experience as a player and a coach will be a valuable asset to our program. I am looking for her to continue the development of the pitchers and help add a new dimension with their strength and motivation."
“I am very excited to join the staff at Ole Miss,” Matthews Buning said. “I am glad to be back in the SEC at a school that wants to win and is willing to work hard to get better. I’m excited to be able to work with and learn from Coach Dickerson and am ready to help the team reach its goals.”
Matthews Buning joined the Chanticleer staff after serving as an assistant coach at Florida State from 2004-2007. During her three seasons at FSU, Matthews Buning helped the Seminoles to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to an NCAA Super Regional in 2005. She guided Seminole pitchers to numerous FSU and ACC records and accolades, including the 2004 ACC Rookie of the Year Tiffany McDonald.
The Greer, S.C., native joined the Seminole staff after wrapping up a phenomenal career as a pitcher for South Carolina. A four-year starter, she still holds Gamecock records for strikeouts, complete games and innings pitched, and finished one victory shy of the all-time win record with 101 career victories. Her 1,090 career K’s was 11th all-time in NCAA history after her playing career was finished. She was named a third team All-American in 1999 and was a three-time All-Southeast Region honoree and two-time All-SEC pick during her career.
A four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Matthews Buning was named USC’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2002. The seven-time SEC Pitcher of the Week was also named the SEC Softball Tournament MVP in 2000.
In addition to her playing experience at South Carolina, Matthews Buning pitched for the New England Riptides, of the National Pro Fastpitch league, who finished runner-up in the NPF Championship Series in 2004. In April 2004, she took part in the Olympic Test event for the British National Team and was the winning pitcher for the Gold Medal Game in Athens, Greece. In 2002, she was a silver medalist at the Puerto Rican Olympic Festival and also served as a guest pitcher for the British National Team at the Canada Cup in Vancouver.
Matthews Buning received her Bachelor of Science degree in exercise physiology with a concentration in motor development and a cognate in athletic training from USC in 2003. She received her master’s in sports psychology from Florida State in 2008.
The former Megan Matthews, she married Shaun Buning in 2003 and the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, daughter Emory Lee, on May 25 of this year.
