College softball coaches have long been eager to have Keri Munn and her right arm come and pitch for their teams.
Despite multiple offers and some of the biggest schools coming to call, it was a familiar face for Coffee County fans just 30-minutes up the interstate who was able to close the deal with the Coffee County Central senior.
Munn announced that she has verbally committed to play collegiate softball at Middle Tennessee State University, where former CHS Lady Raider softball coach Jeff Breeden is the head coach.
“With COVID being around, recruiting has been a very tough process,” explained Munn. “Coach Breeden and coach [Toni] Foti got in contact with me about a month ago and we set up a Zoom call and talked about the school and what they had and they offered me [a scholarship] on that call.”
It didn’t take Munn long to commit – saying MTSU felt like home to her.
“They are winning (conference) championships and going to play other SEC schools and that is a plus,” explained Munn. “And the campus is 30 minutes from my house, so that’s always a plus when you live so close you can always go home and see your family. They just (renovated) their facility (and) their stadium. It just felt like home.”
Munn has been heavily recruited since a young age. In fact, before reaching high school she had already verbally committed to the University of Auburn. A coaching change there re-opened her recruitment and led her to MTSU. Partly aiding in that process was the NCAA granting players an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.
“Most of the other SEC schools I was looking at – their seniors kinda’ stayed (an extra year),” said Munn. “So, I was thinking where will I have the most playing opportunity and MTSU seemed like the right fit.”
Now that the recruiting process is over (she hopes to officially sign next month), Munn has plenty of people to thank.
“Would like to thank my family – my mom for always taking me to tournaments and practices and also my dad for always practicing with me and pushing me to do my hardest. I would also like to thank all my coaches, especially coach Mac (CHS head coach Brandon McWhorter) for helping me through this process and my teammates for pushing me to play my hardest. I would also like to thank coach Breeden and coach Foti for giving me the chance to play for them.”
Finishing up high school
With her college plans set, Munn is focused on getting the CHS Lady Raider softball team to the state tournament in Murfreesboro. CHS is off to a hot start. The Lady Raiders are 10-0 on the young spring season.
Munn is a big part of that. She is 7-0 in the circle, allowing only three earned runs on 11 hits over 33 innings pitched. She has struck out 57 batters and has an ERA at 0.64
“This team has been the strongest team out of my four years here,” Munn explained. “We can hit, we can play defense. Mainly, our chemistry is very good. We are best friends on and off the field and we just get each other.”
Munn went on to cite solid relationships with the coaching staff.
“I’m very excited for this year.”
The Lady Raiders have two district games this week – at Franklin County Monday and at Lincoln County on Tuesday.
