Texas State Softball Coach Announces Staff Changes For Upcoming Campaign
“We are very excited to add Coach Long to our staff,” Woodard said. “She not only brings with her a huge passion for the game, but she also brings a wealth of knowledge from many different levels of our game.”
San Marcos, Texas – Texas State softball coach Ricci Woodard announced Tuesday a pair of staff changes for the upcoming 2018 season.
The longest-tenured softball coach in school history has promoted assistant coach Cat Osterman to associate head coach, and she also unveiled the addition of Haley Long as the team’s new assistant coach.
“We are very excited to add Coach Long to our staff,” Woodard said. “She not only brings with her a huge passion for the game, but she also brings a wealth of knowledge from many different levels of our game.”
Long will coach the Bobcat outfield, short game and base running while also handling all technology.
She joins the staff after a five-year stint (2013-17) at St. Mary’s University, which is located in San Antonio, Texas. The Rattlers are a NCAA Division II institution that competes in the Heartland Conference.
During her time at St. Mary’s, she helped lead the team to a 234-71 (.767) overall record and an 89-17 (.840) mark in league play. The Rattlers won conference championships all five years and made five-straight appearances in the NCAA Championship South Central Super Regional.
St. Mary’s never won fewer than 44 games and had banner years in both 2014 and 2015. The ’14 squad reached the 50-win plateau for just the fourth time in program history, while the ’15 team made an appearance in the NCAA Division II College World Series. She was also a member of the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association South Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2015.
She began her coaching career at Blinn College, helping lead the Buccaneers to a fourth-place finish at the 2012 NJCAA Division I World Series. Blinn received the NFCA Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year award both years Long was on staff.
She competed collegiately for both Blinn and the University of Nebraska. She posted a .355 batting average with forty-three runs scored, five doubles, thirty-three RBIs, eighteen stolen bases and ten triples in her lone season with the Buccaneers.
She then became a three-year starter for the Cornhuskers and was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team as a sophomore. She also landed on the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team as a junior and spent all three years on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
The Brenham, Texas, native completed her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Nebraska in 2009 and earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas-Permian Basin in 2012.
“I know Coach Long will jump right in and help us continue on our mission to build the best softball program in the history of Texas State,” Woodard said.
Along with her title promotion, Osterman will also take on an increased role with the team philosophy.
“This title change for Coach Osterman is very deserving when you look at our pitching numbers since her arrival and you see the influence she is having on our program,” Woodard said. “She will be taking over more of the mental aspect of our game and help teach the players how to use those tools to be productive mentally.”
Osterman, a former three-time National Player of the Year, four-time All-American and two-time Olympic medalist, is set to enter her fourth season with the Bobcats. During her time in San Marcos, she has transformed the Texas State pitching staff into one of the most dominant in the Sun Belt Conference and among the best in the NCAA.
In her three seasons, she has coached the staff to a combined 2.52 ERA, 48 shutouts and 114 wins. Moreover, she has aided Randi Rupp to three First Team All-Sun Belt Conference selections, three NFCA All-Region plaudits, the 2017 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year honor and 2017 Second Team NFCA All-American recognition.
