Chelsea Farmer guides UTM softball to new heights
Story by Ryne Rickman | Photos by Arianne Boma & Nathan Morgan
Since the day Chelsea Jones Farmer (‘12) stepped foot on the UT Martin campus as a freshman student-athlete in August 2008, she has held many titles: Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year. OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player. OVC champion. UT Martin Athletics Hall of Famer.
Last February, another title was added to Farmer’s list – acting head coach. After spending four years in the Skyhawk dugout as an assistant, the Tullahoma native took over the reins just before the season-opening Trojan Classic tournament hosted by Troy University.
In her collegiate head coaching debut, Farmer guided UT Martin to an 8-3 victory against Samford. It was a sign of things to come as the Skyhawks marched their way to 30 wins last spring, which were the second-most by any OVC program and marked just the second time that UT Martin had reached the 30-win plateau in the last eight years.
Not too shabby, considering Farmer confesses she did not fall in love with the sport of softball until her junior year as a Skyhawk.
“If you would have asked me when I was in middle school or high school if softball would have had this big of an impact on my life, I would have probably laughed,” Farmer said. “I was actually the kid who got excited when a tournament would get rained out because that meant I could go hang out with my friends for the weekend. At one point in high school, I didn’t even think I was going to play college ball – I was more in love with the relationships it brought me and the opportunities it provided me. But that’s exactly why I love giving back to the sport through coaching.”
When UT Martin Vice Chancellor of Athletics Kurt McGuffin held a nationwide search for the permanent head softball coaching position this summer, several qualified applicants threw their name into consideration. After a thorough review, McGuffin extended the offer to Farmer, and she was formally announced as the program’s fifth full-time head coach in school history on June 18.
“I’ve never been afraid to promote from within and Coach Farmer showed that she could handle the head coaching position in all aspects last season,” McGuffin said. “Of course, she played at UT Martin and had been here for several years as an assistant, so it has been a seamless transition not only on the field, but she has many connections to help with the fundraising involved for her program. It’s hard to find too many people who have the passion for Skyhawk softball as Chelsea – she’s a winner who is going to do a great job.”
A deeper dive into the details reveals just how impressive Farmer’s coaching truly was last spring. The Skyhawks won seven of their nine OVC series, including taking two out of three games against eventual league tournament champion Southeast Missouri. UT Martin sported the best ERA in the OVC (2.48) – just a few ticks under Farmer’s career 2.46 earned-run average as the program’s staff ace from 2009-12 and nearly a full run lower than the Skyhawk output as a staff in 2023. In nonconference play, UT Martin defeated reigning Atlantic 10 Conference champion Saint Louis, Big East Conference member Georgetown, eventual Southern Conference champion Chattanooga, defending Conference USA champion Middle Tennessee, 2024 Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Jackson State, future Missouri Valley Conference champion Southern Illinois, eventual NCAA Tournament participant Mississippi and in-state rival Memphis.
Although Farmer made winning look easy at times, the 2024 season was a grind behind the scenes as she learned many valuable lessons along the way.
“I knew immediately that Division I coaching is not something to be done alone and that staff management would be key,” Farmer said. “I would not have survived the 2024 spring season without the help that I had, and it made me realize how crucial it is to have a loyal, dedicated team around you. No coach can run a successful ship solo and I am beyond grateful for the team who works with me daily to build this program back up to the top.”
Seeing the Skyhawks atop the OVC standings is certainly a familiar task for Farmer. In her nine combined seasons in the UT Martin dugout as a student-athlete, assistant and head coach, the Skyhawks have produced a 284-175 record with a 138-74 mark (.651 winning percentage) against league competition. She won four combined OVC championships as a student-athlete, helping UT Martin to its first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2012. As a sophomore in 2010, she was part of the team that set the school record for most victories (47), winning percentage (.810) and OVC winning percentage (.880) while the squad established a new benchmark of 23 OVC wins during her senior campaign. She remains atop the program leaderboard in wins (56), games started (91), innings pitched (555.1) and strikeouts (476) and was a Class of 2022 inductee into the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame.
Following her playing career, Farmer got into the coaching profession with one season as a volunteer assistant at Middle Tennessee State University while also coaching six years at the high school level in nearby Union City and Dresden. That experience helped mold her into the coach that she is today.
“I realized I had a specific passion not just for helping young athletes develop their softball skills but helping them find passions and interests outside the sport as well,” Farmer said. “One of my favorite parts of coaching is getting to know my student-athletes on a personal level and helping them gain confidence in who they are as a young woman. I strive to be the role model I needed to see when I was a young female athlete.”
Farmer has plenty of short-term and long-term visions for the Skyhawk program that gave so much to her.
“The top priority is redeveloping recruiting connections,” Farmer said. “Selling UT Martin is one of my favorite aspects of this job. I love bringing recruits to campus and showing off the town, the university and the softball program. Another goal is to bring the team back to the community and the community back to the team. I make sure our recruits are around the players, coaches, administration and community as much as possible – that interaction is crucial to our success. I’m not just selling a softball program, it’s the UT Martin softball way of life – which is all about teaching our people to work hard, be good people and enjoy the process.”
It’s been a busy offseason, to say the least, for Farmer as she approaches her first full-time season at the helm of her alma mater. In addition to earning the head coaching gig, assembling an all-new coaching staff and retaining/recruiting student-athletes, she and her husband, Daniel (entering his second stint as a Skyhawk softball assistant coach), welcomed their second child, Foster. He will join his big sister Oaklee as the two biggest UT Martin fans in the Bettye Giles Field stands this spring.
When the 2025 Skyhawk softball team takes the field for the first time, it will be the culmination of years of hard work put forth by Farmer. She is looking forward to implementing her plans with confidence after successfully navigating the 2024 campaign.
“Being the head coach at your alma mater is a very unique position to be in and is not a job that I take lightly,” Farmer said. “The coaches on staff all have championship backgrounds in some way, and the goal is to bring that knowledge and passion back to the program to help UT Martin softball back to the top of the OVC consistently. We have a lot of work to put in, but with hard work and dedication comes change.”
