Over the summer, Northwestern State University of Louisiana athletics announced two new hires for both the volleyball and softball teams.
Cara MacFarland is now the assistant volleyball coach, and Jenny Fuller is now the softball head coach.
Cara MacFarland is the sixth assistant to work on the coaching staff, since head volleyball coach Sean Kiracofe took over the program in 2015. Kiracofe reaffirmed his decision to hire after feeling fortunate enough to work with previous talented assistant coaches.
“I had my first assistant Alicia Roth leave in June before the season to get a head coaching opportunity,” Kiracofe said.
When Roth left, Kiracofe had to make a quick hire and brought in a friend, Ashley Hardee, who had to leave in the middle of the season due to his wife’s diagnosis of breast cancer. Then, Stacey Aldredge, former graduate assistant coach for the team, stepped up. She was great, Kiracofe said, and it was easy for him to then make her assistant. However, Kiracofe later found himself in the same situation again when Aldredge went on maternity leave. This was when MacFarland stepped up.
Initially, this was more of a training experience for MacFarland because Aldredge was going to come back eventually. However, things changed when Aldredge got another opportunity and took a coaching job at St. Mary’s High School.
“I had to make a quick decision, but I already had the ability to see what Cara was capable of doing,” Kiracofe said. “I already knew what she was like as a person, so it made it very easy at that moment to bring her back.”
Kiracofe shared MacFarland’s unique skill set that he was looking for in a coach.
“I don’t want to take this away from her own ability, but her father being a coach as well, I got to believe growing up around that helps how you just view different situations,” Kiracofe said. “I think she sees the game well. She has good insights to the game and can give an idea and have some sort of justification for it; she can think through the process and just explain why.”
Moving forward, he explained how MacFarland will improve the team’s success as a coach and keep the Lady Demons’ culture alive.
“She has already been able to communicate and connect with the players, so that they can trust that she has their best interest in mind,” Kiracofe said. “I think that is a huge thing that assistants need to have to be able to be successful. I think she does a good job at balancing being a coach and being someone they can go to and talk to.”
MacFarland took on her new role in the program after two years as graduate assistant while filling in for Aldredge.
“Going from graduate assistant to assistant, I think I was always timid. When she left, I realized I needed to step up and show the team that I am here for them and I’m also here for Sean,” MacFarland said. “I just want to fill in her shoes. I think Stacey was always the mom of the group and since she wasn’t there I had to let them know that you guys can come to me and I can help you with anything.”
The Norwalk, Ohio native spent four years playing at Middle Georgia State University in Macon, Ga., where she was a three-year captain and finished her career in the top five in the program’s history in the five different statistical categories. She also had two seasons with more than 120 kills, 100 assists, 20 aces, 180 digs and 10 blocks.
In 2019, MacFarland was named to the Champions of Character team and was a member of the Middle Georgia State University Leadership of Athletes. She also served as the head coach for Tsunami Volleyball Club and as assistant for TopVolley.
“I coached club while working on my undergrad, three years because of COVID. It was important to have confidence and know that I can come up with a rotation, come up with game plans and make sure the girls know where I stand on points,” MacFarland said. “I was coaching 13- and 14-year-olds, so it’s a little different now that I’m coaching 18 to 22. That’s why it’s still important to have Sean to lean on so if I have a question, I can ask it.”
She received her sports administration master’s degree from NSU while working as a graduate assistant coach for the Demons during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
“I already had a feel for the culture and I was also in line with how Sean has stated on culture, so I felt like the job was in line with what I believed,” MacFarland said. “I already had a relationship with half the team and nothing really changed other than I’m now full-time and out of grad school.”
Taking on the new role, she has a few goals that she wants to accomplish in the upcoming season.
“I want to be open minded. Whether I’ve learned or not learned, I want to come out of this job knowing that Sean taught me something and that I can always ask questions,” MacFarland said. “With volleyball, I see people get into the habit of running the same system or get relaxed in things, and I just want to learn every type of way I can.”
Jenny Fuller decided to go for the head coach position at NSU after former head coach Lacy Prejean resigned after one season. Fuller said the new advancements in the program also contributed to her interest in becoming the new head coach.
“There are a lot of amazing things going on here with the new field, the lights, camera system, so I saw a lot of potential here to rebuild the program,” Fuller said. “I’m coming from a Division II program, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get into Division I. It also seemed like a good fit for my family as well, so we’re excited to be here.”
Prior to coaching, Fuller earned her associate degree in arts and business from McLennan Community College and a bachelor of science in education and masters of science in sports management from Baylor State University in Waco, Texas.
While playing for the Highlanders, she was named National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American and National Junior College Athletic Association Second Team All-American during her two seasons, then was named Region V Pitcher of the Year. All of these honors earned in her sophomore season. She then returned later to coach at her junior college alma mater, where she coached two first team all-conference pitchers and six other all-conference players.
At Baylor, she was top 10 for single-season winning percentage with an 11-3 record during 2008. Fuller also received the second highest career-winning percentage in program history at 0.813%.
Fuller was named the winner of the 2024 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Coach of the Year award, making her the thirteenth head softball coach in the NSU program’s history.
During the nine seasons Fuller has been a collegiate head coach, she has produced a 249-171 (0.593) record and has had various stops at Cardinal Stritch University, Northern State University, Pittsburg State University, both her alma maters and many other institutions. She shared her goals and expectations of the coaching staff this season while she makes her presence known at NSU.
“It is somewhat of a rebuild; we have a very young team. I think the goals are eventually to build the program back to its championship calibur,” Fuller said. “That goes into my coaching style and we’re going to be a very positive coaching staff. We like to give our players a fun environment. Now we can do that but not at the expense of practicing hard with intent.”
With this new role, Fuller is most excited about building a relationship with the team.
“I’m ready to meet the players and build those relationships, because I think that’s my strong point as a coach,” Fuller said. “I want to get to know the community, players and fans. I think that’s the key to success.”
The hiring of both Fuller and MacFarland bring new perspectives to their athletic programs as they build on their new teams.
