UAB Softball Coach Taylor Smartt Taking ‘Step Back’ From Program

The university will not provide further comment at this time.

Alabama-Birmingham head coach Taylor Smartt is taking a step back from the program. | UAB Athletics

The head coach of the Alabama-Birmingham softball program is taking a step back from the program.

A spokesperson for the program confirmed the news with Softball On SI Tuesday morning. There will not be any further comment at this time.

Anna Shelnutt will be handling the head coaching duties. However, she has not officially been named the interim head coach, according to the university's spokesperson.

During UAB's series against South Florida in Birmingham, Shelnutt was tasked with coaching third base and handling the home plate meetings.

UAB was swept by USF and fell to 20-30 on the season, 7-17 in conference play.

The Blazers will travel to Bacon Raton for a three-game series at FAU to finish the regular season before heading to Greenville, N.C. for the American Conference Championships starting May 6.

Smartt is in her second season as the head coach for the UAB Blazers. She was named the head coach on Aug. 7, 2024, after two seasons as an associate head coach at Florida Atlantic.

Before FAU, Smartt spent eight seasons on the staff at Troy University. During those eight years, she helped lead the Trojans to a 2021 NCAA Regionals appearance and spent the 2022 season as the co-interim head coach.

Smartt played collegiately at Troy where she started 191 games over a four-year span, and was named to the NFCA All-Region team her freshmen season when she hit .277 with eight doubles, a triple, a home run and 17 RBIs. 

“I want to thank Athletic Director Mark Ingram and Deputy Athletic Director Dan Carlson for giving me the opportunity to serve as the next Head Softball Coach at UAB,” said Smartt after she was named the head coach in 2024. “I am excited to join the UAB athletic department and become a UAB Blazer. This opportunity to lead the Blazer softball program is an absolute honor and privilege and wouldn’t be possible without Beth Mullins and Jordan Clark having the confidence in me to help build their programs and develop successful young women. The Lord continues to open doors that have led me to this moment and I am blessed to get to wear the green and gold. I am excited to return to Alabama, the state I have grown up in and love dearly. I look forward to competing for conference championships and helping our student-athletes achieve their dreams on and off the field.”