Kayla Braud Returns to Alabama as Assistant Coach

The following release information was issued by Alabama and information and photo courtesy of Alabama…

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball alum, 2012 national champion and three-time All-American Kayla Braud will rejoin the Crimson Tide as its newest assistant coach, head coach Patrick Murphy announced Tuesday.

Braud was a three-time NFCA All-American in her four seasons with the Tide from 2010-13. She ranks in the UA career top 10 in multiple categories, including batting average (2nd – .438), hits (2nd – 344), runs scored (3rd – 271), stolen bases (2nd – 182) and on base percentage (4th – .512). She was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2010 with a .505 batting average, the highest single-season total in program history. In 2012, she earned First Team All-SEC and Women’s College World Series All-Tournament honors as she helped lead the Crimson Tide to its first ever national championship. She nearly beat her own batting average record as a senior, hitting .471 which stands second in Tide history only trailing her freshman total.

Since graduating from The Capstone, she has served as a softball TV analyst with ESPN and was part of the Seattle Mariners broadcast team with ROOT Sports. Braud and her husband, David, have a two-year-old daughter, Dylan.

From Kayla Braud

“First and foremost, I would like to thank Coach Murphy for this new opportunity for me and my family. After 10 years away from Tuscaloosa we are excited to come back home. I am filled with so much pride to be the newest assistant coach at Alabama Softball. I will never be able to fill the shoes of Alyson Habetz, but my gratitude for all she did for this program will be in my heart as I work to impact the lives of the women that wear the “A”. As a coach I will bring my competitiveness and winning spirit to the field every single day. Having been part of the 2012 National Championship team, I know what it takes to win at this level and will do everything I can to ensure that the winning tradition of Bama U not only continues but thrives into the future.”

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

“I am so happy to announce that Kayla is coming home to Tuscaloosa. First and foremost, she is a great human who will be an outstanding role model for our student-athletes. We will support Kayla, her husband David and daughter Dylan as best as we can during their transition to UA. To have a former player say yes to Alabama twice in her career means a lot to me. We tell every young lady who enters the Rhoads House that this is a long-term relationship that extends far past their playing days. Our current staff can’t wait to start working with Kayla. I know our players will absolutely love her competitiveness and her ability to relate to their experiences on and off the field.”

Kayla Braud at Alabama (2010-13)

• Three-time NFCA All-American (2010, 2011, 2013)
• Ranked in the Alabama career top-10 in batting average (2nd – .438), hits (2nd – 344), runs scored (3rd – 271), stolen bases (2nd – 182) and on base percentage (4th – .512)
• Holds the top two single season batting averages in program history, hitting .505 (95-for-188) as a freshman and .471 (90-for-191) as a senior
• Owns three of the top 10 single season hits totals at Alabama, with her career-best of 95 tied for fourth
• Her 58 stolen bases in 2011 is the second-highest total in the Tide record books
• 2012 Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team
• 2010 SEC Freshman of the Year

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