Stephen Slezak, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor

With the new athletic year approaching, Berry has brought in two new head coaches onto it’s staff. The Vikings brought in Meredith Mills to take over the head coaching position for softball, and Matthew Richter was hired as head coach of the Men’s basketball team. Mills previously served three seasons as head coach of the Pride at Greensboro College. Richter is entering his sixth year at Berry, previously serving as an assistant coach for the Vikings.

While at Greensboro, Mills compiled an impressive record of 87-38. Last season she led the Pride to a conference championship appearance. During the 2023 year, Mills had an historic season at Greensboro achieving a record of 33-10. Mills successfully turned the program around at Greensboro and now steps into an already established program here at Berry. 

“I approach practices and games the same,” Mills said. “I play to win on and off the field. We want to win at everything. We want to win at life. We want to win at our LifeWorks job. We want to win on the field. We want to win at everything that we do.”

Berry softball is a nationally recognized program for the success that is produced year after year from the team. Last year, the Vikings finished with an overall record of 46-7 and were the winner of the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) championship. Mills, entering her first year as the head coach of the Vikings, has already begun to set goals for this upcoming season.

“The expectation is to win the SAA, to go to the regionals and super regionals, and to get back to the World Series,” Mills said. “I like to think of it as that is just the standard that has been set.”

Classes are just starting back up at Berry with all the student-athletes returning to school. Mills has begun meeting the players on the team and getting to understand the culture already built within the team.

“I have taken the time to sit down with them and have one on one meetings, just to dive a little deeper into who they are as a young lady and who they are as a player,” Mills said. “I’ll get to know them not only from the physical side of their talents but what makes them tick. What do they look like when they have had a bad day or do not perform up to their standards and expectations? How can I help turn them in a better direction?”

Softball starts fall practice on Sept. 18 and plays against The University of North Georgia, 2023 division II national champion, on Oct. 20.

Richter has spent five previous seasons at Berry as an assistant coach for the Men’s basketball team. In the previous two seasons under former head coach Mick Hedgepeth, Richter was part of 44 wins and two SAA championships. He served on the staff from 2018-2021, spent the 2021-2022 season at Wabash College, but then rejoined the Vikings in June of 2022. In his first year as head coach, Richter is looking forward to the upcoming year.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to work with those guys, watching them grow on and off the court,” Richter said. “The exciting part is who we get to be around every day and the types of kids we currently have in our program.”

Berry Men’s basketball has a history and tradition of winning. Like other programs at Berry, there is a winning expectation and winning environment throughout the athletic department. 

“It’s exciting, it’s a unique part of being in the Berry athletic department. I think the widespread success of different teams and programs is impressive. I think not every school can claim that,” Richter said. “Because of all that success, it makes me really fortunate to be around really good coaches and colleagues.”

Richter is the successor to previous head coach Mick Hedgepeth, who spent two seasons with the Vikings before moving on to The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Hedgepeth has been an important influence to Richter in his transition to being a head coach.

“He’s helped me in the transition, given me advice in things like scheduling and recruiting,” Richter said. “Probably more than anything is the help he gave me just being around him everyday for two years. That was more instrumental than anything. Just seeing how he ran a program, how he treated people the right way.”

Berry brings back a mix of newcomers and returners with experience who look to win their third consecutive SAA championship. Scrimmages start Oct. 22 with the official regular season starting on Nov. 8 against Hanover College.