Hannah (Duncan) Metz to lead PHS program following resignation of Chloe (Womack) Pyron
Story By Jason Bowen
Hannah (Duncan) Metz “grew up” in and around the Pisgah High School softball program.
Now she is about to lead it.
The former all-state player, assistant coach and daughter of former long-time Pisgah head softball coach Billy Duncan was approved as the Eagles’ new head coach during last week’s Jackson County Board of Education meeting.
“I grew up on that field, grew up in that program,” Metz said. “It’s just a surreal thing for me.”
Metz said she was thrilled to join the program last season as an assistant and “be a small part of” the Eagles’ run to the state finals. Pisgah finished 30-15-1 and won Jackson County and Class 2A Area 15 titles and was the 2A East Regional’s No. 1 state qualifier before going 4-2 at the state tournament with both losses coming to state champion Zion Chapel.
“I was very excited when I was asked to be the head coach,” Metz said. “I’ve always known I wanted to come back and coach here someday. This sport and this program has been a part of my whole life. This place really gave me a lot and I want to give back to it.”
Metz played varsity softball at Pisgah from 2016-21 and was part of two state championship teams (2017, 2019) and two state runner-up teams (2016, 2021) before playing collegiately at Wallace State Community College and then UNA. She married former Scottsboro and Birmingham-Southern football player and current Section football assistant coach Hatton Metz last spring.
Hannah Metz is the third former Jackson County standout that played on Wallace State’s 2022 Alabama Community College Conference/National Championship Tournament appearing team hired this summer to lead a local softball program. Metz’s Pisgah and Wallace State teammate Leigha Kirby is the new head coach at Section while her Wallace State teammate Josie Thompson is the new head coach at North Jackson.
Metz said her father will serve as an assistant coach with the program next season. Billy Duncan coached from 1999-2022 — he became the head coach at Pisgah when the school switched from slowpitch to fastpitch softball — and led the Eagles to 10 state championships, six state runner-up finishes, 20 state-tournament appearances and a varsity record of 993-295-3.
“It’s really a full-circle moment for us,” Metz said.
Womack-Pyron steps down after two strong seasons — Metz takes over the program following the resignation of Chloe (Womack) Pyron, who during her two seasons as head coach led Pisgah to a Class 2A state runner-up finish in 2025 and a third-place state finish in 2024.
Pyron, who married South Alabama quarterback Zach Pyron last month, said she decided to step away from coaching in order to spend more time with family. She will continue to teach at Pisgah and “remain as committed as ever to this school and community.”
Pyron said she enjoyed her two seasons leading the program.
“Serving as the head softball coach at Pisgah over the past two years has been nothing short of incredible. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to have led such a special program. Watching these kids grow and succeed has always been the most important thing to me. Not only on the field, but most importantly off the field,” said Pyron, a 2020 PHS graduate. “Everything about Pisgah is special because of the people and the kids. We are fortunate to have a supportive, tight-knit community and it has truly been an honor to be part of that through coaching. I always told the girls that the goal each season was to have fun and chase a state championship. While we may have fallen just short of that, we still accomplished amazing things and created lifelong memories.”
Pyron and Metz were high school teammates in basketball and softball, and Pyron is confident Metz will continue the program’s winning ways.
“I know Hannah will step into the role and do a phenomenal job leading this program going forward,” Pyron said. “I can’t wait to watch the Lady Eagles this upcoming season.”
