Bringing all the news and insider information on the collegiate, professional, and international levels
Success doesn’t come easy at the top-level of the sport. When it does, comes top rewards.
After a 2022 season where Texas made a big postseason run advancing to the Women’s College World Series Final finishing national runner-up, Longhorn Coach Mike White is cashing in. White is getting a $13,000 raise that will bring his base salary to $625,000 annually. He will receive a special one-time payment of $75,625 on Oct. 1 per his contract.
Hall of Fame Coach Armando Quiroz is returning to the program at Pima College. The former head coach of the Aztecs will join daughter Rebekah Quiroz’s staff as an assistant. The elder Quiroz led the Pima program from 2007-2018 compiling a 501-197-2 record before retiring and yielding the reigns to his daughter. His 2013 team took third place at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament and fourth place in 2012.
After one of the longest coaching searches this off-season, UNC-Wilmington has their new leader. Northern Illinois Associate Head Coach Ashley Wade has been named the Seahawks new head coach. Wade spent the past seven seasons on staff at NIU. During her coaching career Wade has mentored two All-American Selections, 13 All-Region honorees, and 45 All-Conference award winners. She inherits a UNCW program that went 32-15 in 2022 and earned the school’s first NCAA Regional berth.
Lance McMahon will be named the new pitching coach at Alabama. The news was first reported by Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News on Monday based on his sources attached to the program. McMahon joins the Crimson Tide after spending the past six seasons on staff at Illinois. He replaces Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro who left Alabama last week to lead the program at Memphis.
Olympia Haarlem won the European Club Championship over the weekend defeating Forli at the Women’s Softball Premiere Cup held in Bollate, Italy. The team from the Netherlands outlasted the home team from Italy 4-3 in the championship game. The back-and-forth battle ended when the Dutch team walked it off in the bottom of the 8th as former Cal great Brit Vonk doubled to center field and later scored on a single by Van Der Zanden to secure the gold. The host Bollate 1969 took third winning the bronze medal game against Spanish Rivas.
University of Tennessee Southern has announced assistant Tyler Robb has been promoted to head coach. He replaces former head coach Brandie Paul who stepped down after 22 seasons to concentrate on her duties as Director of Athletics at UT Southern, a position she has held since 2021. During her career Paul amassed 682 wins making her as one of the top ten winningest coaches in the NAIA. Robb joined the Firehawks coaching staff last season after playing baseball at UT Southern.
Florida State has welcomed back a familiar face. The Seminoles announced that program alum Ellie Cooper is joining the staff as Player Performance Director. Cooper was a standout for FSU from 2014-2017. She previously served on staff as a student assistant in the National Championship year of 2018.
Memphis has finally made the move to fill their head coaching position naming Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro their new leader. VanBrakle Prothro spent 11 seasons as the pitching coach at national powerhouse Alabama. This will be the third head coaching venture for the Crimson Tide Alum having previously led programs at both Birmingham-Southern and Samford.
Sources have confirmed to RTS that longtime coaching veteran Lonny Sargent will join the coaching staff at Arizona State. Sargent’s career has spanned over 34 years at various levels of the sport. He spent the past 10 seasons as head coach at Western Oregon before announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the 2022 season. That retirement was short-lived as he now joins the Sun Devils in their volunteer assistant role.
Professional Softball’s new franchise the Oklahoma City Spark have found their first leader. Seminole State College Head Coach Amber Flores was named the Spark Skipper on Wednesday. Flores has spent the past nine seasons leading the Trojans and will continue that role for her 10th in 2023. During her run with SSC she has been named NJCAA Region 2 Coach of the Year five times in 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The former Oklahoma Sooner standout is no stranger to the pro-level having played with the USSSA Pride after her time in Norman. The Spark begin their first season of competition in Women’s Professional Softball (WPF) next summer.