After Caroline Westrup was named the new Missouri head women’s golf coach in June, she had an assistant position she wanted to fill.
She did just that, with the Tigers bringing back alum Michelle Parrish to take the job.
Parrish, formerly Michelle Butler, golfed for the Tigers from 2011-16. She most recently was the men’s and women’s head golf coach at Columbia College.
“We are thrilled to welcome Michelle back to the program as an assistant coach,” Westrup said. “She’s done an outstanding job running two programs at Columbia College and has developed great contacts within the local and state golf community.
“Being a former high-level player at Mizzou provides her a unique understanding of what it takes to be successful here and will be an advantage as we recruit championship-caliber players to our program.”
More:‘I know what it takes’: New MU women’s golf coach wants to take Tigers to national prominence
Parrish said the experience coaching both programs helped her grow in ability.
“Being able to coach guys and girls really taught me how to relate to the players,” Parrish said during her introductory press conference Friday. “How to push them, how to motivate them, how people are going to respond differently to things.”
Parrish earned all-SEC second-team honors as a Tiger in 2016.
In charge of the arms
The Tigers have their new pitching coach for the 2023 baseball season.
Ricky Meinhold will take over for Mitch Plassmeyer, who took a job with the Baltimore Orioles organization, the program officially announced Tuesday.
Meinhold joins MU after spending last year with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization. He previously spent time in the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals organizations.
“I am truly humbled to be a Tiger,” Meinhold said in a news release. “I’m honored to be on this great staff and have the opportunity to lead the pitching staff in our quest for an SEC title and an opportunity to compete in Omaha.”
Last year’s Tiger pitching staff had a staff ERA of 5.58, 12th in the SEC. The staff was young and showed promise at times, but needs help if it is to return to form.
“The interest in the pitching coach position and the level of highly-qualified coaches who wanted this job tells me people understand the potential we have to bring back Pitcher U here at Mizzou,” head coach Steve Bieser said in the release. “Ricky’s combination of pitching knowledge, talent evaluation and, most importantly, coaching and relationship building separated him from the pack.
“He brings a passion for development and the game that will complement our staff well. I am so excited and ready to get to work with Ricky.”
SEC slate announced
The SEC part of the schedule for the 2022-23 women’s basketball squad was revealed in part on Thursday, albeit without dates or times for any of the games.
The Tigers will play their home-and-home matchups against Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama.
The home games include matchups with Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, plus the contests with Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama. Missouri will visit Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, plus its home-and-home opponents and defending national champion South Carolina.
The Tigers will play a total of 16 SEC games.
Matt Stahl is the Missouri athletics beat reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @mattstahl97.
