Panthers hire basketball and cross country coaches

Roger Lee • August 3, 2024

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Pinewood Prep Boys Soccer coach Luke Williams hands the 2024 SCISA 3A Boys Soccer State Championship trophy to his players.

By Roger Lee

Special to the HSSR

Summerville – Pinewood Prep Athletics has a new head coach for two of its programs entering this school year.

Panthers Athletic Director J. W. Myers has named Beth Greenlee to head its Girls Basketball program and added the position of head cross country coach to the responsibilities of Jake Birdsong.

Greenlee, a former Summerville standout who participated in multiple sports including softball and basketball, replaces Anthony Weston who stepped down from the position. Weston headed the program the last four seasons, but joined the program as an assistant in 2013.

“He felt like he couldn’t give the time the team needed so it was a mutual parting,” Myers said. “I think a lot of it is he wants to be able to sit back and watch his daughter player, which I don’t think he has done in a while.”

Greenlee was already a history/government teacher at Pinewood who formerly spent time in the business world. She is a College of Charleston graduate who played for the Cougars Softball team and trained with the colleges’ basketball players during the offseason.

“She has a background in basketball but also we liked having someone who is on campus and has a general sports background,” Myers said. “She already knows the girls and we think she will do a good job running and revitalizing a program. She is excited about getting to work with our athletes outside the classroom as well as in the classroom.”

Birdsong was already the Panthers’ head track and field coach and an assistant cross country coach. He takes over the cross country program from Tony Bulford, who stepped down after more than 15 years of coaching at Pinewood. He led the program to multiple region championships.

“Tony did a great job building a course on our campus and growing that program,” Myers said. “Jake helped with that so it was a natural fit and he will continue with that growth.”

In the past, Birdsong also served as the head JV Girls Basketball coach. He is a Pinewood alumni who ran for Presbyterian College. He led the Pinewood boys’ track team to a region championship in the spring. Myers says he has all the cross country and track teams on an upward trajectory.

Pinewood also has some veteran coaches. In addition to the above region titles, the Panthers claimed region titles in boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, baseball and football last school year.

Pat Eidson has been the boys’ basketball coach for more than 30 years and has led Pinewood teams to multiple region and state championships. He has more than 900 coaching wins.

Gail Osborne has been the Pinewood girls’ soccer coach since 2005 and led the program to multiple region championships and eight state championships. Her team finished the 2024 season with a 22-1-2 record and captured its fourth straight SCISA Girls Soccer Championship. Osborne has more than 300 career coaching victories and is an eight-time time region coach of the year.

Boys’ soccer coach Luke Williams led the Panthers to the past two SCISA 3A Boys Soccer State Championships.

Competitive cheerleading coaches Merrell Mann and Dee Devlin and swimming coach Jessica Archambault have all coached for the school for more than 15 years while baseball coach Jay Buddin has been with the school for more than 10 years.

Mann and Devlin have lead the Panthers’ cheerleaders to multiple state titles, including the past three SCISA AAA Championships.

Archambault and Buddin have also led their program to multiple region championships. The baseball team claimed its third straight region title in 2024.

Other Pinewood head coaches returning are Andy Morgan (lacrosse and girls golf), Rob Dudley (sporting clays), Brandon Brown (boys’ golf), DeVonte Holloman (football), Tuesday Abernathy (girls’ volleyball) and Jarriel King (strength and conditioning).

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First Baptist Hires New AD and Football Coach

By David Shelton • July 30, 2025

By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston – First Baptist School has new leadership within its football program and athletic department for the coming 2025-26 school year. Kevin Mapp was hired as the new head football coach in the early spring and Jay Godbolt was hired as the new athletic director at the start of the summer. Mapp has extensive coaching experience on both the college and high school levels while also working in law enforcement. First Baptist is his first head coaching position. Mapp last coached defensive linemen at James Island Charter High and has had coaching stints at James Madison, Hampden-Sydney, Georgetown, Marshall, Missouri State and Coastal Carolina. Mapp graduated from James Madison and was a defensive lineman on the 2004 Division I-AAA (now FCS) national championship team. “Coaching has always been my passion,” Mapp said. “Ever since I was playing, I wanted to be a coach. I have always found a way to coach while working in law enforcement. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunities to do both.” Mapp has been with the Charleston County police department for the last 10 years. He took some time away from coaching to start a family. “I felt like First Baptist was the perfect fit for me and my family,” Mapp says. “It’s a great opportunity at a great place. The kids here work hard and there is a lot of support from the administration. I’m excited to be the head football coach at First Baptist.” Mapp has hired coordinators on both sides of the ball. Will McCombs , once the head coach of the program, will call the offensive plays. Chris Hart comes over from James Island as the defensive coordinator. “Our numbers are improving and the kids are working hard,” Mapp said. “I feel like we can be a competitive team. It’s year one of the building process.” Godbolt has been a coach and athletic director in the Charleston area for nearly two decades. As the boys basketball coach at Charleston Collegiate, Godbolt coached three state championship teams. He also has been a coach and athletic director at Lowcountry Leadership Academy. Godbolt has more than 450 career victories as a head basketball coach. Current First Baptist basketball coach Antoine Saunders was Godbolt’s assistant at Charleston Collegiate.