CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – New head coach Mark Montgomery of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team finalized his staff ahead of the 2026 season with the hirings of assistant coach Mark Suire, assistant coach Mike Forsythe, and graduate assistant.
Suire comes to the Island with 10 years of collegiate head coaching experience and over 20 years coaching overall, spending the last three as the head softball coach at Baton Rouge Community College. During his first season at the helm, Suire had a record of 19-28, which at the time tied for the second-best season in program history. His second season saw a record of 24-24, which broke the all-time program record for wins in a season before he broke it again this past year with a 25-18 record.
Suire, a native of Abbeville, La., spent one season at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas prior to BRCC. He led the Warriors to a 20-18 overall record in 2022 and guided Hendrix to its best start in school history, beginning 13-1 and 6-0 in conference action.
Prior to Hendrix, Suire spent six seasons (2016-21) as head coach at Centenary (La.). In 2021, Suire guided the Ladies to their first appearance in program history in the SCAC Championship title game, a one-run loss to then No. 1-ranked Texas Lutheran, who advanced to the National Championship round of the NCAA tournament. Centenary made back-to-back SCAC Championship semifinal appearances in 2018 and 2019. In 2017, Centenary finished third in the SCAC with 12 victories, the most in nearly a decade. Suire took over a program that prior to the 2016 season had not won double-digit games since 2010 or finished with a winning record since 2009 and posted a 23-22 overall record.
Prior to Centenary, Suire was a head coach in the Louisiana high school system for 20 seasons, starting in 1996 at Abbeville High School, a program that had only one win in two previous seasons. In 1998, Suire led the Wildcats to the state tournament quarterfinals. After six seasons (1996-2001), he departed with the most wins in program history.
Suire worked at Delcambre High School for 12 seasons (2002-2013). After taking over a program in its second year of existence, he tallied a 227-101 overall record with the Panthers, including appearances in five state tournament semifinals and the 2008 state championship. From 2006-2010, his Delcambre teams won more postseason games than any program in Louisiana.
Suire was a member of the 1988 Southland Conference champion McNeese State baseball team before transferring to Mississippi Delta Junior College (now Mississippi Delta Community College) as a sophomore and Louisiana College for two seasons (1990-91). In 1989, he helped the Trojans to a regional championship.
"Mark is an amazing coach, and we are so lucky he has agreed to join us here on the Island. Mark has an innovative and progressive softball mind. He is a great teacher in every aspect of softball, and with his head coaching background he will be able to fill in wherever needed. I have always considered him a great coach, and I am extremely excited to learn from him this season," said Montgomery.
"I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Montgomery in building up the Islanders softball program. I am excited about his vision for the program and look forward to facing any challenges that lie ahead. The opportunity to grow alongside such an experienced leader while also sharing my passion for the game with student-athletes is exciting to me. I'm ready to get to work and make a positive impact on Islanders softball!" said Suire.
Forsythe, the new Assistant Coach, reunites with Montgomery after serving under his staff on three separate occasions at Northern Colorado, Louisiana Tech, and Maryland. His primary role has been developing pitchers, with his most recent stint at Southeast Missouri State highlighting that as the top pitching staff in the OVC Conference in 2023.
Prior to SEMO, Forsythe was the pitching coach for one year at New Mexico after spending two seasons in the same role at Maryland. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech where he worked with the pitchers. He was also the pitching coach at Northern Colorado, Southern Connecticut State, Quinnipiac and Fordham.
At Maryland, the pitching staff dropped its team ERA from 5.84 to 3.10 and had three pitchers with under a 3.00 mark. The pitching staff lowered its opponent batting average from .356 to .249, helping the Terrapins win 19 Big Ten games in 2021, most since joining the conference.
During his time at Louisiana Tech, Forsythe played a big part in helping three Lady Techster pitchers earn First-Team All-Conference USA honors. One of those pitchers, Krystal De La Cruz, was also named C-USA Newcomer of the Year in 2017, while another, Preslee Gallaway, was tabbed C-USA Pitcher of the Year in 2018.
Additionally, the Louisiana Tech pitching staff tossed 18 shutouts during the 2017 campaign, including a 1-0 win over Florida International in the C-USA Championship game. La Tech played 11 games against Power 5 teams, combining for a 2.48 ERA. The pitching staff held seven Top-25 team to two runs or less during the 2018 season.
Forsythe brings experience beyond the collegiate game having also served on the pitching staff with the Akron Racers Women's National Pro Fastpitch League.
"Mike is maybe the best pitching coach I have ever met, certainly that I have had the privilege to work with. He is a tremendous teacher, a relentless recruiter, and is amazing in his game day preparation. He will have our pitchers prepared for every batter in every game. I am thrilled to be working with him again!" said Montgomery.
"I couldn't be more excited to reunite with Coach Montgomery and help with build Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to be one of the best softball teams in the conference and nation. I want to thank Athletic Director
Adrian Rodriguez and Deputy AD
Eric Schultz for this wonderful opportunity to become part of the Islanders softball family and the Corpus Christi community. I can't wait to get started!" said Forsythe.
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