Jessica Cooley has been named the new head coach at Division II Palm Beach Atlantic, the school announced on Monday. A Mississippi State alum, Cooley spent the last decade in Starkville, joining the Bulldogs’ softball support staff following her playing career with the program. Cooley replaces Bailey Castro as the program’s head coach; Castro departed PBA earlier in the summer after two years at the helm of the program, and now operates BC Softball, LLC, a private facility in Wellington, Florida. “We met with several impressive candidates during this interview process but Jessica set herself apart with her energy, passion and…
Author: jmcleod
Maryland is hiring Mark Montgomery as the program’s next head coach, sources close to the hiring process have confirmed to JWOS. Neither Maryland nor Louisiana Tech has officially confirmed the move, though sources said an announcement could come as soon as Monday. Montgomery spent the last seven years as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, guiding the Lady Techsters to three Conference USA championships (regular season & tournament) and a pair of NCAA regional appearances. He shepherded back-to-back C-USA Players of the Year in Morgan Turkoly (2018) and Jazlyn Crowder (2019). During his tenure at Louisiana Tech, Montgomery was named…
Jenna Hall will be named the new assistant coach at Pittsburgh, sources have confirmed to JWOS. Hall spent the last seven season on the coaching staff at Ohio State, helping guide the Buckeyes’ offense to a number of record-breaking feats during her tenure. The Ohio State offense set or broke a number of program records under Hall’s tutelage, including the Buckeyes’ single-season batting average (.348) and home run (74) records during the 2015 season. During the 2019 season, the Buckeyes batted .296 as a team, with fifty-seven home runs and a .374 on-base percentage as a unit. Prior to her time…
Former Drake pitching great Nicole Newman has joined the softball staff at Minnesota, the school announced on Thursday. Newman, whose playing career at Drake ended with the 2019 season, will take on the title of graduate manager with the Golden Gophers. At her career’s end, Newman held a number of Drake program records, including the Bulldogs’ career marks in strikeouts and wins. She also holds the Missouri Valley Conference record for career strikeouts, with more than 1,200 punchouts to her credit. During the 2019 season, Newman led the NCAA in strikeouts and three other statistical categories. A three-time Missouri Valley Pitcher…
Team Canada has officially earned a berth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic softball field. A 7-0 victory over Brazil on Sunday evening officially punched the Canadian squad’s ticket to Tokyo next summer. Larissa Franklin was the offensive MVP for her team, after her RBI triple in the second inning opened the scoring and her 2-run single in the third inning helped break the game open for Canada. Kaleigh Rafter added a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning that clinched the run-rule victory for Canada. Danielle Lawrie pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout. By appearing in the 2020 Games,…
Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel has added Annie Smith as the Razorbacks’ new volunteer assistant coach. Smith most recently spent two years as an assistant coach at Auburn, where she helped lead the program to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament. She left the Auburn staff earlier in the summer. Smith replaces Arkansas alum Shana Easley in the volunteer assistant’s role in Fayetteville. In a statement included in the Razorbacks’ press release announcing her hiring, Smith said, “I am very thankful for the opportunity to join Coach Deifel and her staff at the University of Arkansas. I am looking forward…
For the first time in history, Mexico softball has clinched a berth in the Olympic Games. The squad becomes the fourth national team to qualify for the 2020 Games. The Mexican team officially punched their ticket to Tokyo with a 2-1 victory over Canada in the Americas Qualifier on Saturday afternoon. A 2-run fifth inning for team Mexico was highlighted by a bases-loaded walk issued to Suzy Brookshire Gonzalez, while Oklahoma star Nicole Mendes added an RBI single later in the inning that brought in what proved to be the winning run. Dallas Escobedo, the former Arizona State star, pitched…
First-year Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts has filled out her coaching staff, hiring Josh Johnson as pitching coach. Ricketts also added Katiyana Mauga and Nicole Pendley to round out her staff. Mauga, who starred at Arizona as a player, will serve as the Bulldogs’ volunteer assistant coach, while Oklahoma alum Pendley will be a graduate assistant. Johnson, who fills out Ricketts’ full-time staff, spent the past five seasons on staff at Ball State, including the 2019 season with the title of Associate Head Coach. He helped lead the Cardinals to more than 150 victories during that time, while developing a…
Who is she? Sierra Bronkey, a former infielder for the Arkansas Razorbacks. What is she known for? Sierra was an everyday starter for the Razorbacks during the early part of her career, primarily at second base. As a freshman in 2012, Bronkey batted .287 with two home runs and sixteen RBI. Here’s something interesting… Sierra’s father, Jeff Bronkey, was the first – and, to date, only – Major League Baseball player to be born in Afghanistan. Born in Kabul, Jeff Bronkey played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers in the mid-1990s. Quotable quote: “I can’t even begin to describe…
Seton Hall has hired Ketarah Devries as the program’s new pitching coach, the school announced late last week. Devries spent the last two seasons on staff at Bucknell, where she also tutored the Bison pitching staff. During her tenure at Bucknell, Devries shepherded pitcher Raeanne Geffert to back-to-back all-conference selections, including a first-team nod in 2018. The Bison posted a 2.71 cumulative team ERA in 2019 under Devries’ guidance, with twenty-eight wins and 227 strikeouts on the year. Prior to joining the staff at Bucknell, Devries spent a single season on the coaching staff at Highland Community College, serving as…