Wylie East softball coach Amy Southern announced Friday that she is retiring from coaching after leading the Lady Raiders for the last five seasons.

Southern said she is excited for the next stage in her career after 22 years of coaching high school sports. Southern will remain a member of Wylie ISD, maintaining her position as an English and Edgenuity teacher at Achieve Academy.

During her time as the Wylie East head coach, Southern helped improve the team around after they won three games the previous two years combined. Missing out on the playoffs by one game in each of her first two seasons, Southern led the Lady Raiders to a fourth seed in the district in the next two eligible seasons, including a postseason berth this year. Southern’s best season at Wylie East came in 2021, leading the Lady Raiders to a 13-16 overall record while going 8-6 during the district slate. In the bi-district playoff round, Wylie East had two close games against Frisco Memorial.

After Southern’s coaching retirement was finalized, Wylie ISD posted the application for the softball coach position online. Still early in the job search, AD Kyle Craighead expects the district to make a thorough decision on the next hire by June 1. Southern and her current assistant coaches, Ashlyn Pair and Ryan Doudney, will continue to lead the offseason program through the end of the current school year.

By Jackson King * [email protected]