Author: jmcleod

Iona has hired Katie Jansson as the program’s new head coach. ​​Jansson spent the 2018 season as the head coach at Monroe College, a junior college in New Rochelle, New York. In her sole season at the helm of the Mustangs, Jansson led the program to a 21-19 record and a postseason berth. An Iona alum, Jansson is also familiar with the program from the coaching side, having served as an assistant coach for the Gaels in 2017 when the squad won the conference regular-season title and participated in the inaugural National Invitational Softball Championship postseason tournament. Jansson’s coaching resume…

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Vicky Rios promoted to Sacramento State associate head coach After a single season on the Sacramento State coaching staff, Vicky Rios has been promoted to the title of Associate Head Coach with the Hornets. The Hornets reached the NCAA tournament via their first-ever Big Sky Conference title and finished the year with a 31-20 overall record. The program’s hitting and infield coach, Rios led the squad to a .280 team batting average and ranked in the top three in conference in nearly every statistical category, including slugging percentage; on-base percentage; home runs; and total bases. Seven Hornets were named all-conference…

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Virginia Tech legendary hurler Angela Tincher O’Brien will be inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2018. Tincher became one of the nation’s best-known players during her career as a Hokie, and set a plethora of program pitching records, numbering more than fifty in all and including the Hokies’ all-time mark in wins; strikeouts; and ERA. A three-time all-American, Tincher was twice named the ACC’s Pitcher of the Year and earned a pair of the conference’s Player of the Year honors. In 2008, she was named the USA Collegiate Player of the Year…

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Two Olympic hopefuls and a former North Carolina standout will round out the inaugural coaching staff of the Cindy Ball era at UCF. Kendra Lynch was named an assistant coach for the Knights after spending the 2018 season as the volunteer assistant coach at Florida State, helping lead the Seminoles to the Women’s College World Series championship and national title. During her playing career at North Carolina, Lynch was named an all-American in 2017 and ended her career with 188 hits, 52 home runs, and 168 RBIs, as well as a career 4.42 ERA and a 45-29 win-loss record in…

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Michael Steuerwald has been named the associate head coach at Utah Valley. Steuerwald spent the last two years as part of the Scrap Yard organization in Houston, Texas, most recently serving as the team’s assistant general manager and head coach during the 2018 summer season. He served as an assistant coach for the team during the 2017 season, when the squad competed in the National Pro Fastpitch league and won the league championship. Before joining the Scrap Yard organization, Steuerwald spent seven years with the Chicago Bandits’ organization, serving in a variety of on- and off-field roles.  His coaching resume…

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Melyssa Lombardi made her first move as the Ducks’ head coach late last week, hiring Justin Shults as the program’s new hitting coach. ​ Shults spent the last two seasons as the hitting coach at Fresno State. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA tournament in 2017 and broke two program record offensively during the 2018 campaign. Under Shults’ guidance, Fresno State hitters ranked fifth in the NCAA in 2018 with a .410 cumulative team on-base percentage and a program all-time best 213 walks. Prior to his tenure at Fresno State, Shults’ coaching resume also includes time as an assistant coach at…

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Brown has hired Kate Refsnyder as the program’s new head coach. Refsnyder was an assistant coach with the Bears from 2014-17 and spent the 2018 season as head coach at Hamilton College. At Hamilton during the 2018 season, Refsnyder led the Continentals to an 11-22 overall record and a 2-10 mark in conference play. The Division III Continentals hit .289 as a team in Refsnyder’s sole season at the helm. Prior to her first stint at Brown, Refsnyder’s coaching resume includes two separate, single-season stints as the head coach at Albright College. She also coached at Coastal Carolina; Indiana University-Pennsylvania;…

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Chris Kuhlmeyer is expected to be named the next head coach at UMBC, sources have confirmed to Justin’s World of Softball. ​​Kuhlmeyer most recently spent two seasons as the hitting coach at Miami (Ohio), shepherding the Redhawks’ offense. The Redhawks posted a team batting average of .270 under his guidance and hit seventy-six home runs. Prior to Miami, Kuhlmeyer spent seven seasons as the head coach at Belmont, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach. While at Belmont, he oversaw the first two all-region selections in the Bruins’ program history. Kuhlmeyer’s coaching resume includes stints as an assistant coach at Wichita State and…

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George Washington has hired Shane Winkler as the Colonials’ new head coach. Winkler spent the past ten years at the helm of Charleston Southern, leading the Buccaneers to a 261-321-2 record and an NCAA tournament berth in 2014. The squad collected a 90-119 record in Big South conference play under Winkler’s guidance. The Buccaneers finished 26-30 during the 2018 season, including a 7-14 conference mark. The program finished in the top thirty in home runs and steals, one of just two Division I programs to accomplish the feat in the 2018 campaign. Prior to his tenure with the Buccaneers, Winkler…

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Jodi Hermanek Horton has been named the new head coach at Pittsburgh. Horton spent ten years as the head coach at Ohio and led the Bobcats to the NCAA tournament via the Mid-American Conference’s tournament championship in 2018. It was the second tournament appearance during her decade at the program’s helm, with the other coming in 2014. The Bobcats reached the Knoxville regional championship before falling to Tennessee. Under Horton’s guidance, since 2010, the Bobcats have only recorded three seasons with a record below the .500 mark, twice finishing the year a single game away from the plateau level. The…

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