Prater Builds Coaching Staff With Three Additions

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Two weeks after taking over the Memphis softball program, head coach Trena Prater has nearly completed her inaugural coaching staff with three additions on Thursday.

Prater's first hires consist of assistant coaches Erin Arevalo (Campbell), Nerissa Myers (Campbell) and director of operations Cassady Brewer (UCF).

ERIN AREVALO

Arevalo spent the last two seasons alongside Prater as the pitching coach at Campbell University, where she built one of the top pitching staffs in the country. Her arsenal combined for 37 wins in 2024 and helped guide the Camels to a regular season crown while ranking 10^th in the nation in shutouts (15) and 15^th in team ERA (2.09).

Arevalo also developed one of the top hurlers in the country in Isabella Smith. The right-hander earned back-to-back conference Pitcher of the Year honors as a member of the Big South Conference in 2023 and the Colonial Athletic Association in 2024. In her two seasons under Arevalo, Smith went 55-19 overall in the circle with a 1.83 ERA and 479 strikeouts across 447.1 innings while tossing 37 complete games and 11 shutouts.

"It's a blessing to have Coach Arevalo take over our pitching staff, she's one of the best pitching coaches in the country," Prater said. "Erin has developed back-to-back Pitchers of the Year for me at Campbell University and I expect that we will also achieve that accolade here in the near future at Memphis."

Prior to arriving at Campbell, Arevalo spent the previous season as the pitching coach for the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) softball program. During her tenure in Arlington, Arevalo helped guide freshman pitcher Jessica Adams to wins over Baylor and top-10 ranked Oklahoma State. Adams went on to earn third team All-Region honors with Arevalo's guidance.

Before joining UTA, Arevalo served as a volunteer assistant coach with Oklahoma from 2020-21. With the Sooners she assisted in helping the team win the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and eventually the NCAA National Championship.

Her coaching background also includes stops as an assistant coach at Indiana State (2017-20) and Samford (2015-17). She helped Samford to SoCon regular season and tournament titles in 2016, helping earn the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. She also coached senior pitcher Mollie Hanson who earned SoCon pitcher of the year honors, Most Outstanding Player of the SoCon Tournament and third team All-Region honors.

Arevalo played collegiate softball at the University of Georgia, helping the Bulldogs to back-to-back Women's College World Series berths in 2009 and 2010 and four NCAA Super Regional appearances. She was named a third team NFCA All-American as a pitcher following her final collegiate season in 2012.

She graduated from UGA with a B.S. in psychology in 2013.

A native of Lathrop, California, Arevalo played professional softball for the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch League for two seasons (2012-2013).

NERISSA MYERS

Myers comes to the Bluff City after one season with Prater at Campbell University, where they helped lead the program to a 37-21-1 overall record and a Coastal Athletic Association regular season crown.

"I'm thrilled to have Coach Myers joining my staff," Prater said. "She had a phenomenal collegiate and professional career as a player and I know that she will have an instant impact on our offense and infield."

Myers was a three-time All-Sun Belt and two-time NFCA All-Region shortstop during her career at Louisiana from 2010-13. As a true-freshman she started 60 games and earned all-tournament honors after helping the Cajuns to an NCAA Super Regionals appearance.

In her sophomore season she reached base in 58 of 62 games and scored 77 runs to tie a then-UL and Sun Belt single-season record. Myers was named an All-American her junior season after leading the country with 83 runs scored and totaling a career-best 13 homers, including four grand slams which marked the third-most in NCAA single-season history at the time.

Upon graduation she set the Louisiana all-time record for runs scored with 243.

Following her collegiate career, Myers served as a graduate assistant coach at Louisiana in 2015 before serving as a hitting coach at George Washington in 2016. While at GWU, the Colonials ranked second nationally in triples and in the top 25 of the NCAA in doubles.

Myers also coached the Scrap Yard Internationals Travel Team for nearly three years. She also served two seasons as an assistant coach at Coppin State from 2020-21.

Myers began her professional career in 2013 with the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch before playing with the Akron Racers in 2014. Myers was named the NPF Offensive Player of the Year with the Racers after leading the league in RBI (43) and slugging percentage (.599).

The following season, Myers once again led the league in RBI while ranking second in slugging, on-base percentage, and home runs. In 2016, Myers was selected to the All-NPF Team once again while ranking first in doubles, second in on-base percentage, third in batting average, fourth in slugging and fifth in runs scored. In her final NPF season in 2017, Myers helped the Scrap Yard Dawgs, a franchise based just outside of Houston, to a league title.

A native of Petal, Mississippi, Myers later played professionally in Italy before joining the Great Britain National Team in 2018. While overseas, Myers led her squad to the Championship Game of the Europe and Africa Olympic qualifier in 2019.

CASSADY BREWER

Brewer comes to the Bluff City after spending last season as the third assistant with UCF, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament as a first-year member of the Big 12 Conference.

Brewer, a four-year starter with the Knights from 2016-19, returned to UCF following three seasons on Florida Gators head coach Tim Walton's staff from 2021-23. She served as Florida's volunteer assistant coach in 2023 on the heels of two years as the program's coordinator of video and data analysis.

"Cassady had an impressive career as a player at UCF and I was blessed to coach her for one year. She's bringing coaching experience from working at University of Florida and UCF. She has a young brilliant mind that we'll utilize on and off the field as our Director of Operations."

In her three seasons in Gainesville, the Apopka, Florida, native helped lead the Gators to a collective 132-52 record, including three NCAA Regional appearances, two Super Regional appearances and one Women's College World Series berth in 2022.

As a four-year catcher with the Knights during her playing career, Brewer was well-decorated for her contributions. She compiled an aggregate .316/.437/.479 (180-for-570) line in 216 games spanning four seasons, accompanied by a .916 OPS, 41 doubles, 16 home runs, 106 RBI and 77 runs scored.

She also represented a steady and reliable presence behind the plate, committing only 20 errors in 971 total chances, good for a .979 career fielding percentage, while throwing out 33 of 71 (46.5 percent) of attempted base-stealers. Brewer added 179 assists in her four-year tenure as well, including a season-high 87 during her freshman 2016 slate.

She was recognized by the American Athletic Conference in each of her four years donning the Black and Gold, as she was honored with three First Team All-Conference selections from 2016-18 and a Second Team All-Conference selection in 2019, her final season. She too was named to The American's All-Rookie team in 2016, while also taking home the AAC's Rookie of the Year honors.

Brewer was twice recognized with NFCA All-Region selections as well, being added to the NFCA's First Team All-Region in 2018 and the NFCA's Second Team All-Region in 2019.

Her .341 batting average in 2019 paced the team, and she led the Knights in on-base percentage and slugging percentage in each of her final three seasons from 2017-19.

Brewer's name remains scattered throughout the Knights' all-time record lists as well, as she still holds third (.491, 2018), sixth (.452, 2019) and ninth place (.438, 2017) on UCF's all-time single-season on-base percentage list.

Her 16 doubles in 2019 were good for a share of first in a single season in program history until freshman Aubrey Evans broke the record with 18 in 2023, and her 37 walks in 2018 are still good for the third-most in a single season in program history. Her 17 attempted base-stealers thrown out in 2018 remain the most in a single season in program history as well.

Brewer also ranks second on the UCF all-time career on-base percentage list (.437) and walks list (121), fifth in career doubles (41), sixth in career slugging percentage (.479), and shares eighth place on the career average list (.316).

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