The Top 10 Youngest Division 1 Head Softball Coaches Entering the 2023 Season

One constant in college softball is coaching turnover, and this summer is no exception. More than forty Division 1 head coaching positions changed hands, including a number of Power 5 jobs.

The original list of Youngest D1 Head Softball Coaches started here and has been refreshed annually. This is the 2023 season’s edition of who the “young blood” is among the head coaching ranks. We verified our information from a variety of sources, including from the individuals themselves if the info wasn’t available elsewhere.

One disclaimer: Yes, there are still some D1 head coaching jobs currently open. For the purposes of this exercise, though, we’re only looking at current and active head coaches. If any of the mid-semester hires qualify for this list, we’ll update it when necessary.

Now, without further ado… onto the Top 10!

Honorable Mention: Laura Ricciardone, Yale; Bailey Wigness, Gardner-Webb; Katie Jansson, Drexel

Ricciardone was promoted to the head coaching role at Yale this summer after spending a stint as an assistant with the program. Wigness is in her second year at Gardner Webb after moving up from the NAIA ranks a year ago. Jansson was previously the head coach at Iona and enters her second season at Drexel in 2023.

10. Cassandra Brown, Alabama A&M

Brown enters her fifth season guiding the AAMU program in 2023, a program where she previously served a stint as an assistant coach and also her alma mater. She returned to the Lady Bulldogs in the summer of 2018 after one season away; she’s spent more than a decade in the AAMU dugout between playing and coaching.

9. Cat Clifford, Manhattan

Clifford was part of the coaching staff that led the Jaspers to the NCAA tournament in 2021 after winning the MAAC title, and she was elevated to the head coaching position just months thereafter. First in an interim role, then finally named to the full-time position, Clifford spent the better part of a decade on the staff before taking the top spot.

8. Jess Bump, Binghamton

Leading her alma mater, Bump completed the full-circle effect on her  career when she took over the program’s helm last summer. In her first season guiding the program, she shepherded the Bearcats to a #4 seed in the AEast tournament, which they also hosted.

7. Molly Fichtner, Louisiana-Monroe

Previously the occupant of the top spot on this list, Fichtner is now practically one of the Sun Belt’s head coaching veterans. She’s presided over a program turnaround during her tenure in her first head coaching role, a position that followed assistant coaching stints at Dartmouth and East Carolina.

6. Megan Griffith, Morehead State

Formerly a Division 1 assistant, Griffith spent roughly six months as the head coach at D2 Savannah State before returning to the D1 ranks as the head coach at Morehead State. She won thirteen games in her sole season at SSU after being hired just weeks before the season began.

5. Shellie Robinson Cousins, Stetson

The DeLand, Florida native returned to her hometown first as an assistant coach before being elevated to the head coaching role a year ago. In her first season as head coach, the Hatters’ year included an upset victory over conference champion-Liberty in the final week of the regular season.

4. Raven Rodriguez, Texas Southern

Promoted to the head coaching role prior to last season, Rodriguez holds down a top-5 spot on this list this year. Charged with leading the Tigers – a program that is used to regular contention for NCAA tournament berths – Rodriguez led the squad on an interim basis in 2021 and was named the conference’s Co-Coach of the Year that season.

3. Jenny Rohn, Western Michigan

Rohn returned to her alma mater this summer after completing her second stint on the coaching staff at Harvard. Rohn spent one year as Covenant College head coach in 2021 before returning to Harvard, where she has become the latest branch on the Jenny Allard head coaching tree.

2. Kiki Stokes O’Connor, Kansas City

After just one year as a head coach, Stokes O’Connor picked up a Division 1 head coaching job this summer. She did an admirable job in her one year at Upper Iowa in 2022 and now is charged with reviving a Kansas City program that has shown signs of promise, but hasn’t truly excelled in the Summit League.

1. MJ Knighten, San Diego

Knighten holds onto the top spot on this list entering her third season as the Toreros’ leader. Promoted from assistant coach to the head role at age 25, Knighten has done a nice job with the USD program. Her assistant coaching staff includes her sister, Oklahoma postseason legend Shay, and newly-hired pitching coach Tatum Edwards, MJ Knighten’s former Nebraska teammate.