The Knoxville Explosion would like to welcome our newest coach, Payton Kneier of Knoxville, TN to our coaching roster! Payton was a former pitcher at Knoxville Catholic High School, graduating in 2016 and signing to play softball with Bryan College in Dayton, TN. She is currently enrolled at Bryan majoring in Exercise and Health Science. A former player on the Explosion Select team, Coach Kneier joins Head Coach Joe Birchfield and Assistant Coach Jason Holt serving as the pitching coach for the Explosion Select. She has been serving as the pitching coach for the Select this Summer and has done a terrific job! Welcome aboard Coach Kneier, we are proud to be your coaching home!

The Knoxville Explosion is proud to welcome Nichole Blackburn to our Coaching ranks! Coach Blackburn graduated from Carter High School in 2015, holds the school record for career wins, district MVP 2014, All state 2014 and went onto play at Carson-Newman (2015-2016) and Maryville College (2017-2019). She was the 3-time conference player of the week, National Top Performer of the week, TSWA player of the week (one of the first ever from Maryville), and All-conference. Coach Blackburn will serve as an assistant to Head Coach Amy Dorset and Assistant Coach Rich Ginel of the 2025 Explosion ('07 Birth Year). Welcome to the Explosion Family Coach Blackburn!

Atomic Boom! Congratulations to the Explosion Select who won the 18u ISA A Bracket World Series held at the Summit of Softball in Chattanooga, TN. A total of 16 teams from 7 states participated in our division. The Explosion went undefeated, going 5-0 while outscoring the competition 45 to 7. The select played the Eastern Kentucky Lady Katz, St. Petersburg FL Outlawz, USA Challengers (GA), Chattanooga Sparks and the East Tennessee Knockouts. Battling searing heat and nagging injuries, the Explosion Select pitching was lead by Ariel Holt, Sydnie Rogers and Kelsey Woods. Stellar defense and pitching was paired with equally impressive offense with 5 home runs from Ariel Holt (1), Jarica Ensley (1), Shakara Goodloe (1) and (2) from Kat Cechini, who drove in 6 rbis alone in the championship game on (2) HRs! We are extremely proud of your efforts ladies!

Huge shout out to our #Explosion06 ladies on a major accomplishment for their 12u season! You're looking at your 2019 ISA World Series ("A" Bracket) Champions!! The '06 Explosion finished at the top of the pack from a field of 20 (12u Teams) that included teams from 5 different states, going undefeated on the weekend & battled some awesome competition. The '06 Explosion outscored the competition 41 to 12 in 7 games (15 to 9 in bracket play). Shout out to the GA Fire on 2 of the best battles we've had all year. Also, shout out to GA Edge, Chattanooga Cruisers, & Tennessee Elite on some great games. All class acts and an absolute pleasure to share the field with. Can't say enough about this group of girls. They've worked so hard all year long and have gelled into one special team...full of personality, talent, & a will to win. This was one huge team effort this weekend and everyone played a vital role. Super proud and so very #blessed to get to lead these young ladies! Not done yet, wish us luck in Panama City Beach, Florida next week. #USFA World Series here we come! #Boom #Explosion06

Boom! Congratulations to the '08 Explosion who finished as the 10u Runner-up in the USA Freedom Challenge Tournament held at Frank Lorino Park in Morristown on 7/6/19! Great job Team Tennessee and '08 Explosion, we are very proud of your efforts!

Boom!  Congratulations to the '02 Explosion who went undefeated to claim the 18u Silver Bracket Tournament Championship of the Wounded Warrior Tournament held in Sevierville, TN on 6-28-19-6-30-19.  The '02 Explosion played flawless softball matching stellar defense and pitching with timely hitting and baserunning to claim the tournament championship in a loaded 10-team field that included several out of state teams as well as the '03 Explosion the '01 Navy Explosion, who beat a tough Asheville NC Braves team to face the '02 Explosion the championship finale.  Battling extreme heat and fierce competition, mother nature forced the cancellation of Friday's games resulting in a true blind draw resulting in (2) 10 team divisions.  Battling several out of state teams from Ohio, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Tennessee the '02 Explosion beat the '01 Navy Explosion 8-2 in the championship game.  Over all, the '02 Explosion outscored the competition 34-2, in fact the only team to score on the '02 Explosion was the '01 Navy Explosion in the Championship game!  Absolutely outstanding job '02 Explosion, we are very proud of your efforts!

Boom!  Congratulations to the '08 Explosion who played lights out to finish as the runner-up in the 10u Wounded Warrior Silver Bracket, losing to the West Virginia Lady Patriots in the Championship game 2-0.  After losing the first bracket game to the Patriots 5-3, the '08 Explosion won the next 4 games, including 3 back to back to back in the blazing heat to face the Patriots in the Championship.  Battling several out of state teams from Ohio, North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia and Tennessee the '08 Explosion emerged as the tournament runner-up!  Outstanding job Patriots and '08 Explosion, we are very proud of your efforts!

Boom!  Congratulations to the '01 Navy Explosion who played lights out to finish as the runner-up in the 18u Wounded Warrior Silver Bracket, losing to the '02 Explosion in the Championship game 8-2.  The highlight of the tournament was a heart-pounding extra inning victory against the Asheville (NC) Braves in the loser's bracket final to make it to the championship game.  Battling extreme heat and fierce competition, mother nature forced the cancellation of Friday's games resulting in a true blind draw resulting in (2) 10 team divisions.  Battling several out of state teams from Ohio, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Tennessee the '01 Navy Explosion endured.  Outstanding job '01 Navy Explosion, we are very proud of your efforts!