Ralph and Karen Weekly didn’t start out with visions of becoming co-head coaches for a Division I softball program when they married in 1994. Karen, who received her law degree at the University of Washington, was working at a firm in Seattle. A month before their wedding, Ralph was offered the head softball coaching job at Tennessee-Chattanooga, so Karen left the law firm and the state she had called home her entire life.

After spending a year at a Chattanooga firm, Karen became a professor at UTC’s School of Business Law and began helping Ralph with the softball program on a voluntary basis. When Ralph took a two-year leave to serve as USA Softball’s Director of National Teams, Karen was asked to take over as head coach.

“While I was gone, she won the first (Southern) Conference championship they had ever won there,” Ralph recalled with a chuckle. “So when I called the (athletic director), he told me, “just stay away, buddy. We don’t need you”.”

Ralph did eventually return, and the couple began splitting head coaching duties. When the University of Tennessee Women’s Athletic Director Joan Cronan was looking for a new head softball coach in 2001, she contacted the Weeklys. Cronan had firsthand knowledge of their success; the Lady Mocs made consecutive NCAA Regional appearances in 2000 and 2001 and had beaten the Lady Vols four out of five meetings.

Ralph and Karen were quite happy in Chattanooga. In fact, they hadn’t applied for the vacancy. But after spending one day visiting the UT campus, they couldn’t resist the challenge of rebuilding a program that had finished 24-35 the year before. In their first season, they orchestrated the biggest turnaround in program history, going 35-25-1. It was quite an accomplishment, considering they had just one returning starter playing her natural position. Nevertheless, the team batting average was 40 points higher than the previous season, and their .965 fielding percentage was a school record.

Like a successful marriage, the Weeklys work as a cohesive unit, playing off the other’s abilities. Ralph, an NFCA Hall of Famer who served as a commander in the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, handles hitting and defense, while Karen oversees the pitching staff.

“I think we’re the definition of opposites attract because our personalities are definitely different,” said Karen, an All-American at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, where she was known as Karen Kvale. “Ralph is a good big-picture guy, manager, and evaluator of talent. I most enjoy teaching and developing.”

This past summer, the Weeklys added a third family member to the staff. Their son, Marc joined the program as a volunteer assistant coach and will help Ralph with the hitters. In 2014, Marc started a softball program at The King’s Academy, leading the school to three state championships and a No. 1 ranking in the state of Tennessee. He also coached several ASA and PGF travel teams to top-10 finishes, including a Junior Olympic Cup Championship with Tennessee Fury 18U Premier.

The Weeklys are beginning their 19th season in Knoxville. Under their guidance, the team has appeared in seven Women’s College World Series, finishing as the runner-up in 2007 and 2013. Last season, the team went 43-17 overall and 14-10 in the SEC, second behind eventual WCWS semifinalist Alabama. The pitching staff struck out 426 batters, second-most in the conference. Their 3.87 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked 12th in the country.

The Challenge Of The Unknown

One of the biggest challenges this season will be replacing right-hander Matty Moss, who finished 11-2 with a 2.47 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 110.2 innings as a senior. But sophomore ace and All-SEC First Team honoree Ashley Rogers is expected to help pick up the slack. The right-hander from Athens, Tennessee had a breakout freshman season, going 21-7 with a team-leading 1.94 ERA. She ranked second in the conference and 36th nationally with 209 strikeouts.

Freshman Callie Turner (Land O’Lakes, Florida) is expected to make an immediate impact. A hard thrower with great movement and a solid changeup, Turner struck out 582 batters in just two seasons at Land O’Lakes High. Redshirt sophomore Samantha Bender, a transfer from Iona, made just six appearances in the circle last season due to injury.

“We’ve got a lot of unknowns, but we have great chemistry in the bullpen and among the pitchers,” Karen explained. “They all work very hard, and they’ve all got their priorities and values in the right place.”

On offense, the Weeklys will be tasked with filling the void left by infielder Aubrey Leach, who led the team with a .411 batting average and had 72 hits, 65 runs, and 20 stolen bases last season. 

Leadership & Work Ethic

Senior infielder Chelsea Seggern and sophomore catcher Ally Shipman are two of the team’s 14 returning players. Seggern, a native of Thrall, Texas, had a .366 average with 46 RBI, 56 hits, and a team-high 16 doubles. Shipman (Valencia, California) was the cleanup hitter before a torn ACL and broken wrist ended her season after just 22 games. She suffered both injuries after colliding with an opposing first baseman while running out a dribbler.

Senior outfielder Jenna Holcomb will be counted on both at the plate and in the field. The left-handed hitter from Los Alamitos, California batted .329/.751 with 11 RBI and 30 runs scored last season. In an 8-1 victory over Auburn, Holcomb made a diving catch with two outs in the second inning, a play that made the SportsCenter Top-10 that week.

Go get it, @Jenna_Holcomb4!

WHAT. A. CATCH. ?? #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/4gnds5SiH0

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 8, 2019

SEC coaches project the Lady Vols to be conference runner-up in the 2020 Preseason Poll. The team made its 11th NCAA Super Regional appearance before falling to Florida in an extra-innings rubber game. The loss denied UT its eighth trip to the WCWS.

“It definitely was a tough loss,” Holcomb said. “As a senior, making it to Super Regionals three years in a row and not making it to the World Series has been a motivator in not wanting that feeling again. It’s pushed us to take those extra reps, and have that childhood dream we’ve always wanted.”

The road to Oklahoma City won’t be easy. The Lady Vols kick off their 25th season with four consecutive road tournaments, starting with a Feb. 8 meeting against Northwestern at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona. They will face at least one NCAA Tournament qualifier every week of the 54-game regular season. Team USA will also pay a visit to Knoxville for an April exhibition as part of their “Stand Beside Her” Tour.

Kajikawa Classic | How To Watch

“It’s a challenge,” Ralph said of the non-conference schedule. “But we like the challenge. We won’t win every one of those games, that’s for sure. But we’ll go out there and leave it on the field.”