For the Houston Christian Huskies, hiring a former star collegiate quarterback and longtime NFL player to lead their program might’ve been an obvious choice. However, as the job was to coach the Huskies’ softball team, it made for a truly unique hire. 

On Wednesday, former Rice Owls and Houston Langham Creek quarterback Bert Emanuel was tapped as the next head softball coach for Houston Christian, as announced by University President Robert Sloan and Director of Athletics Stan Williamson. Emanuel takes over for Mary-Ellen Hall, who retired after 35 seasons and is just the third head coach in the school’s history.

“I am incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to lead the HCU softball program,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Coach Hall has built an incredible foundation over more than three decades of leadership and commitment to this University and its student athletes and I have tremendous respect for what she and Coach Willhite established here.”
 
The Houston native played eight seasons in the NFL, most notably with the Atlanta Falcons, where he was a second-round pick in 1994. After retiring from the league in 2001, Emanuel pivoted to softball and, in 2005, became the founder and coach of Texas KAOS, an elite national college-prep softball organization in Houston that he led for 12 years.

That desire to pivot to softball began after spending more time with his daughters, Sydni and Cortni. Under Emanuel’s coaching, Sydni became a three-time All-SEC performer for the Georgia Bulldogs, while Cortni was a three-time All-American for the Bulldogs. Cortni went on and has coached as an assistant under Hall at HCU for the past four seasons. From 2005-2017, Emanuel built a nationally ranked program while developing and placing over 25 athletes at the collegiate level. 
 
“Bert and his family are firmly planted in Houston from his time at Rice University and on through developing his own children and so many others in softball,” said Williamson in a statement. “This history, his love of the Lord and his work in developing Texas KAOS as an elite college prep softball organization make him uniquely qualified to take the reins of our program.”

The Huskies concluded their 2026 season with an 11-36 overall record, as Emanuel will look to rebuild a strong program built by Hall, who finished her career with 933 wins.Â