SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford head softball coach Chelsea Butler announced today the addition of Kara Shutt as an assistant coach to the Terrier staff. Shutt comes to Spartanburg after two seasons with Mississippi.
 
"First and foremost, Kara is a wonderful human being who exemplifies high character and a positive demeanor on and off the field," said Butler. "Kara has had the opportunity to learn from some of the best coaches in our game, and I know that her experiences, paired with her own coaching philosophies, will allow Kara to continue to shine. I am thrilled that Kara has decided to join our Wofford Softball family, and I know that our athletes are going to love being around her and learning from her. Wofford Softball got better today!"
 
Shutt spent the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant with Ole Miss in which she helped the Rebels to a 41-19 campaign that concluded in the Los Angeles Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament in 2022. With Shutt on the staff, Ole Miss posted its fourth-ever 40-win season, and the 39 regular season wins tied for the program record. Her first season in Oxford in 2021 saw the Rebels post a 36-22 record with an appearance in the Tucson Regional, also advancing the finals.
 
Before joining the Rebel staff, Shutt was a graduate manager at another SEC program with South Carolina. The Gamecocks posted a record over .500 each of Shutt's two seasons in Columbia, the first of which in 2019 saw South Carolina advance to the finals of the Tallahassee Regional in a 38-19 campaign. The Gamecocks touted a 17-6 clip in 2020 before the season's untimely end due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Shutt was a key player on the Elon Phoenix as an All-American and three-time All-CAA First Team selection. The outfielder placed on the All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team in each of her final three seasons, and her senior campaign in 2018 was capped with an NFCA All-American Third Team nod and her second NFCA All-Region First Team selection. With 63 career doubles, Shutt is both the Elon and CAA all-time career leader. With 21 doubles in 2016, she set a single-season program record that she replicated in her senior season. Shutt hit .425 as a senior to set the Elon Division I program record for a season. A career .373 hitter, Shutt finished second on the Elon all-time hits leaderboard with 253.
 
As a freshman, Shutt wasted no time making her presence felt in the Phoenix lineup in 2015, driving in 44 RBI to set the record for most in a season by a freshman and finish second in the program's single-season record books. With a .331 average, Shutt earned CAA All-Rookie Team and Third-Team NFCA All-Region honors.  
 
A native of Greensboro, N.C., Shutt graduated from Elon with a bachelor's degree in sport management in 2018 and earned her master's degree in the same field from South Carolina in 2020.
 
Shutt now returns to the Palmetto State to aid in laying the foundations of the new Wofford softball program, joining Chelsea Butler's staff alongside Mark Line. The program's first class of student-athletes will arrive on campus this fall, and the Terriers will first take to the field in the spring of 2024.