IMG Academy adds softball, appoints Olympic medalist as director

IMG Academy is adding softball to its repertoire of girls sports. The Bradenton-based sports and education company announced Aug. 21 that it will break ground this week on facilities for softball, which will start up in 2025. It also appointed an Olympic bronze medalist to direct the program.

“Introducing softball to our sport program offerings is a game-changing milestone for IMG Academy,” COO Mike Milliron says in a statement. “This investment truly embodies our purpose to empower even more student-athletes to win their future.”

IMG Academy is home to 1,500 students in grades six to 12 competing in 15 different sports at its boarding school for student-athletes on Bollettieri Boulevard. Girls sports already offered on the campus include basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

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State-of-the-art softball facilities to be built will include batting cages, four premier softball fields, locker rooms and office space. IMG Academy declined to disclose the investment required.

Before the softball program formally starts in the fall semester of 2025, IMG plans to offer developmental camps and host team events.

IMG has appointed Joey Lye as its softball director, according to a statement. Currently, Lye is an assistant coach for Softball Canada, the Canadian governing body for the sport, for which she is also the mental performance and team culture lead.

As a 12-year player for Softball Canada, Lye earned a bronze medal in the 2021 Olympics, the statement says. In addition, she has a 14-year coaching career that includes head coach positions at Bucknell University, Lebanon Valley College and Stevenson University.

"I am incredibly honored to be named IMG Academy's first softball director," Lye says in a statement. She has a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Williams College, where she was a dual sport athlete and softball All-American “who led all of Division II her senior season with a .563 batting average,” the statement says.

"This opportunity allows me to bring my passion for the game and my commitment to developing well-rounded student-athletes to a place globally known for excellence in sports education,” Lye says in the statement. “My experience with Softball Canada, coupled with my background in coaching, playing and personal development, will enable me to build and lead a program empowering softball student-athletes to win their future at every level.”

Softball will mark the 16th sport at IMG, on the heels of volleyball, introduced in 2023.

“It is not often that IMG Academy launches a new sport and today is a special day to be able to introduce softball as our newest program,” IMG Academy’s Vice President of Athletics Brian Nash says in a statement. “The impact of softball has the potential to be monumental for us, our female student-athletes and the softball community, and we couldn’t be more proud to bring this to life beginning in 2025.”

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