After a decorated playing career and one year as a Student Assistant Bernadette Little has been selected as the new Assistant Coach for the men's and women's golf programs at Lee University.
Little played under head coach John Maupin from 2012-2016 and was named to the Gulf South Conference First Team and All-Academic Team her senior year. The native of Westville, Nova Scotia won three tournaments during her playing career and helped lead the Lady Flames to the program's first ever NCAA Regional Championship appearance in 2016.
As a Student Assistant last season Little helped coach the Lady Flames to their first ever NCAA National Championship appearance where they finished seventh.
"First off I would like to thank the administration and Coach Maupin for the opportunity to coach here at Lee.
After playing here for four years and being in the role as a student assistant last year I have grown to love Lee and the Athletic Department and what it represents," said Little. "The golf program has been very successful in the past and continues to become stronger each year which attests to the passion and work ethic of Coach Maupin. I look forward to being a part of the growth of the men's and women's golf teams and working with Coach Maupin to help our players reach their full potential both on and off the course."
Little replaces another former Lee golf standout in Hunter Vest. The local product from Walker Valley High School was an All-American as a member of the Flames and served as an assistant under Maupin the previous two seasons.
"First of all, I want to thank Hunter Vest for his dedication and commitment as our assistant coach the past two seasons," said Maupin. "He has been instrumental in the success our teams have enjoyed. He's a great friend, and done an excellent job with our players. We are very fortunate that he will be able to stay on as a volunteer assistant while he begins his new profession."
Maupin went on to laud the addition of Little to his staff in a full-time capacity saying, “We are very excited about adding Bernadette Little as our assistant coach. She brings a lot to the table. She has high level experience as a player, she's very knowledgeable about the game, she's as hard a worker as I have been around, and she's the kind of person that you want around your student-athletes. She has hit the ground running this summer and already made a big impact on our recruiting and will be a major asset to our players and program as we continue to move forward toward our goals."
Both the men's and women's golf teams will open up the 2017-18 season on Sept. 11 as they take part in the Montevallo Invitational.