Cal Promotes Kailee Cuico to Assistant Coach

The following release information was issued by California and information and photo courtesy of California…

BERKELEY, Calif. – California softball head coach Chelsea Spencer announced that Kailee Cuico has been elevated to a full-time assistant coach on Thursday.

Cuico has spent the last three seasons as Cal’s volunteer assistant after coaching with Spencer at both Texas (2019-20) and Oregon (2015-18).

The NCAA recently passed legislation that allows Division I softball and baseball programs to increase their full-time assistant coaches from two to three.

“We are excited to hire Coach Cuico, who has served as volunteer coach assisting in offense, defense, and pitching during her first three seasons on the staff,” Spencer said. “One of the best coaches in the game, she is a true competitor and has proven to be instrumental in many Pac-12 championships and WCWS appearances in her career. With her experience both as a player and a coach, I am confident she will continue to propel us in our path back to the WCWS and I’m grateful to be able to continue the growth of our Cal family.”

Cuico helped the Golden Bears return to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 for the first time in five years as the team advanced to the Regional Final before falling to No. 1 Oklahoma, which went on to win its third straight national title. She has been an integral part of the coaching staff, helping with every aspect of the game since her arrival in June 2020.

“This is a super exciting time in our sport to be adding another countable position and I’m just grateful to be a part of growing our game,” Cuico said. “Our staff just reloaded and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it. We’re building something special here in Berkeley.”

In her first year on the Texas staff in 2019, Cuico helped the Longhorns register a 46-17 overall record as well as the program’s first NCAA Regional title and NCAA Super Regional berth since 2013. Texas batters improved in a number of offensive statistical categories including batting average, extra-base hits, RBI, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

Prior to her stint at Texas, Cuico spent four seasons on the coaching staff at Oregon, her alma mater, serving as a volunteer assistant from 2015-18, focusing on hitting and defense. During that span, Duck batters posted the nation’s top batting average in 2016 (.353) and the second-best fielding percentage in school history in 2018 (.973) on squads that produced numerous All-Americans.

A standout student-athlete at Oregon from 2011-14, Cuico was a two-time NFCA All-Pacific Region and three-time All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection. She was the first Duck to reach a career 40-home run plateau and currently ranks second in the UO record books in both career homers (46) and RBI (180), and also fourth in walks (100). During her time in Eugene, she propelled the Ducks to 193 wins, two Women’s College World Series berths (2012, 2014) and two Pac-12 regular season crowns (2013-14).

Following her collegiate career, Cuico played two seasons of National Pro Fastpitch, highlighted by helping the Chicago Bandits win the 2015 Cowles Cup title.

Internationally, Cuico has been a member of the Philippines National Team. In 2017, she led her squad to a second-place finish at the Asian Women’s Championship (highest finish in Philippines softball history), earning the Philippines berths in the 2018 Women’s Softball World Championship and the 2018 Asian Games.