Leslie Messina enters her first season as Lincoln Land Community College with more than 20 years of college softball coaching experience. After spending 17 years coaching junior college in Texas, she returned home to Illinois in the summer of 2020 and reunited with her high school coach, Kerry Crum, at Blackburn College. After Coach Crum retired, Coach Messina was promoted to head coach for the next two years before leaving for the head coach position at Illinois College. In her first year leading BC, Coach Messina earned her 400th collegiate coaching win. In fall of 2023, Coach Messina (or she) was inducted to the Kilgore College Hall of Fame. After 4 years at the NCAA D3 level, she is excited to return to junior college softball and her hometown.
At Illinois College, Coach Messina coached the Lady Blues to a 3rd place finish in the Midwest Conference and the players earned Conference Pitcher of the Year, two first team all-conference selections and three second team selections. One player also won NFCA All-Region honors. Blackburn College softball saw increases in wins and many offensive categories each year under Coach Messina.
Coach Messina started the softball program at Kilgore College in Spring of 2013. Since opening the Ballpark at KC Commons, the Rangers qualified for the Region XIV Tournament two of the next three seasons including their first tournament win in 2019. Coach Messina’s eight years as head coach and one year as assistant coach at Texarkana College, the Bulldog’s won five conference championships, two regional championships, and the team’s first two appearances at the NJCAA National Tournament.
During her career at TC, Coach Messina coached 10 All-Americans, 14 NFCA All-Midwest Region honorees, four Region XIV Players of the Year, and 30 All-Region selections. The 2007 season proved to be the most successful in Bulldog Softball history which included a repeat as Region XIV East Conference Champions, a Region XIV Championship and a top ten finish at the NJCAA National Tournament. Coach Messina was also selected the Region XIV Coach of the Year and National Fastpitch Coaches Association NJCAA Midwest Region Coaching staff of the year. In May 2012, Texarkana College eliminated the athletics program due to college financial problems after the softball team won the Region XIV East Conference title and was named the Region XIV Coaching Staff of the Year.
Coach Messina was a catcher and designated hitter for the Division I, University of Evansville Purple Aces. While in Evansville, she worked for two years as a hitting and catching instructor for Diamond Sports Academy. After graduating cum laude in 1999 with majors in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, she earned her master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching from Georgia Southern University. While she was at GSU, she served on the coaching staffs of the university’s Division I softball team and nationally ranked Division II Armstrong Atlantic State University. She designed Armstrong Atlantic’s weight training program and coached catchers and outfielders. During her tenure at AASU, the Pirates had the highest fielding percentage in the nation and finished the year at No. 21 in the Division II polls.
Coach Messina holds other distinctive credentials. She earned the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s designation of One-Star Master Coach. From 1999 to 2024, she was certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
