After a record-breaking season, the members of the Georgia Southern rifle coaching staff have been honored with the top honor in the sport. Soren Butler was named the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Head Coach of the Year and Abby Buesseler was named the CRCA Assistant Coach of the Year, as announced by the organization this week. It is the first honor for both coaches.
Both coaches are in their second season with the Eagles and oversaw a remarkable turnaround for the program this season.
The Eagles went 15-2 overall and swept all three titles at the recent Southern Conference Championship, a first in the modern history of the SoCon. The squad was ranked as high as third in the country and finished as a top 10 team in the country, just missing the NCAA Championships. Four Eagles qualified as All-Americans with Emma Pohlmann winning SoCon Athlete of the Year in smallbore and air rifle while winning both individual titles.
The team as a whole improved its smallbore team average over 35 points and its air rifle team average nearly 33 points for an aggregate increase of over 68 points.
Georgia Southern returns four of its top five shooters from this year and will welcome in yet another strong recruiting class. The 2024-25 schedule will be released later this spring, but it includes matchups against the top four finishers at the recent NCAA Championships.
