Chelsea Farmer - Softball Coach

Chelsea Farmer

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
cfarme21@utm.edu

Chelsea Farmer enters her second season as head coach of the University of Tennessee at Martin softball program in 2025. She was named the fifth head coach program history on June 18, 2024 after serving as the acting head coach for the 2024 campaign.

A proven winner in the circle and in the coaching ranks, Farmer led the Skyhawks to a 30-win season in her debut campaign - serving as the program's acting head coach beginning in February of the 2024 season. The team's 30 wins ranked as the second-most victories in the Ohio Valley Conference while notching just the program's second 30-win season in the last eight campaigns. While at the helm, four players earned all-conference honors as the team qualified for the OVC Softball Championship field.

A decorated UT Martin pitcher from 2009-12, Farmer joined the Skyhawk coaching staff as an assistant prior to the 2020 COVID-shortened season and served as the program's pitching coach for four seasons. The Skyhawk program has produced a 126-94 record (61-45 mark in OVC play) since Farmer joined the coaching staff of her alma mater while the program has qualified for the conference postseason tournament in three of four opportunities (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Farmer has mentored 18 All-OVC performers and a pair of National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region honorees in outfielder Kaci Fuller and pitcher Alexis Groet during her tenure.

During the 2024 campaign, the Skyhawks led the OVC with a 2.50 team ERA and .957 fielding percentage while also boasting the league's second-lowest opponent batting average of .235. Offensively, the squad ranked in the top half of the league in several categories, including hits, batting average, RBIs and OPS.

UT Martin posted a 3.29 ERA in 317.1 innings of work in 2023 while allowing the third least runs in the OVC. All-OVC performer Katie Dreiling posted a 12-7 record and 2.90 ERA in 96.2 innings of work while being especially effective against OVC foes where she won nine of the team’s 13 contests and posted a 1.67 ERA in 16 appearances.

During the 2022 season, UT Martin’s pitching staff ranked second among OVC leaders in ERA (2.84), wins (34), saves (six), hits allowed (307), runs allowed (168), earned runs allowed (138), doubles allowed (45) and opponent batting average (.237).

In her second season overall and first full campaign in 2021, Farmer mentored Groet to NFCA All-Region, All-OVC first team and OVC All-Newcomer honors after posting the second-lowest single-season ERA (1.36) in program history. Groet also garnered a pair of OVC Pitcher of the Week honors under Farmer's tutelage.

Prior to her stint back at her alma mater, Farmer spent the 2016 campaign as a volunteer assistant at Middle Tennessee State University while coaching for six years at the high school level at nearby Union City and Dresden.

A Tullahoma, Tenn. native, Farmer was inducted into the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2022. She was named OVC Pitcher of the Year, OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player, All-OVC first team and NFCA All-Region while shattering seven school records during her senior campaign. She was an integral member of four combined OVC championships in her career, helping the Skyhawks to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009.

For her career, Farmer posted a 56-31 overall record with a 2.46 ERA in 555.1 innings of work. Having appeared in 119 games while recording 91 starts, she tossed 60 complete games and 11 shutouts while tallying 476 strikeouts.She still ranks first in school history in wins (56), games started (91), innings pitched (555.1) and strikeouts (476).

Farmer graduated from UT Martin with a bachelor of science degree in secondary education with a focus on English in 2012 and earned her Master's degree in education from Cumberland University in 2015.

She is married to Daniel Farmer and the couple has two children, daughter Oaklee and son Foster.