Payton Adams starts her second full-time season as UM Assistant Softball Coach during the upcoming 2022-23 season. Adams, a native of St. Bernard Parish, La., graduated from the University of Mobile in the Spring of 2021 and played softball under head coach Alison Sellers-Cook during her entire collegiate career at both the University of Mobile and Spring Hill College her freshman season.
During her playing career with the Rams over the course of three seasons, Adams started all 132 games she played in, while recording a .317 batting average and .361 on-base percentage. She hit nine career home runs and drove in 70 total RBI. Adams recorded a career slugging percentage of .457.
Defensively, Adams spent the majority of her collegiate career at third base, one of the toughest positions in softball. Adams recorded a stellar .943 fielding percentage across her 132 collegiate games. Unfortunately, she sustained an injury that ended her final season with Mobile early.
Adams was a SSAC First-Team All-Conference selection following the 2018 season and was also named to the SSAC All-Freshman Team that same year. Additionally, she was named the SSAC Gold Glove winner at third baseman during the 2018 campaign. In the classroom, Adams was named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete during the 2020 season and was selected to the SSAC All-Academic Team that same year. Adams was also a member of the SSAC Champions of Character team.
Adams worked for Sellers-Cook as a graduate assistant during the 2021 season, which saw Mobile finish with a 28-20 overall record. Last season during her first year with the assistant coach title, Adams helped Sellers-Cook lead the Rams to the 2022 NAIA Softball National Championship, where the team would finish as the runner-up. During the 2022 season, the team recorded a new consecutive win record with 34-straight victories.
