Pat Bell enters his first season as an assistant baseball coach in 2021 after spending the last three seasons at IU-Southeast. Bell will coach the hitters, catchers, and oversee baserunning for the Phoenix.

Bell comes to Cumberland fresh off a trip to the NAIA World Series at Indiana-Southeast where he spent the past three seasons. This past year, the Grenadiers went 50-16 en route to a River States Regular Season and Tournament Championship and an Opening Round Championship. The team finished in fifth place at the 2021 NAIA World Series. 

The 2020 season was canceled due to COVID, but the Grenadiers were off to a terrific start at 20-1 to open up the season. He helped IU-Southeast claim the Regular Season Conference Championship as well finishing 37-20 in his first season in 2019. 

Bell worked primarily with catchers and hitters at IU-Southeast and will stay in that role at Cumberland while also adding baserunning to his duties. IU-Southeast hitters last season finished third in the NAIA in hits (707), fourth in doubles (146), fifth in runs scored (554), sixth in RBIs (503), and eighth in triples (23). He coached an All-American at catcher and helped the backstops throw out 50% of runners attempting to steal, 39th best nationally. 

Prior to coaching, Bell spent 10 years serving in the United States Air Force and played collegiately at Tennessee Wesleyan University where he was a part of the 2007 and 2008 Appalachian Athletic Conference championship teams.

He graduated from LaVergne High School and recently finished his Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Administration at the University of Louisville.

Eric Evans begins his second year as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team in 2020-21.

Evans joined the staff in 2018-19 and has assisted with recruiting, player development, scouting, and several other operational duties for the team.

Evans played one year of football and basketball at Trinity International University in 2013-14. Evans was a forward for the basketball team and tight end/defensive end on the football team.

Prior to TIU, Evans was a standout athlete at Lancaster Christian Academy lettering in football, basketball, and soccer. In basketball, Evans averaged 16.9 points per game leading his team to a NACA championship while earning NACA All-American honors. In football, Evans and Lancaster Christian won the NACA championship in the fall of 2012 while also earning NACA All-American honors in football. 

Evans earned Daily News Journal Player of the Year in 2013 in basketball.

He will graduate with his Bachelor of Science in sport management degree in May 2021 from Middle Tennessee State University.

Evans resides in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and has three brothers Israel, Anthony, and Ezra.

Rich Williams begins his seventh season as head golf coach and eighth with the Phoenix golf program in 2019-20. He also serves as the department’s Game Operations Director, a title added during the summer of 2016.

During his tenure, Williams has coached four NAIA All-Americans–Austin Garrett in 2013-14, Ryan Botts in 2015-16, and Ana Laura Pages Preuss and Raquel Romero Valverde in 2018-19–alongside 38 All-Mid-South Conference players. In the 2018-19 season, Cumberland captured both MSC Freshman of the Year awards with Maria Pilar Scenna for the women and Adrian Steeger on the men’s side.

His men’s teams have won the last three MSC Tournament Championships, earning an an automatic bid to the last three NAIA Championships. The women have recieved at-large bids to the NAIA Championships the last three years. In 2019 he led them to a MSC regular season title before finishing a program record seventh in the NAIA Championships.

In his first season as head coach, he led the Cumberland men to its first regular season championship. CU won three times during 2013 and placed second in four other tournaments, earning Williams Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year honors. 

Cumberland enjoyed a successful 2016-17 season, winning three tournaments including the MSC Championships and placing second in two others to earn a spot in the NAIA Championships for the men. The women won a single tournament and took second in four others, securing the program’s first ever trip to the national tournament. Williams was honored with a Co-MSC Coach of the Year honor for his efforts.

The Franklin, Tenn., native has worked in a variety of roles within the golf industry, including as an assistant and head professional at Indian Hills Golf Club in Murfreesboro, The Little Course as Aspen Grove, The Polo Club in Boca Raton, Fla., and Gaylord Springs Golf Club in Nashville. He was an independent sales representative in the golf industry from 1998-2007.

In his Game Operations role, Williams oversees all aspects of set-up and breakdown for home athletic events at football, basketball, volleyball, soccer, wrestling, baseball and softball, including staffing for ticketing and marketing, security for officials, locker rooms for visiting teams and scheduling for the Dallas Floyd Phoenix Arena.

Williams received his bachelor’s in Psychology from Middle Tennessee in 1992 and is currently working on his master’s in Public Service Management at Cumberland.

Former All-Conference infielder Stephanie Theall (formerly Gutierrez) joined the Cumberland staff as a full-time assistant in January 2016. This marks her eighth year as an assistant coach at her alma mater. She has spent ten of the last 11 years at Cumberland as either a student-athlete or coach.

Hernandez garnered First Team All-Mid-South honors and Torregano and Courtney Miles earned Second Team All-MSC. Six players were named Academic All-Mid-South.

The Orlando, Fla., native spent a year-and-a-half on the staff at Centre College in Danville, Ky., with the Colonels compiling a 14-18 record in 2015. She coached one Second Team and one Third Team All-Conference player as well as an Honorable Mention All-Conference performer while at Centre.

Gutierrez served as a student assistant at CU during the 2012 season after finishing her playing career and was a graduate assistant for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Cumberland posted a 37-22 mark in 2013, advancing to the NAIA Championship Opening Round for the first time in program history.

Gutierrez earned a bachelor’s in Sports Management from Cumberland in 2012 and a master’s in Sport and Exercise Pedagogy at CU in 2014. She married former Cumberland football player Grant Theall in January 2016.

Hannah Vadakin begins her fourth season as a full-time assistant coach with the Phoenix after spending the previous two years as a graduate assistant at Doane College in Nebraska.

In 2018, Vadakin was selected as the AVCA Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year. She also led the Phoenix Women’s JV team to 11-3-2 record earning themselves Mid-South Conference JV Champions. 

The Centennial, Colo., native played for three seasons at NCAA Division II Coker College in Hartsville, S.C., posting 166 kills, 87 blocks and 36 service aces as a sophomore for the Cobras. As a junior she collected 147 kills, 49 digs, 80 blocks and 25 service aces and finished her senior campaign with 74 kills and 23 blocks.

During the last two seasons at Doane, Vadakin helped Shelbi Mlynczak to a pair of Second Team All-Great Plains Athletic Conference honors while Haley Norvell and Breanna Fye earned Honorable Mention All-GPAC accolades in 2015 and Julie Els was an Honorable Mention selection in 2014. The Tigers finished 19-13 this past season, 9-7 in GPAC action, and were 15-19 in 2014.

At Doane she was responsible for recruiting, managing events, coordinating logistics, fundraising and supervising work study students. She also spent time as the head coach of the Nebraska Juniors for one year and served as an assistant coach at Rock Canyon High School for two summers.

Vadakin attended Littleton High School, earning three letters and Honorable Mention All-State accolades as a senior for the Lions.

She earned her bachelor’s in Business Administration and Political Science from Coker in 2014 and received a master’s in Management from Doane in 2016.