Coaching Staff
Cara Parker
Assistant Coach
An accomplished NCAA Division I student-athlete prior to taking her turn in the coaching world, Cara Parker begins her sixth season as a collegiate coach in 2023-24, as well as her sixth campaign alongside head coach Lindsay Fico, as an assistant coach for the Bears. Parker joined the coaching staff at Mercer in August 2021.
Parker ventured to Middle Georgia after serving a similar role under Fico at Sante Fe College in Gainesville, Fla.
A Valdosta, Ga., native and Lowndes High School product, Parker helped guide the Saints to 70 wins in three seasons (2019-21), including a 2021 campaign that saw Sante Fe turn in a 31-16 record and a conference tournament title, as well as secure its first trip to the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) in four years. Six Saints were decorated with all-conference accolades, including three that also garnered a spot on the FCSAA All-State and National Junior College Association of America (NJCAA) All-Region squads.
Parker played in 200 games (199 starts) as an every day infielder at Appalachian State from 2014 to 2017, and compiled a .291 (161-for-554) batting average to go along with 75 extra-base hits (38 HR), 118 RBI and 106 runs scored. She exited Boone, N.C., ranking among the program’s all-time leaders in a handful of categories, including a third-place listing in career RBI, home runs, total bases (315) and slugging percentage (.569). She earned a spot on the Southern Conference’s All-Freshman Team as a rookie.
Parker earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Appalachian State in 2017.
Courtney Gettins
Assistant Coach
Having already left footprints of success at each stop of her career in collegiate athletics, Courtney Gettins begins her fifth season as a collegiate coach, as well as her third campaign at Mercer, as an assistant coach for the Bears. Gettins joined the Mercer coaching staff in August 2021.
A native of Hastings, New Zealand, Gettins spent the 2021 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas, but has a previous coaching stop as a graduate assistant coach at Jacksonville as well.
While in Austin, Texas, Gettins was a part of a Longhorns staff in 2021 that registered a 43-14 clip, as well as a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals round. Her model of success was evident as she mentored second baseman Janae Jefferson to all-American accolades from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) – the third Longhorn in program history to grab that laurel. Gettins dove into the coaching world the previous season as a graduate assistant at Jacksonville, but her initial season in north Florida was cut short due to the pandemic.
A 2-time NFCA and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American at Florida SouthWestern, Gettins crowned as the NJCAA Division I National Pitcher of the Year in 2017 after posting a 34-1 record, a 1.50 earned run average and three saves in 220 innings pitched. In just two seasons in Fort Myers, Fla., the New Zealander amassed 91 appearances (75 starts) and compiled a 73-7 record, a 1.38 ERA and six saves. She struck out 518 batters in 553-1/3 career innings pitched, and held opponents to a miniscule .189 batting clip.
Following a stellar career in the junior college ranks, Gettins transferred to Alabama and compiled a 20-7 record and a 2.90 ERA in two seasons (2018-19) in Tuscaloosa, including a 14-5 mark and a 2.46 ERA in 26 appearances as a junior. She threw a 5-inning no hitter against Lamar in her first appearance as a member of the Crimson Tide and became the first pitcher in program history to toss a no-hitter in her first appearance in her ‘Bama debut.
Gettins earned her bachelor’s degree in human environmental sciences from Alabama in 2019.