From Lions to Tigers: Coach Bryce Neal

Written By: Ian Silvester

On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, the LSU softball program introduced Bryce Neal as the newest assistant coach to join the Tigers’ staff in Baton Rouge. His hiring comes on the heels of a meteoric rise in the softball coaching world and is backed by the unwavering support from the time and connections made while attending the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. Without the backing of his alma mater, Neal said, the move to LSU wouldn’t have ever happened.
 
Hailing from Poteau, Oklahoma, Neal’s passion for softball developed through his love of baseball. When he was 5 years old, Neal donned a hat, glove, and pair of cleats and swung a bat for the Poteau Pirates Youth League. After his family moved to Northwest Arkansas, Neal continued to thrive on the baseball diamond for Springdale High School.
 
Knowing baseball would allow him to go to college, Neal began playing collegiate ball at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, before transferring to UAFS in the fall of 2013. For the Lions, Neal was an infielder, posting a career fielding percentage of .952 and batted .300 over the course of the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
 
By the spring of 2016, Neal had just 12 credits remaining to earn his bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership but chose to leave UAFS. “I wasn’t a great student,” he admitted.
 
He found his footing with a startup company that provided financial stability, but when the company was sold, Neal turned his attention back to the ball field.
 
Neal was exposed to softball at a young age through his sister Morgan, and both she and his wife, Jill Barrett, played softball for the University of Tulsa. His sister was still in school when the company was sold, so Neal became “invested in (his) sister and helping her become the best player she could be.” Seeing this and the spark it created in her husband, Barrett recommended Neal pursue a career in softball.
 
It was around this time that his past at UAFS came knocking.
 
“The university reached out to me about finishing my degree there,” Neal recalled. So, in 2019, he was back at UAFS for the spring semester, thanks in part to the support from Executive Director of Student Retention, Jennifer Holland.
 
“I didn’t solicit Jennifer at all; … she reached out to me,” he said. “I got a finish grant and completed my degree with a 4.0 and was on the Dean’s List that year.” In May 2019, he completed his UAFS degree.
 
Neal credits UAFS for not giving up on its students as a reason for his rapid rise in collegiate softball coaching. He is fond of the lifelong connections the university has afforded him.
 
“You have to have people who believe in you and what you can do. You start building that the second you go to college, you have people in your corner, people invested in your best interest,” Neal said. “You have to have people that are accepting of failure who say, ‘OK, look, this may not work out, but if that’s where your passion lies, then you need to chase it.’”
 
Because UAFS and Holland helped guide Neal back on track, he turned his attention to coaching and used his background as motivation.

“I go about coaching by remembering that literally one person can change how you go about what you do, and it can change the course of your career and life,” he said.

And his philosophy has paid dividends.
 
Neal was a volunteer assistant coach for Arizona State University in 2020 before being hired as an assistant coach for the Bucknell University softball program in 2021.
 
Now, he joins LSU following two seasons at the University of Louisville, where he helped the Cardinals to a 63-45 record, two National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans, five NFCA Southeast All-Region selections, and nine All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honorees. During the 2023 season, he was part of the staff that guided the Cardinals to a program record of 64 home runs, an ACC-leading .319 batting average, and finished 13th overall in the NCAA for home runs per game.
 
Baton Rouge and the LSU Tigers are now home to Neal, Barrett, and their son Brooks. But Fort Smith and UAFS will always be home for the former Lion.

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