It’s new. It’s different. It’s a little odd. It’s also the best chance for professional softball’s survival. Athletes Unlimited officially kicked off on Saturday afternoon, with a pair of games that were each televised on ESPNU. Jessica Warren’s orange team and Haylie Wagner’s gold squad bested Sami Fagan’s purple and Nicole Pendley’s blue units, respectively. The teams each bore the monikers of their respective team captains, one of many aspects of Athletes Unlimited that are unique to the new league. The league’s point system also is uniquely designed, but showed on Saturday that it still has some issues that will…
Author: jmcleod
San Diego has selected MJ Knighten as the program’s new head coach. Knighten spent the 2020 season as an assistant on the Toreros’ staff under Jessica Pistole, and is now being elevated to the head coaching role following Pistole’s departure earlier in the summer. After celebrating her 25th birthday in June, Knighten is the youngest active head coach in Division I softball. She is the 6th head coach in USD program history, and the first black female head coach in any sport within the San Diego athletic department. Prior to joining the San Diego staff last summer, Knighten spent one…
Kendall Fuller used to vacation in Banner Elk, North Carolina, but as she prepares to make her return to the Tar Heel State town, she’s ready to get down to business. On July 30th, Fuller was officially named as head coach at Division II Lees-McRae. She will continue the rebuilding process that saw the Bobcats end the 2019 season above the 20-win plateau for the first time in nearly a decade. “”If you were looking at a rebuild job, it’s a bit less pressure,” Fuller said. “I think there’s a little more pressure coming in here, with the expectation to…
Lacy Wood was officially named Ball State’s head coach on Monday afternoon, capping a lengthy search process for the program and marking the inaugural head coaching role for the veteran coach. Speaking exclusively to JWOS shortly after her hiring was announced, Wood was upbeat and eager to get to work in her new role as a Cardinal. “This team was on a path to do really good things even before the [2020] season ended,” Wood said. “And now I’m back in the Midwest, I’m four hours from my home, and it’s always great to be a little closer to family.…
Just days away from the kickoff of their inaugural softball season, Athletes Unlimited on Tuesday unveiled an impressive list of corporate partners. Headlined by companies like GEICO, who will serve as the league’s signature home and auto insurance partner, and Carvana, the league’s auto retailer partner, the list of companies is an unprecedented one in professional softball. GEICO is set to power the Athletes Unlimited Leaderboard, a key component of the league’s unique points structure. Carvana will sponsor the weekly draft to set new teams, emphasizing an aligning of the company’s unique car-buying experience with the uniqueness of Athletes Unlimited’s unique player-controlled…
UPDATE: Confirming the JWOS scoop, Ball State officially announced Wood’s hiring later on Monday afternoon. She is the 10th head coach in program history. ORIGINAL STORY: Ball State is set to hire Lacy Wood as the program’s new head coach, sources confirmed to JWOS on Monday. Wood spent the last five seasons on staff at Harvard, including the last two years as the program’s associate head coach. She was part of the coaching staff that led the Crimson to back-to-back Ivy League titles in 2018 and ’19. The team made four consecutive appearances in the conference championship series during Wood’s tenure.…
Bucknell has named Sarah Sigrest Caffrey as the program’s new head coach. Caffrey most recently served as the pitching coach at Penn State for five seasons, and she also spent a short period as the interim head coach this summer while the Nittany Lions searched for a new permanent head coach. During her tenure at Penn State, Caffrey worked with the team’s battery and also served as the program’s recruiting coordinator. During the 2019 season, the last full year of play, Caffrey shepherded the Nittany Lions’ pitching staff to six shutouts and 310 strikeouts as a unit. Prior to her…
New York Tech announced on Thursday that the school’s athletics programs will be suspended for at least two years. The drastic move was “due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the costs associated with it,” according to a school release. The release also noted that the school will “re-evaluate the decision to suspend its participation in NCAA competition” at a future date. University president Hank Foley said in a statement, “We have a rich legacy in competitive sports and are proud of everything our student-athletes have accomplished over the years. We thank everyone involved in our athletics program for their spirit,…
Mt. San Antonio College has announced the re-hiring of Ruby Rojas as the program’s head softball coach. Rojas previously spent seven seasons leading the Mt. SAC program, collecting 276 wins and an .839 winning percentage during her initial tenure. She guided the Mounties’ program to back-to-back California Community College Athletic Association championships in 2018 and ’19, a first in CCCAA softball history. In August of 2019, Rojas departed the Mt. SAC program to take the second assistant’s position at Auburn. She spent the abbreviated 2020 season with the Tigers, helping lead the squad to a 16-11 showing on the year.…
Despite the absence of an NCAA softball tournament in 2020, the Softball Selection Committee’s annual personnel turnover continued as scheduled, with three new members joining the committee in advance of the 2021 season. North Dakota State athletic director Matt Larsen will serve as the committee’s chairperson for the coming year, which is also the final year of his term. A trio of collegiate administrators make up the new additions to the Committee; the group includes Stony Brook’s Debbie DeJong, Loyola Marymount’s Ashley Armstrong, and Keanah Ata Smith of Western Michigan. DeJong serves as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance…