ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Athletic Director Eric McNelley today announced that Terri Adams will lead Eastern Softball. Adams brings a tremendous coaching resume and tremendous connections in the region to a program that will compete on a completely renovated field in 2020.

"We are thrilled to welcome Terri to Eastern,"McNelley said. "After an extensive search, she rose to the top of a very competitive pool of candidates. As someone who has built a successful program at Saint Joseph's and was part of successful builds at Temple and Fordham, Terri will be able to teach and recruit at an elite level. With our new facility and Terri serving as the program's first full-time coach,  I am very excited about the future of our softball program."

"First and foremost, I would like to thank Eric McNelley and the entire search committee for this amazing opportunity," Adams said. "After leaving the Division I athletic arena to assist my husband in his battle against cancer, I truly found what I wanted moving forward. Working in a Division III setting promises a balance of faith, family, academics and  athletics. I always cared about developing the whole athlete and preparing them for success after college. I desire for myself, my family and my student-athletes a balance in life and the quality of living which allows for spiritual, academic, athletic and social growth. I believe Eastern gives me a great opportunity to live and lead in this."

Adams was an accomplished pitcher at Kutztown. After stints as an assistant at her alma matter and at DeSales University (which was Allentown College at that point), Adams broke into the Division I ranks as an assistant at Temple University. The Owls won 30 games and the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2004. She moved to Fordham University as an assistant. That squad won 37 games and reached the Atlantic 10 Championships in 2006.

After one year in the Bronx, Adams returned to Philadelphia to take over a Saint Joseph's program that won four Atlantic 10 contests the year before. In 2008, the Hawks won 11 league games and won a game in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Her 2013 group won 37 games and went 17-5 in conference to earn the regular season title. She earned Coach of the Year honors. In her ten years at SJU, she won 248 games and appeared in eight conference tournaments. She had 15 players earn NFCA All-Region honors and 27 All-Atlantic 10 honors.

Since working at Saint Joseph's, Adams has been involved in competitive club softball and private instruction in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She has experience with professional softball as both a player, coach, and director of player personnel. She worked at the University of Valley Forge as Head Softball Coach and Sports Information Director since late in the spring semester.

She and her husband Gerry live in Drexel Hill, Pa.