University of Tennessee at Martin

University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks
15 Mt. Pelia Road, and 1022 Elam Center Martin, TN 38238

Division 1 Tennessee Southeast

Public Medium National competitor

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Coaches

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Brian Dunn

Brian Dunn enters his first season at the helm of the University of Tennessee at Martin softball history after being named the fourth head coach in program history on June 11, 2019.

Dunn brings over 26 years of championship experience at both the high school and collegiate level including two state championships and four national titles. He replaces long-time head coach Donley Canary, who retired after the 2019 season as the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Heralded as the winningest softball coach in West Tennessee history, Dunn comes to UT Martin with a compiled record of 1,143 wins and 303 losses in 34 varsity seasons at the high school and college level. He has posted 857 career victories in 26 seasons as a head softball coach while also adding 286 wins as a volleyball coach at both Union University and the University School of Jackson. As a whole, he has overseen 63 team championships.

Dunn’s most recent coaching stop has seen him turn USJ into a perennial state tournament threat since 2005 by accumulating a 344-102 record. During his tenure with the Bruins, the program won TSSAA state titles in 2010 and 2012, finished runner-up twice and claimed numerous district and region titles. His path to success was quick as he led the program to its first district championship in his fourth year before a state championship in his fifth season at the helm.

Prior to Dunn’s illustrious career at USJ, he transformed Union University’s softball program into a legitimate national title contender. He led the Lady Bulldogs softball program to a 449-108 record (.803 winning percentage) over a nine-year period. During his tenure, Union posted seven straight top-10 national rankings while earning six TranSouth Conference championships, four conference tournament championships and four NAIA Region XI championships. The Lady Bulldogs reached the pinnacle with three NCCAA National Championships and six NAIA World Series appearances, including a third-place finish in 2001 with a school record 63 wins.

In addition to coaching a top-ranked softball program, Dunn guided the Union volleyball program to a 243-62 record over its first seven seasons, including the inaugural season in 1998. Dunn led Union to three TranSouth regular season championships, two conference tournament championships and six straight NCCAA MidEast Region Titles while capturing the 2003 NCCAA National Volleyball Championship and finishing runner-up in 2001. In his final season, he led the team to the NAIA National Tournament with a top-10 NAIA finish.

During Dunn’s eight-year tenure as a coach at Union, he coached 73 all-conference, 49 all-region, 28 All-American and 35 scholar-athlete award winners. Included in that list are 14 conference Players of the Year, nine region Players of the Year and two national Players of the Year. Individually, he claimed five NCCAA National Coach of the Year honors.

Dunn began his coaching career at Riverside High School where he led the Lady Panther softball team to their first-ever appearance in the TSSAA AA state tournament and a 64-25 record in three seasons.

Along with his numerous coaching achievements, Dunn has garnered 32 various Coach of the Year honors while being inducted into the Tennessee Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2014), USJ Softball Hall of Fame (2016), Jackson Madison Country Sports Hall of Fame (2018) and Union University Sports Hall of Fame (2018).

Dunn is a 1989 graduate of San Diego State University, where he helped lead the baseball team to a Western Athletic Conference Championship and a top-25 national ranking. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history before completing his master’s in education in 1998 from Union.

Dunn is married to the former Emily Garrett, as the couple resides in Jackson. They have two daughters, Addison and Ashlee.

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Chelsea Farmer

Chelsea Farmer (maiden name Jones) enters her first season as an assistant coach after ranking as one of the most decorated pitchers in University of Tennessee at Martin’s softball history.

Before UT Martin, Farmer spent seven years in various coaching positions throughout the state of Tennessee. Her previous coaching stops include head coaching experience at Union City Middle School while serving as an assistant coach at Union City High School from 2017-19. She spent the 2016 season as a volunteer assistant at Middle Tennessee while serving as head coach at Dresden High School from 2013-15. Additionally, she has been a pitching and camp instructor since 2009.

Prior to joining the coaching profession, Farmer enjoyed a decorated playing career at UT Martin from 2009-12 in which she helped lead the Skyhawks to two NCAA Tournament berths, two Ohio Valley Conference Tournament titles and a pair of OVC regular season championships. During her senior year she was named OVC Pitcher of the Year in 2012 while earning All-OVC first team honors after posting a 28-10 record with a 2.45 ERA in 262.1 innings of work. In that season she set program records for wins (28), appearances (47), starts (39), strikeouts (199), complete games (33) and innings pitched (262.1).

For her career, Farmer posted a 56-31 overall record with a 2.46 ERA in 555.1 innings of work. Having appeared in 119 games while recording 91 starts, she tossed 60 complete games and 11 shutouts while tallying 476 strikeouts. She left the program as the all-time leader in wins, starts, strikeouts and innings pitched.

In addition to her softball experience, Farmer is heavily involved with a local non-profit, Bright Light Volunteers, where she volunteers her time to take students across the globe on service learning projects.

Farmer graduated with a bachelor of science degree in secondary education with a focus on English from UT Martin in 2012. She completed her Master’s degree in education from Cumberland University in 2015. She is married to former UT Martin softball graduate assistant Daniel Farmer with the couple residing in Fulton, KY.

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Marlee Wilson

Marlee Wilson enters her first season as a graduate assistant softball coach at UT Martin.

Before UT Martin, Wilson was a four-year starter at Western Michigan where she started 183 career games primarily at first base. For her career she posted a .257 batting average with 28 doubles, 14 home runs and 75 RBIs. Notching a career on-base percentage of .329, she proved patient at the plate by also drawing 38 walks while being hit by a pitch 18 times. Along with her strong offensive ability, she posted a career .986 fielding percentage while committing just 20 errors in nearly 1400 opportunities.

She notched arguably her best statistical season as a junior, posting a .308 batting average with 15 doubles, two home runs and 29 RBIs en route to All-MAC second team honors. Meanwhile, during her senior campaign she set a career-high with six home runs while posting a .448 slugging percentage and OPS of .804.

In addition to her statistical number, Wilson was named MAC Player of the Week once along with MAC Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Academically she was also a standout, being named to the Academic All-MAC team.

A three-sport athlete of golf, softball and swimming, Wilson prepped at South Haven High School. Her prep career was highlighted by a perfect 18-0 season as a sophomore, capturing the Wolverine Conference Championship while earning three all-conference, all-district and all-region honors. A two-time all-state first team selection – along with a pair of honorable mention nods – she was named the Herald-Palladium and Kalamazoo Gazette Player of the Week during her career.

Wilson graduated from Western Michigan in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree university studies with concentrations in HPHE, art and business. She is currently working on a master's degree in family and consumer sciences. She is the daughter of Mark and Wilma Wilson and has one sibling, Nick.