Emily Crane rejoins Missouri as volunteer assistant
The Tigers all-time great will return to Columbia under the program’s new coaching staff and serve as the volunteer assistant. Crane has spent three years in the National Pro Fastpitch league as a player and will return to her alma mater for the first coaching position of her career. Named an all-American in her senior season, Crane finished her career in the top ten in six different statistical categories.
Omaha adds Tatum Edwards as assistant coach
The first hire of the Amanda Rivera-Eberhart at Omaha was another familiar face to Big Ten softball fans, as the Mavericks announced former Nebraska standout Edwards as the program’s new assistant. Edwards spent the 2018 season as the volunteer assistant at Purdue, serving on the Boilermakers coaching staff with Rivera-Eberhart, and spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Nebraska. Edwards spent three years in the National Pro Fastpitch league and earned a pair of all-American awards during her collegiate career at Nebraska.
Breanna Wonderly joins Morehead State staff
The Eagles’ staff under new head coach Samantha DeMartine Jones has begun to take shape with the hiring of Wonderly as the program’s new pitching coach. It is the first coaching position of Wonderly’s career following a one-year stint as a graduate manager at Louisville. An alum of Heartland Community College and Illinois, Wonderly was a two-time all-region selection during her time at Illinois and spent a single season with the Chicago Bandits in the National Pro Fastpitch league following her collegiate playing career’s end.
UCLA alum Selden joins Cal as pitching coach
Former UCLA great Angelica “Jelly” Selden will be the new pitching at Cal. The position is the first collegiate job of Selden’s career outside of a short stint as an undergraduate assistant at UCLA, though she has coached privately and at the club level for several years. A former three-time all-American, Selden was the PAC-10’s Freshman of the Year in 2005 and ended her playing career as the Bruins’ career leader in pitching strikeouts. She takes over for Chuck D’Arcy in leading the pitching staff at Cal and will look to lead the staff to build upon a 2018 season that saw the Bears post a team ERA of 2.41 with 381 strikeouts and an opponent’s batting average of .218.
Jessica Twaddle joins Western Kentucky staff
The former Murray State great didn’t have to go very far to find the first full-time position of her coaching career. Twaddle spent the 2018 season as a volunteer assistant at her alma mater and will now join WKU with her primary responsibility being the Hilltopper infielders. During her playing career at Murray State, Twaddle ended her career atop three statistical categories in the Racer record books, including batting average (.374); RBI (143); and hits (234).
Nicole Steinbach to be new South Dakota assistant
Steinbach, a former Ball State standout, will complete the South Dakota coaching staff, according to a social media post that she shared in late July. The 2013 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and a former all-region performer, Steinbach helped lead Ball State to the 2015 NCAA tournament, where the squad engineered an opening-round victory over Notre Dame for the program’s first-ever NCAA postseason victory. She ended her playing career with a 3.24 ERA in 709 innings of work, recording 514 strikeouts.
Report: Ricketts, Gourley to join Oklahoma staff
In a radio appearance on SportsTalk1400 in Norman, Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso noted two new additions to her coaching staff for 2019 in Ricketts and Gourley. Ricketts is expected to serve as the Sooners’ volunteer assistant coach, while Gourley will be a graduate assistant coach. The position is the second of Ricketts’ post-collegiate playing career, as she previously spent a single season as a volunteer assistant at Mississippi State. Gourley will begin her coaching career after graduating from Florida in 2017. The pair will round out an all-star trifecta of instructors in the pitching department, following new full-time pitching coach Jen Rocha.
Wright State adds Kennedy Haynes as assistant coach
After serving as the interim head coach at Division III Wittenberg University in the 2018 season, Haynes will reunite with Laura Matthews at Wright State. A Dayton alum, Haynes served as an assistant coach under Matthews at Wittenberg before assuming the helm as interim. In her sole season as the Tigers’ leader, Haynes led the program to a conference regular-season title and 24 victories.
Indiana adds Svekis as volunteer assistant
Reigning National Catcher of the Year Gwen Svekis will begin her coaching career in the Big Ten, as she has joined Indiana as the Hoosiers’ volunteer assistant coach. Svekis will join the Hoosiers for Shonda Stanton’s second year as head coach and will look to help the program build on a 2018 season that saw the squad post a 26-30 overall record, but a 17-6 mark and a third-place finish in conference play. In addition to being named Catcher of the Year, Svekis was a first-team all-American in 2018 and batted .324 with seventeen home runs and 60 RBI as she helped lead Oregon to a PAC-12 conference championship and the Women’s College World Series.
Samantha Ricketts promoted at Mississippi State
After spending four seasons as the top assistant at Mississippi State, Samantha Ricketts has been promoted to the title of Associate Head Coach of the Bulldogs. One of the top young hitting coaches in the south, Ricketts helped lead the Bulldogs to the NCAA regional final against Arizona in the 2018 season and saw her offense post a team batting average of .292 and hit 55 home runs.
Youngstown State adds Taylor as volunteer assistant
Youngstown State has added Stevie Taylor as the program’s new volunteer assistant coach… Taylor spent four years in a Penguins uniform, graduating in 2018. She ended her career with eighteen home runs, a number that stands in a tie for 9th all-time in program history.
