Tucker Hughes unveiled as softball head coach at SEARK

Southeast Arkansas College has officially announced Tucker Hughes its head softball coach.

The announcement comes two weeks after SEARK announced the cancellation of the remainder of its softball season due to low numbers. Hughes has been on staff at SEARK for about a month, according to Athletic Director Chad Kline, and was listed on the roster as Jeffery Hughes.

“We’re just hitting the ground running,” Hughes said Tuesday. “We’re communicating with hitting and travel ball coaches. The biggest issue here is not having enough to play.”

SEARK had 12 players on the roster at the time the season ended, the second time in as many years the Sharks could not complete a whole season. Four players left before this past holiday break, and SEARK could only play two games before calling the rest of the season off.

Hughes said he wants to field a team of 20 to 30 players. The recruiting trail is taking him through Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Missouri, he said.

“We want players who are committed, who want to be here, who have class and who are coachable,” he said. “Right now, we’re just hammering the recruiting trail, as I call it.”

Hughes is the third person to be tabbed full-time head coach in the softball program since SEARK announced its inception in 2023. Belinda Hendrix coached the Sharks in the first season and Matt Prysock left the team before the season began, with assistant coach Steve Smith stepping up in the interim.

Hughes spent last season as the head coach at Georgia Highlands College, a two-year school in Rome, Ga., but endured roster limitations and injuries there, according to a release from SEARK. The Chargers, however, earned multiple all-conference honors and set records in stolen bases and batting averages.

Hughes was previously on the Georgia Highlands baseball staff for three seasons. The Chargers won three conference championships, two in Region 17 and one in district, and had another team finish as the region runners-up. Many players he recruited advanced to four-year programs including several at NCAA Division I, according to SEARK.

Hughes also served as pitching and catching coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of the Ozarks and at Waldorf University in Iowa.

“Coach Hughes brings an incredible level of experience and dedication to player development,” Kline said in the release. “We are thrilled to have him on board and look forward to seeing the growth of our softball program under his leadership.”

SEARK competes in Region 2 of NJCAA Division II.

“The goal of this is, we want to win,” Hughes said. “We want to take care of our (league). Whatever happens after that, happens.”