Former softball head coach Tiffany Buckmaster, who spent the last three seasons at Indiana-Southeast in New Albany, Ind., won each of the last two River States Conference Regular Season Championships while with the Grenadiers, and earned back-to-back NAIA Opening Round bids as the head coach of the IU-Southeast softball program, has accepted a new role in the sports world but outside of the coaching realm at Shawnee State as Buckmaster has officially been hired to fill the Athletics Compliance and Operations Manager position at Shawnee State University. Her first day on the job was Monday, Aug. 5.

 

"This position is the first opportunity to begin the next phase of my career, so it means a lot to me and my family," Buckmaster said. "Throughout the interview process, the vision Gerald has for the athletic department radiated to everyone I met and it became apparent that everyone not only supports that vision but is "pushing the boulder forward' together.  I think it is an exciting time at Shawnee State and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be part of it."

 

Buckmaster, who went 69-37 over her final two seasons at Indiana-Southeast -- and 49-11 in River States Conference play over that same stretch -- is a Lima, Ohio native who was born and raised in the Buckeye State. A graduate of Lima Bath High School in Lima, Buckmaster played volleyball, basketball and softball at Lima Bath and ultimately earned an opportunity to play collegiate softball at NCAA Division III Bluffton, where Buckmaster was a part of a Beavers unit that won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship in 2008 and went 92-68 over Buckmaster's four seasons at Bluffton with three winning campaigns in those four years.

 

Following her playing career at Bluffton, Buckmaster began her coaching career at Columbus State in Georgia, and found immediate success, helping the Cougars win 40 games, the 2012 Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship, and an NCAA Division II Regional Tournament appearance. Then, after two years of teaching at Williston State as the Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Business at the North Dakota-based institution and helping Bluffton as an assistant softball coach when she could, Buckmaster ultimately obtained the head softball coaching position at Williston State, where Buckmaster coached for three seasons and helped the Tetons collect two runner-up finishes in the Mon-Dak Conference with eight all-conference and six all-region players as well as 11 academic honorees within the conference realm.

 

After Williston State, Buckmaster returned to her native Ohio, where she first obtained the assistant softball coaching position at Lourdes, and then, following that role with the Gray Wolves, Buckmaster got her first head coaching spot at a four-year program when she was hired to coach at NCAA Division II Wheeling. At Lourdes, Buckmaster developed three First-Team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) selections, and at Wheeling, Buckmaster increased the Cardinals' roster from just 12 players to a strong 26-player unit, increased the team's cumulative GPA from 2.9 to 3.3, and had Wheeling, who had gone 12-38 in 2019, out to a respectable 5-5 start in her first year as head coach before the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In late 2020, Buckmaster changed gears and accepted a position as the Reeves County Recreation Center, and proceeded to assist in pioneering the development of the first ‘Integrated Health Model’ facility in the United States, create and manage the department budget -- including all ordering and the inventory of all equipment -- implement and manage the Kid Power Kamp program, work collaboratively with other department directors (including but not limited to Member Services, Marketing, Childcare, etc.), and was responsible for coordinating, ordering, and the inventory of apparel for the entire staff, among other additional responsibilities and tasks. Buckmaster returned to coach the game of softball at Indiana-Southeast, where she coached from the 2022 through 2024 seasons before stepping down to accept the Athletics Compliance and Operations Manager position.

 

Buckmaster's wife, Brooke, and son, Jaxon, have moved to the area as well as her two cats, Penny and Selena, and two dogs, Maya and Dutton. As she transitions back into an administrative role, Buckmaster wants to be a lending hand and help Shawnee State continue to establish the family vibes that have been evident in her own arrival to the area.

 

"I want to be a part of as much as I can, help as much as I can, and learn as much as I can in this position," Buckmaster said. "I truly want my role to be making other roles easier."