Maria Winn-Ratliff will be named the new head coach at Louisiana Tech, sources have confirmed to JWOS. Winn-Ratliff spent the past three seasons as the head coach at Tyler Junior College. During her tenure at TJC, she collected an overall record of 164-42. The Apaches upped their win total in each of Winn-Ratliff’s years at the helm, culminating in a 58-9 overall record during the 2019 campaign. Prior to taking over the program at TJC, Winn-Ratliff spent twelve years as the head coach at Western Nebraska Community College, where she recorded more than 500 victories and led that program to the…
Author: jmcleod
Earlier this year, the Grand Canyon Antelopes announced their Hall of Fame inductee for the year 2019: Randi Johns Riggs, who starred for the program for four years in the late 2000s, was the first-ever softball player to earn induction into the Antelopes’ Hall of honor. A school article about Riggs’ induction described her “stunned” reaction to receiving the news of her election, while GCU softball coach Ann Pierson had an opposite reaction. “I couldn’t think of a better person to go in,” Pierson was quoted as saying. Named an NCAA Independent all-American and Rookie of the Year, Riggs earned…
San Diego has added MJ Knighten as an assistant coach, sources informed JWOS on Saturday.Knighten’s social media accounts reflected her new employment as of Sunday morning; the school did not immediately respond to a request for official confirmation. A Nebraska playing great, Knighten spent the 2019 season as a graduate assistant on staff at Wichita State, where she was pursuing a master’s degree in sports management, according to her biography on the school’s website. During her playing career at Nebraska, Knighten became the first four-time all-Big Ten selection in Huskers program history. She was the squad’s everyday third baseman during her…
Former Louisville softball standout Lacy Wood is one of six athletes set to be inducted into the program’s Hall of Fame in October. Wood, who starred for the Cardinals from 2003-06, made her mark as the first-ever all-American in the softball program’s history. She helped lead her team to a trio of NCAA tournament appearances, including to the regional final in 2006. She also helped lead her squad to back-to-back regular-season conference championships in 2005 and ’06, albeit in two different conferences (Conference USA and Big East, respectively) following a realignment. During her senior season in ’06, Wood led the program…
James Madison and head coach Loren LaPorte have agreed to a contract extension that will stretch through the 2023 season. LaPorte was promoted to head coach following Mickey Dean’s departure after the 2017 season, and has since led the Dukes to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. In 2019, the Dukes upset Michigan in the Ann Arbor regional and advanced to the Super Regional round, where they took on eventual national champions UCLA. Under LaPorte’s tutelage, the Dukes posted a 51-10 overall record during the 2019 season, following a 43-14 campaign in 2018. She was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Coach of…
Oconee County (GA) High School has announced plans to retire Geri Ann Glasco’s number from her career with the Lady Warriors. “That is a big deal. It is something we talked about. It is most certainly well deserved. It definitely needs to be done,” current Oconee County head coach Bryan Eades told the Athens Banner-Herald. Glasco’s number 12 jersey will be retired before the Oconee County game against Franklin County on Monday evening, September 23rd. Glasco helped lead the Lady Warriors to a pair of state championships, in 2008 and 2011, during her high school years at Oconee County. She was named…
Stanford head coach Jessica Allister has promoted assistant coach Jessica Merchant to the title of associate head coach.Merchant enters her third year on the Cardinal staff with the 2020 season, after following Allister to the Farm during the summer of 2017. She works with the program’s infield and offense. Prior to joining the staff at Stanford, Merchant spent seven seasons on staff at Minnesota, working under Allister. During her time in Minneapolis, she was part of the coaching staff that led the Golden Gophers to the first #1-overall national ranking in program history. In addition to her ten years of…
Who is she? Ashlyn Williams, a former pitcher for the Troy Trojans. What is she known for? Williams broke onto the scene as a freshman in 2008, setting the Troy single-season wins record and earning the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Year award. A back-to-back first-team all-conference honoree in the first two years of her career, Williams finished her career with 1,305 strikeouts, twice setting the program’s single-season record in that category. Here’s something interesting… A decorated star during high school, in 2006, Williams was named “Miss Softball” for the state of Mississippi, and was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year…
Kent State and head coach Eric Oakley have agreed to a contract extension that will run through the 2023 season. Oakley will enter his fifth season at the program’s helm in 2020, and has led the Golden Flashes to a pair of Mid-American Conference championships during his tenure, most recently the conference tournament championship in 2017. During that 2017 season, Oakley led the squad to their first NCAA tournament appearance since the 2009 campaign. The Golden Flashes saw their third straight conference Player of the Year during the 2019 season, as Brenna Brownfield earned the award. Brownfield followed former teammates…
The 2014 National Player of the Year, Lacey Waldrop enjoyed a stellar playing career at Florida State. She dominated in the circle for the Seminoles en route to standing atop the podium with the program’s all-time wins record at the close of her collegiate playing career. When Waldrop was in the circle, the ‘Noles knew their chances of winning were pretty high, as the right-hander finished her career in the top three in program history in pitching appearances and strikeouts, in addition to her 109 career victories. After a playing career that left an indelible mark on the Florida State…