ELON, N.C. – Nearly a year ago, catcher Carley Davis took her final curtain call at Elon University's Hunt Softball Park, walking off the field for the last time after a five-year career.

With a 6-0 lead over Drexel and just two outs remaining, fellow seniors Drew Menscer and Megan Grant were subbed out one by one to a standing ovation. Then it was Davis' turn. She had been a starter in all five seasons, a three-year captain and the program's all-time leader in runners caught stealing. 

She hugged her replacement, catcher Mary Moss Wirt, then pitcher McKenna McCard and finally head coach Kathy Bocock. That final embrace lingered.

"I think the game halted for about an hour," Davis said. "I gave every single person a hug. In the moment, I didn't like it, but looking back on it, I'm grateful that coach Bo gave us three the opportunity to have a moment to part ways with Hunt."

Now, Davis is back at Hunt Softball Park, no longer behind the plate but in the dugout. Right after graduation, she was hired by Bocock to join the Elon softball staff as an assistant coach. 

The transition from player to coach came quickly. But for Davis – a natural leader throughout her career – it felt like the right next step.

FROM VA TO NC
Davis has spent her life on the diamond. Her parents played baseball and softball, and even catching seemed meant to be.

"I could barely walk, and I would put on my dad's catching gear and just walk around the house," Davis said. "So he knew in that moment that I was going to be a catcher."

A native of Bridgewater, Virginia, Davis played club softball for the Richmond Diamonds, establishing herself as the player Phoenix fans came to know. Under coach Walter Pettus, she developed both her softball and leadership skills.

"I knew that I wanted to play, but I didn't really know what all it would take," Davis said. "I was not half the player that I was coming into college without my travel ball coach, coach Walter. He created the player in me. He instilled the leadership qualities that I have built upon."

In junior year of high school, Pettus arranged official college visits for Davis. The first stop was Elon, and it was the only one she needed.

"I told my parents, 'I don't want to tour any other school. I don't want to go visit. I just want to go to Elon,'" Davis said.

Davis committed to Elon later that year and arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 2019.

"I'd be lying if I said my first day of my freshman year wasn't hard, but every day after that, it didn't even feel like I was away from home, because I was home," Davis said.

HOME AT HUNT
Upon commitment, Davis joined a freshman class with six total players. Remarkably, all six players stayed with Elon softball and graduated together in 2023. Davis, alongside Menscer and Grant, opted to take their extra year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Being with members of her recruiting class, and the team as a whole, is time that Davis looks back on with appreciation.

"No one transferred out, no one transferred in," Davis said. "I think that speaks on the team culture. But playing, being in the moment, there's nothing really that can describe it."

Bocock said that Davis' leadership was evident from the start, only growing stronger as she progressed through the program.

"She was very confident in what she did," Bocock said. "She took care of herself to be good, but she also took those younger guys under her wing and helped guide them."

One of those younger players was Wirt, a current junior who spent her first two seasons playing alongside Davis.

"Carley was a player that was extremely selfless," Wirt said. "She laid everything out on the line every time she stepped in between the foul lines. She just left it all out there 100% of the time, and she did everything for the good of the whole."

Wirt said Davis' leadership was not forced, but something the entire team naturally respected.

"Our infield wasn't the same without her behind the dish," Wirt said. "She had the ability to lead, but she also had this ability that made people want to listen to her. She not only said the right things, but when she spoke, everybody wanted to hear what she had to say."

It was during Davis' sophomore year, after some encouragement from former assistant coach Mallory Borden, that she remembers finding her voice on the field and considering a possible path in coaching.

"My sophomore year, coach Borden really pushed me to break out of my shell and speak up," Davis said. "Don't hide the skills that you've been blessed with, or the qualities that you have just because you're afraid of what others may think. That's when I started through camps, and also just practices and games, I started speaking more."

During her fifth year, Davis began exploring graduate school options. At the end of the season, she was still unsure of her next step. In late May, Bocock approached her with a new possibility. 

With an assistant coach leaving the staff, a position opened. Bocock and Davis walked around the Schar Center parking lot and had a long talk about what coming back to the team would mean for her. The position was hers to take, and she grabbed it. 

CALL HER COACH CAR
The team learned of Davis' return on a Zoom meeting over the summer. Wirt said every player on the team was excited, eager to have their former teammate back.

"It kind of felt like a big loss with that last game she played, even with Drew [Menscer] and Megan [Grant] and all of them, it felt like a part of us was leaving," Wirt said. "So for her to come back, it definitely was almost like a feeling of relief to the girls because we're not losing one of the best leaders that we have."

Now, Davis coaches many of the players she once called teammates. For Wirt, having Davis back has been especially meaningful in her own development as a catcher.

"She relates to us in ways that others don't really understand," Wirt said. "Catching at this level, it's a lot on your body, and it's a lot mentally. I think having somebody in a leadership position helps connect with you more, because she knows how it is to be us."

Alongside coaching, Davis is also getting her master's degree in social work from Liberty University, balancing school and softball, which is familiar territory for her.

Davis works primarily with pitchers and catchers. She's at the field every day, calling pitches from the dugout and guiding the battery through practices and games. Bocock said her experience has made a difference, especially since she has caught all eight of the pitchers on the staff in games before.

"Having that experience and them counting on her and having the respect for her and trust in her, it kind of just fell into place in a good way for us," Bocock said.

The coaching dynamic between Bocock and Davis has also been a rather seamless transition.

"I don't know that there's any difference, because we've just always had a great relationship," Bocock said. "She was a captain. I depended on her to communicate. She also was a catcher. We depended on her to communicate on the field. Now, it's kind of like she already knows what I'm going to say, so she can help with the girls and get them moving in the right direction."

This ongoing communication has been key, and Davis credits the strong connections she built with her teammates for helping her transition into a coaching role.

"Knowing them off the field allows me to coach them on the field," Davis said. "Knowing how their day was or or where their heads are at that day allows me to effectively communicate with them."

For Davis, the return to Elon is not just about softball. It is about giving back to the place that raised her.

"I'm grateful to have the ability to give back to the program that's given me everything, and not just softball wise, but education wise," Davis said. "I'm first-gen, so when I say the program that gave me everything, it's the program that gave me everything, and it was a simple choice."
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.

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