LOGAN, Utah — Utah State Vice President and Director of Athletics Cameron Walker announced the hiring of four-time national champion coach Kristen Zaleski as the 11th head softball coach in program history on Thursday.
Zaleski has 16 years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently serving as the associate head coach at Texas, where she helped guide the Longhorns to back-to-back national championships the past two seasons. She also has previous coaching stops at Oklahoma (volunteer assistant), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (head coach) and Temple College (head coach).
"Kristen is a proven culture builder and winner who has been part of four national championship teams," Walker said. "She understands what it takes to compete at the highest level, and I'm excited to work alongside her as we build a sustainable, nationally competitive program in Logan while providing a first-class student-athlete experience."
During her time at Texas, Zaleski helped the program reach new heights as the Longhorns captured the first and second national titles in program history. The team went a combined 209-49-1 during her time in Austin, while she guided 12 players to D1Softball All-American honors and 29 players to all-conference selections.
"I am incredibly honored to join the Utah State family, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to Utah State Vice President and Director of Athletics Cameron Walker for his confidence in me and the opportunity to lead the Aggie softball program," Zaleski said. "Cameron and I share a clear and ambitious vision for the future, focused on building a championship-caliber program as we prepare for the transition to the Pac-12. I am deeply grateful to the coaches, mentors and loved ones who have supported me throughout this journey. Their guidance and belief in me have helped prepare me for this opportunity. We are going to build something special in Logan, and I am excited to get to work."
In 2026, Zaleski and the Longhorns went 53-12 on their way to a second-straight Women's College World Series Championship. The squad ranked in the top-15 nationally in earned run average (8th - 2.41), hits (8th - 569), WHIP (8th - 1.14), win-loss percentage (8th - .815), strikeout-to-walk ratio (9th - 3.20), runs (11th - 445), home runs (12th - 98), runs batted in (13th - 409) and hits allowed per seven innings (15th - 5.88). Three players captured D1Softball All-America honors, while catcher Reese Atwood and outfielder Ashton Maloney each earned the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for their respective positions.
The 2025 season was historic for Texas, as it won its first national title in program history. In the team's first year in the SEC, the Longhorns won a program-record 56 games while Zaleski, under head coach Mike White, was part of the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year. Texas topped Division I with 630 base hits, finished second with 460 RBIs and third with a .352 batting average and 486 runs scored. They also ranked inside the top-15 in win/loss percentage (5th - .824), doubles (9th - 99), home runs (9th - 94), slugging (10th - .583) and scoring (14th - 7.15). The Longhorns nabbed three NFCA All-America selections in Reese Atwood, Teagan Kavan and Mia Scott, including Atwood becoming the program's first Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year. Texas concluded its inaugural SEC season with seven All-SEC nods.
In 2024, Zaleski helped the Longhorns to a national runner-up finish at the Women's College World Series, along with a Big 12 regular season conference championship, the team's first since 2010. Zaleski played a major role in the mentorship of true freshman Kayden Henry, helping her excel in her first collegiate season while being named a D1Softball Freshman All-American, All-Big 12 Second Team, All-Big 12 Freshman Team and NFCA All-Central Third Team. Zaleski and the rest of UT's four-member softball coaching staff were selected as the 2024 ATEC/NFCA Division I Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.
In her first season working with the Longhorns in 2023, Zaleski helped guide the Texas offense to a team batting average of .325 to go alongside 52 home runs, 326 runs batted in and 797 total bases. Under her guidance, five different student-athletes finished the 2023 season with 50-or-more hits. By season's end, the Longhorns finished the season with a .390 on-base percentage and a .486 slugging percentage. Three student-athletes finished with 100-or-more bases while Texas posted a 45-15-1 overall record with a runner-up finish in the Big 12 regular season standings.
Prior to her time at Texas, Zaleski won a national championship as a volunteer assistant coach on head coach Patty Gasso's staff at Oklahoma in 2022. The Sooners held the No. 1 national ranking the entire season while leading NCAA Division I in numerous team categories including batting average (.371), ERA (1.05), HR's (155), on-base percentage (.474), scoring (9.34), walks (268) and shutouts (33). Oklahoma posted a 59-3 overall record, including going 17-1 in league play to capture the Big 12 regular season title. Five Sooners earned All-America accolades including USA Softball National Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo, while the coaching staff was named the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year.
In two seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2020-21), Zaleski was tasked with a complete rebuild of a program that had gone just 8-43 the year prior to her arrival. Following a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Zaleski's squad registered 18 wins in 2021, marking the most single-season victories for the program since 2016, while also setting a program record with five-consecutive shutout wins.
Before arriving in Corpus Christi, Zaleski spent nine seasons (2010-19) as the head coach at Temple College in Temple, Texas. Under her guidance, the Leopards posted a 413-127 overall record (.765) and a 237-47 (.835) North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference (NTJCAC) mark while securing five league titles (2011, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) and the 2018 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) D1 National Championship. A three-time NTJCAC Coach or Co-Coach of the Year, Zaleski's 2018 staff was rewarded for its national title run by being voted as the NFCA NJCAA DI National Coaching Staff of the Year. In all, her teams won four Region V North Championships and made four national tournament appearances (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019).
Zaleski did double duty while at Temple College, also serving as an assistant coach with the Dallas Charge of National Pro Fastpitch in 2016. With the Charge, she worked primarily with outfielders and hitters, coordinated with the rest of the staff on practice and game-day plans and coached first base. Zaleski's start in coaching came when she served as a graduate assistant for her alma mater Texas State from 2005-06.
As a player, Zaleski was a two-time NFCA All-American as a player for the Bobcats while twice earning both Southland Conference Player & Hitter of the Year honors (2003, 2004). She set numerous Texas State single-season and career program records and finished as the Southland Conference's career leader in both hits (291) and stolen bases (128).
Professionally, Zaleski played five seasons of National Pro Fastpitch with the Texas Thunder (2004-06) and the Rockford Thunder (2007-08). She earned NPF Most Valuable Player honors in 2005, was a two-time NPF All-Star (2004, 2008) and a three-time All-NPF Team selection (2005, 2006, 2007) and was selected to the U.S. National Training Team to compete for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic squad. She also participated in MLB Softball Clinics with the Detroit Tigers (2006, 2007) and the San Francisco Giants (2005).
Zaleski graduated cum laude from Texas State University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. During her scholastic career, she earned the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Award from the NCAA (2004), reaped Verizon CoSIDA Academic All-American (2002-03) and NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors and was voted as the Southland Conference's Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2004.
What they are saying about Kristen Zaleski:
"Kristen Zaleski is one of the most outstanding coaches and people I have encountered in our sport. Her resume is as decorated as anyone you will find, but her love for the game and for the young women she coaches is truly unmatched. Her impact on a program's culture and the development of its student athletes sets her apart from most in the industry. Utah State is truly lucky to have her and she will invest all of herself into the program and the community. I am excited to watch the program grow under Coach Z!"
Steve Singleton, California Head Softball Coach
"Utah State couldn't have hired a better person than Kristen Zaleski. The experience, knowledge and passion she brings to the program will make Utah State an even tougher opponent for Texas State in our future Pac-12 matchups."
Ricci Woodard, Texas State Head Softball Coach:
"Kristen Zaleski does everything the right way! One of the best minds in our game. She coaches her players hard and loves them to death. The Aggie community has no idea how good they just got it."
Justin Lewis, Kansas Assistant Softball Coach
"Kristen Zaleski has a rare ability to connect with and develop people. She understands that when you invest in the individual, the program benefits as a result. She's intentional about building meaningful relationships and creating a culture where student-athletes can thrive. Utah State hired an outstanding coach. With the growing passion for softball in Utah, I'm excited to see how Kristen continues to grow the game, create opportunities for student-athletes and elevate everyone around her."
Eric Thompson, Founder of LIFTT Leadership
"Kristen was at Temple College and took a good program and made it exceptional. First and foremost, she's a winner. She's passionate about the game, believes in hard work and instills those values in her players every day. She led our program to the national tournament and a national championship, and her players loved competing for her. Kristen has a special ability to bring out the best in people while challenging them to expect more from themselves."
Craig McMurtry, Temple College Head Baseball Coach and Athletic Director
