Penn head coach Leslie King announced her retirement on Tuesday afternoon.
King spent the last nineteen seasons as the Quakers’ head coach, earning 354 wins during her tenure and rising to the title of the program’s winningest head coach.
In a statement, King said, “I want to thank the Athletic Department and in particular Alanna Shanahan, Joy De Jesus, Joshua LaRosa and Mike Martin for their support during this challenging time. This was a very difficult personal decision, but I have decided to step away from coaching and focus on my health. I have ultimate faith in [assistant coaches Danielle Gonzales] and Matt Klampert to lead Penn softball and be there for the team as they work toward an Ivy League championship this spring. I want to thank the current players for their understanding and know that the work they have put in and continue to put in will pay off. This a special group of young women, and I know they will rally for each other and Coaches Gonzales and Klampert. Penn and especially Penn Softball have given me and my family so much these last two decades. I will be forever grateful to all the administrators, colleagues and athletes who have been a part of my journey here.”
During her tenure, King rose to the ranking of fourth-winningest coach in Ivy League history and also led the Quakers to the 2013 Ivy League championship and an NCAA tournament berth. The Quakers won four consecutive Ivy League South divisional titles from 2012-15.
Prior to beginning her tenure at Penn, King was the inaugural head coach at George Washington and was previously an assistant at Lock Haven.
A longtime player in her own right, King spent fourteen years on the New Zealand national team, playing shortstop. She was a captain on the 2000 New Zealand Olympic squad and was the New Zealand Player of the Year that same year. In 2017, she was elected to the New Zealand Softball Hall of Fame. During her collegiate playing days, King was part of three Women’s College World Series squads at Cal State Fullerton in the mid-1980s.
