Perspective And Passion

After every Maryland softball game last season — whether the Terps won or lost — Sam Bean observed the match from the dugout. Once the result was determined, she shook hands with the opposing team’s coaches.  

The routine repeated 54 times is starkly different from hers through 41 games in 2025. Bean has appeared in every game this season for the Terps as a sixth-year catcher. At the conclusion of every game, she’s returned to what she’s most accustomed to: shaking hands with the opposing team’s players. 

During her first season in College Park in 2024, Bean never wore a Maryland uniform. Although she cheered for her teammates from the dugout, she boasted the added responsibility of helping construct the team’s batting order during pregame and ensuring her peers made necessary in-game adjustments throughout the contest. To many on the team, Bean was known as Coach Sam.

“Her personality is very coach-like,” Maryland head softball coach Lauren Karn said. “As she's trying to help you, it might feel a little coachy from player to player, but some people just have that and morph into a student-coach vibe without it being an assignment. Sam has that. The way that she talks about the game is similar to a lot of coaches, and it’s a little bit different than players who simply just play the game.”

Bean didn’t hold an official title as a coach, nor was she listed among Maryland softball’s coaching staff. However, a season-ending injury before the year started forced her to search for a way to continue being involved with the team. After talking with her coaches, she was willing to take on a role comparable to that of a graduate assistant.  

The year she spent removed from the lineup has reinforced a passion and desire to one day delve into a coaching career she first discovered when she was 8. It has also led her to see the game through a different lens, contributing to her having a career year.  

The catcher has already set a personal best in RBIs (24). She’s also batting .291 with 32 hits, including six home runs. This is Bean’s final season of collegiate softball. 

Already earning a bachelor’s in kinesiology and exercise science and a master’s in management studies, Bean is set to earn another master’s in project management. She hopes to start a career in player development or coaching once she graduates and wraps up her collegiate softball career. 

“She's always said she wants to coach,” Karn said. “She has a really good game IQ and understands the ins and outs. For us, she dove into helping the catchers be as prepared as they could be. She showed up every single day, but she made the choice to show up every single day.”

Although finishing her career in College Park, Bean’s journey began in Rockwall, Texas. She found her passion by falling in love with softball and admiring her early coaches and mentors, many of whom she still connects with today. She later became involved by coaching at camps and assisting on the staff of select teams. 

Bean attended UAB out of high school and spent two seasons from 2020-21 with the Blazers before a coaching change prompted her to transfer closer to home. She transferred to Lamar University, where she played in her home state of Texas from 2022-23. 

At Lamar, Bean earned her bachelor’s degree early and started pursuing a master’s. She also interned with the athletic department’s strength and conditioning unit, working directly with the baseball and men’s and women’s basketball programs. This experience strengthened Bean’s desired path after college. 

“I fell into a passion of wanting to be able to empower future athletes that I would have the ability to coach,” Bean said. “I wanted to cultivate an environment that grows them and empowers them so they can do what they came to college to do.”

Bean entered the transfer portal once more. Two successful seasons with the Cardinals garnered her some Power Five interest. One of the schools interested was Maryland, but as a self-described homebody, Bean doubted moving well over 1,000 miles away from home.  

Still, Bean went on a visit to Maryland with her father. She says she instantly fell in love with its community and athletic department and how they supported their student-athletes. However, another factor contributing to her becoming a Terp was how it fit in with her previous experiences. 

From the perspective of one day being a coach, Bean thought it would be beneficial to play at a bigger school after attending two mid-major universities. She would experience playing in the Big Ten on a bigger stage. 

Bean committed to Maryland a week before its previous head coach left the program, yet she honored her commitment after meeting Coach Karn. Bean instantly connected with her. She now regards her decision to come to Maryland as one of the best she’s ever made. 

“It ended up just being that faith of knowing I was meant to be here,” Bean said. “It was one of the best decisions that I've made. Once I got up here and met the new coaching staff, it was an instant connection.”

Bean broke her arm in the fall leading into the 2024 season. She decided to have surgery and eyed a return the following season. While she recovered, she assisted with helping coaches accomplish everyday tasks during practice and in preparation for games.

She quickly gained the coaching staff’s trust and was able to help connect Karn, a first-year coach at Maryland at the time, with the team’s players. She believes the experience will serve her well beyond her playing career.  

“Being able to help out in any capacity or form that I was able to gave me a lot of purpose last year,” Bean said. “I really felt more in love with it and was astounded by just our coaches and their ability to impact the culture in a positive way.”

Karn says Bean’s participation last season was a key experience in her being able to lead the team this year.  

“She was engaged in the dugout during games and participating in practice when she wasn't able to do a whole lot,” she said. “It went a long way in building the respect and trust of her teammates for what she's doing now this year. I think it's just who she is at her core, but it has helped her in being able to lead the team this year. Had she sat on the sidelines and just not been involved last year, I think it would have been harder for her to build that this year with the team.” 

Bean is currently involved with Athlete To Athlete, a mentorship program that connects young athletes with collegiate student-athletes to share feedback and perspectives. 

Her collegiate journey that led to three different schools, paired with an injury that prolonged her on-the-field goals, wasn’t ideal. However, it has allowed her to gain experience in a career field she hopes to one day join. 

“Everything happens for a reason, and I'm a firm believer in that,” Bean said. “Whether it was the coaching changes at my previous schools, the school changes or the injury and coaching change at Maryland, I felt like all those experiences were really unique to take into a coaching career.”