AMERICUS, Ga. -- Georgia Southwestern Athletics hired three new staff members, bringing in both talent and experience to a rapidly growing athletic department. Cole Clearman, Madison Ragan and Eric Shephard will take on assistant coach duties for GSW this upcoming season.
Cole Clearman
Clearman, a native of Bettendorf, Iowa, enters his first season as the assistant men's basketball coach and Head Men's Cross Country coach. Clearman comes from Oklahoma Panhandle State in Goodwell, Okla., where he served as the assistant men's basketball coach for the 2018-19 season. In his lone season, Clearman, along with Coombs, guided OPSU to a 16-14 overall record and earned the program a conference playoff berth for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
Clearman was a four-year letterman at Missouri Western from 2014-18. He finished his career first in 3-point field goals made (233), first in games played and started (111 & 84), second in steals (128), second in all-time scoring (1,063 points), second in field goals made (361), third in assists (240) and sixth in rebounding (321 rebounds).
Madison Ragan
Ragan, a native of Coleman, Ga., will enter her first season as the assistant softball coach. Ragan spent last season as the assistant softball coach for Andrew College in Cuthbert, Ga., where she helped coach the leader in home runs in the GCAA and who was also a First Team All-Conference selection. Ragan was drafted to play professional softball in the first American Softball Association (ASBA) draft in 2018 by Team Outkast who won the regular season championship. While playing in the ASBA, Ragan was the 2018 leader in games finished in the circle with a 1.043 slugging percentage and 5 home runs at the plate.
Ragan attended Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla., where she was selected to the All-ASUN First Team in 2017 while also leading the team in doubles and batting average (.346) her senior year. Prior to JU, Ragan attended Chipola College in Marianna, Fla., where she won a NJCCA Div. I National Softball Championship as a freshman and finished runner-up her sophomore year. While at Chipola, she was a two-time First Team All Panhandle selection and was also named First Team All-State as an At-Large player. She is 2nd in Chipola history in home runs and recorded the nation's lowest ERA her freshman year.
She owns a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences and a minor in Marketing and Criminal Justice from Jacksonville University.
Eric Shephard
Shephard, a native of Allen, Texas, enters his first season as the assistant men's soccer coach who will be in charge of the goalies. Shephard recently spent three years coaching at his alma mater, Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla.
As a three-year letterman with the RiverHawks, Shephard was named to the 2013 All-MIAA Honorable Mention team as he played in 22 matches with 15 starts in the net. He recorded a career record of 10-3-4 and owns a career 1.04 GAA with a .759 saving percentage. Shephard ended his career with 63 saves while only allowing 20 goals in 1,726:35 minutes played. Shephard was the winning goalkeeper for NSU in the 2012 NCAA Round of 16, the first victory in NSU's history in the NCAA Championship.