Former FIU Panther Bailey Grossenbacher Named Assistant Coach at Florida Southern
A New Chapter at Florida Southern
Former FIU Panther, Bailey Grossenbacher, was announced as the new Assistant Coach at Florida Southern College back in August.
Florida Southern is a member of the Sunshine State Conference in NCAA Division II, set in Lakeland, Florida. With Grossenbacher coming in fresh off of her playing career, she will no doubt bring a relatable feel and support to the players on the team.
While at FIU, Bailey Grossenbacher was an NFCA All South Regional Third Team selection in 2024, as well as All CUSA honors, as she put forward the best season of her career.
She finished a .265 career hitter with 11 home runs, 68 RBIs, and 67 runs scored for the Panthers. Grossenbacher was exceptional on the defensive side of things also as an outfielder.
Today I had the chance to catch up with Grossenbacher to have a chat about her new venture into coaching, her business outside of softball, and what she has seen so far from the team at Florida Southern.
Transitioning Into Coaching
Fresh out of FIU, where she excelled on the playing field and completed her Master’s in Marketing, Grossenbacher knew that she wanted to go into one of the two fields.
After spending the summer applying for positions in both, Coach Mo Triner and Florida Southern gave Bailey the shot she really wanted in becoming a coach.
I imagine the game is like riding a bike, you really never forget. Becoming a coach right after your playing career, you would think it makes it a bit easier to communicate what you know to the players.
I asked Grossenbacher what she looks forward to bringing to the Mocs and how her fresh experiences will enhance her coaching philosophy.
“So what I think is really cool about me just graduating is that, because I am so fresh out of the game, I learned what does and doesn’t work,” said Grossenbacher.
“You know, basically when it comes to winning games. At FIU, we went on a 20 game winning streak this year, and we had a pretty good season. It was cool to see what worked, and I want to bring that to Florida Southern.”
Bailey will be in charge of coaching the outfielders at Florida Southern. In Grossenbacher’s time at FIU, she boasted a career fielding percentage of .987 that included 218 putouts, eight assists, and only three errors. Playing the outfield is definitely her specialty.
She also informed that she will assist with hitting as well.
Business Mindset: Dubs Swim
Bailey Grossenbacher has that business and marketing mind, and she has applied that to her life already. She is the founder and CEO of DUBS Swim, a swimwear brand she launched just last year. I was curious to know how that had jumped off, and also how business and sports minds intertwine.
She brought the reality that while sports may be your thing, it is very important to look for schools based on what you would want to do if softball did not exist. Even if softball does exist in your world after college, chances are the money just will not be enough. We see it already in pro softball today, where most players have other means of income.
“So I love the marketing graphic design route and that is how I started my swimwear brand, DUBS Swim. So my whole senior year, a little bit of junior year, I was working on building that brand and having a lot of my teammates as models and a couple other big names like Michaela Edenfield, Ali Newland, Katie Kistler, a bunch of big names helped model for me for this swimwear brand to help,” said Grossenbacher.
“So that was kind of cool to have that. So I basically went in with the mindset if professional softball or coaching did not work out that I would have another route that I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life. So yeah, I did that and now I have that going and I have coaching going so it has been pretty fun.”
I asked how her business was coming along, and she confirmed that it is doing well. She currently has her line at Barefoot Trader, a beach store in Englewood, Florida. She is also in the works of expanding to a store in Key West, Florida.
Sports and Business Connection
How do the business and sports minds help each other? I asked Bailey if being a business person helps her in the softball world any, but she reversed it and explained how the game of softball actually helps her in business.
“Yeah, so I think what softball has taught me in life is to always learn from failures and just having a really good work ethic,” Grossenbacher explained.
“I think softball set me up for success in a way. It taught me that you have to do the extra things. Like this whole past year I was putting flyers underneath every single person’s door at my school, just trying to get that brand out to everybody.”
Hard work and surrounding yourself with good people are two things that are especially important to Bailey Grossenbacher. Support from the friends and teammates that she has met through the game shows just how supportive the world of softball is.
Positive Culture and Winning Mindset
Family, positive culture, and a winning mindset are all things they are instilling in their players right now at Florida Southern.
“What we are focusing on a lot right now is building a positive culture,” said Grossenbacher. “We want to develop that winning mindset here. We are doing a great job so far. A lot of the girls are very nice and kind, and it is kind of cool to see how they interact with each other. It is my first time ever being in a coaching position, so it is definitely a different side of things to see.”
Thank You & Good Luck
Bailey Grossenbacher has a great mind and a humble personality. Through her hard work and dedication, she has already set herself up to be successful in life, whether it is in sports or business. I want to thank Coach Grossenbacher for taking the time to have a conversation, and I look forward to seeing the impact she makes at Florida Southern and beyond.
If you are in the market for new swimwear, don’t forget to visit dubsswim.com and support Bailey Grossenbacher’s company. She greatly appreciates it.
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