Athletics

Former N.C. State Associate Head Coach Nikki West has joined the Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team. West, who was with the Wolfpack for five years, has worked at UT Chattanooga and USC Upstate and has been a part of eight NCAA Tournament teams.

Loren Hibbs, who has been with the Charlotte 49ers for 27 years, retired as head baseball coach, Director of Athletics Mike Hill announced June 14. Hibbs will join his alma mater, Wichita State, as assistant athletics director for baseball operations and player development. He will reunite with one of his former players and former major leaguer Eric Wedge, who was named head coach of the Shockers.

Ragean Hill is the Charlotte 49ers executive associate athletics director. She is coming to the University from Old Dominion University, where she served as the associate athletics director for the past four years. She also has worked at Arkansas, Kansas State and Wisconsin.

Charlotte 49ers senior first baseman Meredith Harris was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America Division I Softball Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

The Google Cloud Academic All-America Softball Team celebrates the nation’s top players for their efforts on the field and in the classroom.

Ashley Chastain is the new head softball coach for the Charlotte 49ers. Chastain, who is coming off a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals with Mississippi, has served as the pitching coach at Ole Miss, Michigan State and the College of Charleston since her playing days at the University of South Carolina. She was named the 2019 Softball America Pitching Coach of the Year.

In 2023, the Charlotte 49ers will play a nonconference football game against the University of Florida in Gainesville on Sept. 23.

Charlotte 49ers record-breaking running back Benny LeMay has earned a spot among The Sporting News’ Top 25 College Running Backs headed into the 2019 season.

LeMay ranked second in Conference USA and 20th in the FBS with a 103.6 rushing average in 2018. The second team all-C-USA choice ran for 1,243 yards, becoming the first 49er to rush for 1,000 yards at the FBS level. He scored 11 touchdowns, the most by a 49er at the FBS level and set a school record with four rushing touchdowns vs. FIU. 

The Charlotte 49ers had a record eight players named to the Athlon Sports preseason all-Conference USA teams. Five earned first team honors, second-most in the league.

Prolific running back Benny LeMay and offensive line anchor Cam Clark were named first team all-offense. Havoc-wreaking defensive end Alex Highsmith and safety Ben DeLuca were named first team all-defense. Standout sophomore kicker Jonathan Cruz was named a first team specialist.

The Charlotte 49ers Athletic Foundation will host the 36th annual Great Gold Rush Auction, Saturday, June 1, in Halton Arena, located in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center.

The Charlotte men’s and women’s programs both won gold, being crowned the 2019 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Track and Field Champions at the Irwin Belk Track and Field Center on Sunday, May 12. This is the first time since joining C-USA that both the men’s and women’s programs have won the Outdoor Conference Championship in the same season.