COLUMBIA, S.C. – Benedict College has named former Lady Tiger softball player Amari Lawson as head softball coach and student-athlete academic enhancement counselor.
"We are thrilled to have Amari return to Benedict," said Willie Washington, Director of Athletics for Benedict. "She was a exemplary softball player during her playing career at Benedict, and did a fantastic job during her previous time here as an academic counselor. I am confident she will excel in both of these positions now. With her unique blend of coaching experience, mental wellness expertise, and academic insight, she is poised to lead the Benedict College softball program to new heights."
"This is such a full circle moment," Lawson said. "I am beyond grateful and blessed to not only come back home to coach, but to also serve such a deserving group of student-athletes. I look forward to leading the Benedict softball program to new heights, as well as supporting our athletes academically. I am truly ready to lock in and get to work."
Lawson joins Benedict after spending the last two years as an assistant coach at Clark Atlanta University, where she played a pivotal role in the Lady Panthers' recruiting efforts and helped build a competitive program. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she worked as a learning facilitator at Georgia Tech and as an Honors Academic Advisor at Clark Atlanta.
She spent the 2021-22 school year at Benedict as a professor and Student-Athlete Academic Counselor, a position funded by a grant from the NCAA. She also worked as a mental health technician at a behavioral health facility, where she applied her social work education.
Prior to that, she spent two years as an assistant softball coach at Clark Atlanta University.
She earned a bachelor's degree in Social Work from Benedict College in 2019, and was a member of the Lady Tiger softball team. She earned a master's degree in Social Work in 2021 from the University of Kentucky.
During her four years at Benedict, Lawson was an outfielder who hit .271 with 15 doubles, four triples and two home runs. She scored 106 runs and drove in 60 runs and started 142 out of 145 games. As a senior in 2019, she started all 40 games and hit .333 with 31 runs scored and a career-high 19 RBIs.
Lawson was born in Durham, N.C., to her parents, Charles and Tonya Lawson, and raised in Atlanta, graduating from Westlake High School. Her younger sister, Alexus, was a standout soccer athlete who played at Alabama A&M and Albany State University.
The 2025 season will open Feb. 8 at Winston-Salem State, with the home opener on Feb. 22 against Fort Valley State.
