Crescent High School is pleased to announce the hiring of Michelle Parnell as its next Girls Head Varsity Basketball Coach. Coach Parnell has been with Anderson 3 since August of 2000 as a teacher, career specialist, and school-to-work coordinator at Crescent High and Starr-Iva Middle Schools. In addition, she brings to this position a wide variety of head and assistant coaching experiences in both basketball and softball. She was the Head Girls Basketball Coach and Assistant Softball Coach at Walterboro High from 1995-2000. This will be her second stint as Head Girls Basketball Coach at Crescent. She was the Head Coach at Crescent from 2005-2009, advancing to the state playoffs in both 2008 and 2009. Over the course of her time in Anderson 3, she has served as the Starr-Iva Middle School Head Girls Basketball Coach, JV Head Girls Coach, and as Assistant Softball Coach for 19 years. She will continue to serve as Assistant Softball Coach as she enters into this new position.
Coach Parnell also excelled in her own right as a high school and college athlete. A standout in both basketball and softball at Walterboro High School, she received a basketball and softball scholarship to Coastal Carolina University. Following an outstanding athletic career there, Parnell was inducted into the Coastal Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000, the Big South Conference Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Colleton County High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
“Michelle is a perfect fit at an excellent time in the future of our basketball program,” Athletic Director Jeff Craft said. “She knows our program, has a great relationship with our student-athletes, and has seen the success that many of these kids have had in other sports at Crescent. She is excited about the players we currently have and the outstanding potential of the players coming from our sub-varsity programs. Coach Parnell knows that we can be successful in basketball and is fully committed to establishing the appropriate expectations and standards for them to get to where we know we can be.”
“Coach Parnell is excited about and truly believes in the future success of our basketball program, and is anxious and ready to get started as soon as possible,” stated Crescent Principal Cliff Roberts. “That is exciting for me. She sees the ‘big picture’ for our athletes, and is committed to their success not only in basketball but in all of our athletic programs. More important, she wants to help us develop young ladies who will be equipped and motivated to make a significant difference in the world once they leave us and enter life after Crescent. That’s vital to the culture we want at Crescent for all of our students.”
Crescent and Anderson 3 have been an integral part of Parnell’s family. Her husband Danny is the Assistant Athletic Director as well as a coach and teacher at Crescent. In addition, all three of Parnell’s children (Justin, Ashley, and Drew) are Crescent graduates and were successful student-athletes during their time at the school.