Joe Guthrie has been elevated to the head coaching position at UAB, the school announced on Thursday. The Blazers’ top assistant for the past two seasons, Guthrie takes over at the helm of the program following Jimmy Kolaitis’ departure to join the coaching staff at Arizona State. Guthrie carried the title of associate head coach during the 2020 season, his second season with the program. He served as the Blazers’ third-base coach and worked with the team’s defense, base running, hitting, and recruiting. Prior to initially joining the UAB staff, Guthrie spent one season as an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.…
Author: jmcleod
Who is she? Maureen Duddy, a former infielder and outfielder for the Marist Red Foxes. What is she known for? Duddy played for the Red Foxes from 2013-16 and was a 3-time All-Conference honoree. She earned second-team all-MAAC honors as a sophomore and junior, and gained a nod to the conference first team as a senior in 2016. She finished her career as both the Marist and MAAC record holder for career stolen bases, and also set a program all-time mark for runs scored. Here’s something interesting… During her career at Marist, Duddy was one of just six California natives to suit…
Amanda Lehotak’s resignation as Penn State head coach took many by surprise on Monday afternoon. Despite a less-than-stellar track record during her seven years leading the Nittany Lions, Lehotak seemed to be firmly entrenched in Happy Valley. The Penn State job comes with some quirks, including a spot near the bottom of the Big Ten that could take a new coach a little while to dig the program out of. The Nittany Lions had just two winning seasons under Lehotak, and reached double-digit wins in conference play just once during her tenure. When the 2020 season ended, the Nittany Lions…
Former Arizona and Purdue pitcher Gina Snyder has joined the Jacksonville coaching staff, the school announced on Tuesday. Snyder will be a graduate assistant on the Dolphins’ staff; it’s her first collegiate coaching position since her playing career ended. In a statement released by the school, head coach Erica Ayers said, “We are so fortunate to be able to add Gina to our staff. She has tremendous life and softball experience we believe will be extremely impactful on our student-athletes as well as us as a staff.” Snyder began her collegiate playing career at Purdue, spending two seasons with the…
Penn State head coach Amanda Lehotak has resigned from her post. According to a school press release, Lehotak’s resignation is effective July 13th, as she seeks to “pursue other professional opportunities outside of softball.” Leohtak spent the past seven years as the head coach at Penn State, collecting a 140-208 overall record and a 48-91 conference mark. The Nittany Lions recorded two winning seasons during her tenure, and reached double-digit wins in conference play just once. The program sported an 11-15 overall record on the year when the 2020 season ended. “This was not an easy decision as my time…
Former Southern Indiana pitching ace Jennifer Leonhardt is transferring to Louisville, the school has announced. Leonhardt, who led the Eagles to the 2018 Division II National Championship, joins the Cardinals as a graduate transfer. Thanks to the NCAA’s extended eligibility waiver for spring sport athletes, she has one season of eligibility remaining. A Louisville native, Leonhardt will compete during her senior season while beginning dental school. One of Division II’s top hurlers during her career at USI, Leonhardt finished her Eagles career as the program’s all-time wins leader, recording 83 career victories. She also holds the USI program records for…
Myakka City River Mocs dual-threat standout Mack Leonard has been named the JWOS Player of the Week for week three of the Florida Gulf Coast League summer season. The Normal, Illinois native plays for the Illinois State Redbirds during the NCAA season. Leonard, who hits in the leadoff spot for the River Mocs and also takes the circle as part of the team’s pitching staff, batted .538 on the week and recorded an undefeated record on the pitching rubber. Through the first three games of her team’s weekly slate, Leonard recorded a hit in each game and scored a pair…
When her softball career ended in 2019, Sally Gastelo decided to trade in her softball jersey for a different kind of uniform. The former Arizona Western College and North Texas player enlisted in the US Air Force a few months after graduation and attended basic training this spring. Reflecting on her initial decision to enlist, Gastelo said it came down to one simple consideration: “I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself,” she noted. Gastelo also credits Rodney DeLong, her college coach, with helping inspire her to trade in UNT green for Air Force blue. “Coach DeLong said…
Northern Illinois has signed head coach Christina Sutcliffe to a contract extension. Under the new pact, Sutcliffe is signed to be the Huskies’ head coach through the 2023 season. Sutcliffe will enter the 2021 season in her ninth year leading the NIU program. During her tenure, the Huskies won the MAC West Division title in 2016 and have appeared twice in the conference tournament championship game, most recently in 2018. Sutcliffe ranks third on the program’s all-time wins list, with more than 200 victories to her credit. Prior to the abrupt end of the 2020 season, the Huskies sported a 7-15…
The Softball Rules Committee met via videoconference in June and, among other recommendations, supported allowing conferences to continue to experiment with video review in regular-season conference games and conference tournament games. Any proposed rule changes must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel, a 12-member committee that includes three representatives from each of the FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III levels. The group is set to discuss softball rule changes on July 22nd. Coaches will be allowed two video review challenges per game; an NCAA release noted a time frame of “about 30 seconds” to elect to use…