GRAMBLING, La. - Wilbert Early has been named the head softball coach at Grambling State University. Early comes to Grambling State from Southern University where he was the assistant coach for the past eight years.
A native of New Orleans, La., Early has a solid track record of building competitive and successful softball programs during his career. As the assistant at Southern, Early played a key role in the Lady Jaguars’ success on the softball diamond as he helped to guide the program to two NCAA Regional appearances and several SWAC Western Division titles. With the help of Early, the Lady Jaguars have posted a 59-13 mark against SWAC West foes over the past three seasons in addition to capturing three consecutive division titles and two appearances in the SWAC Tournament finals. Along with his duties on diamond, Early also served as the Lady Jaguars’ community ambassador as he helped coordinate the team’s fundraising efforts.
Prior to arriving at Southern, Early spent nine years as an educator and coach in the New Orleans Public School system.
From 1990 to 1997, Early taught at John McDonogh High School and served the school in variety of roles including classroom, administrative and coaching duties. As the school’s head softball coach, Early led his team to five appearances in the state playoffs, one coach of the year award and several district titles en route to posting a 194-61 career record. From 1997 to 1999, Early moved on to John F. Kennedy High School and spent several years as an assistant football coach.
Outside of his duties in the public school system, Early was also very active in serving as a positive role model to the youth of New Orleans.
For six years (1993-99) Early was head coach of the New Orleans-based Lady Dream Team AAU softball program. The team was comprised of young females from the New Orleans public school system and traveled across the country to compete in national tournaments. In addition, he also had a two-year stint at IMPACT EDUCATION and was responsible for counseling, teaching and correcting students with behavioral problems.
Known as an individual who believes in giving back to the community, Early was also apart of the “Giving Back To The Hood, Inc.” non-profit organization for five years. As a member, he coordinated and organized the organization’s annual baseball and softball summer camps in addition to also serving as an instructor.
A member of the Louisiana Coaches Association, Early is a 1987 graduate of Tulane University with a bachelor’s of science in Mathematics.
