University of California - Santa Barbara Women's Softball

Jo Evans became the Gauchos head coach in August of 2022. She was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Hall of Fame back in 2015, solidifying the impact she made on the game of softball. She comes into this position with the Gauchos with 1,300 wins, 714 losses and two ties. This record puts her in 11th in the NCAA for total career wins. The 2025 season was an historic one for Evans and the Gaucho softball program. Evans led UC Santa Barbara to a 36-26 overall record and a 17-10 conference record. The 36 wins were the most in a single season for the program and the 17 conference wins were tied for the most in program history. The Gauchos earned their first Big West Championship by staving off elimination six times to earn the title. With the Championship, Evans and the Gauchos earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the first time the Blue and Gold have played in and NCAA postseason event since 2007. The Gauchos did not stop there as they advanced to the Regional Championship Final for the first time in program history, staving off elimination two more times along the way. The Gauchos also broke numerous single season records including hits (468), runs (314), RBIs (291), doubles (97) and home runs (50). Six Gauchos earned All-Big West honors including Malaya Johnson who was named Pitcher of the Year and later earning Third Team All-West Region honors. In the 2024 season, Evans led the Gauchos to a 20-28 overall record and showed a one-game improvement in Big West action going 14-13. The 2024 season was the first time the Gauchos have won 20 or more games in back-to-back seasons since 2017 and 2018. It is also the first time since 2017 the Gauchos have posted a winning record in The Big West.  In her first season with the Gauchos Evans led her team to a 26-22 overall record and a 13-14 Big West record. The 26 wins is the most a Gaucho team has won since 2017 when they amassed 31 victories. The 2023 season saw UC Santa Barbara lead The Big West in multiple stat categories including batting average (.293), hits (377), triples (26), walks (164) and on-base percentage (.383). Evans came to Santa Barbara from Texas A&M University, where she served as the head coach for 27 seasons. During her tenure, Evans led the Aggies to the NCAA postseason 22 times, with three trips to the Women's College World Series and seven trips to the NCAA Super Regionals. Along with that, she boasts an overall record of 987-504-2 for a .662 winning percentage between the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12. As her teams found success, so did her players. Throughout her time with the Aggies, Evans had 23 All-Americans, 62 All-Region selections and 91 All-Conference honorees. She also coached four Big 12 Players of the Year, three Big 12 Pitchers of the Year, two Big 12 Freshmen of the Year and one two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Not only did Evans yield successful athletes, but her players were also good students. Over the course of her 27 years with Texas A&M, Evans led 99 academic all-conference honorees. Prior to her time in College Station, Evans was the head coach at her alma mater Utah, leading the Utes to the Women's College World Series in just her second season with the program. She also made history with her 1994 team as the Utes took over the record books in every statistical category, had its highest finish at the WCWS as they ended in fifth, received its best national ranking as it sat in seventh in the nation in the Coaches' Poll, and earned the highest win percentage in program history with a .797. Evans was also named the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year following that performance. Evans' head coaching career kicked off at Colorado State, where she led the Rams for four seasons following her time as an assistant with Florida State. She turned around the Colorado State program, leading her team to a co-conference championship and earning herself the High Country Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Before her coaching days, Evans was a student-athlete at Utah, where she received High Country All-Conference honors as she led her team to the World Series. She continued to excel on the field, receiving ASA All-America honors.   Head Coaching Record Team Year Record Postseason/Honors/Notes Colorado State 1986 13-16 Colorado State 1987 18-20 Colorado State 1988 23-17 Coach of the Year Colorado State 1989 37-14 Coach of the Year Utah 1990 32-30 Utah 1991 28-16 WAC Regular Season Champions, WAC Tournament Champions, NCAA Regional Champions, Women's College World Series Appearance, Coach of the Year Utah 1992 25-20 WAC Regular Season Champions, WAC Tournament Champions, NCAA Regional Appearance Utah 1993 23-22 Utah 1994 51-13 NCAA Regional Champions, Women's College World Series Appearance, Coach of the Year Utah 1995 31-20 NCAA Regional Appearance Utah 1996 32-22 Texas A&M 1997 37-29 Texas A&M 1998 32-25-2 Texas A&M 1999 41-22 NCAA Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2000 32-23 NCAA Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2001 32-19 Texas A&M 2002 40-18 NCAA Regional Final Appearance Texas A&M 2003 38-22 NCAA Regional Final Appearance Texas A&M 2004 33-22 NCAA Regional Appearance, Coach of the Year Texas A&M 2005 47-10 Big 12 Regular Season Champions, NCAA Regional Champions, NCAA Super Regional Appearance, Coach of the Year Texas A&M 2006 34-19 NCAA Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2007 46-14 NCAA Regional Champions, NCAA Super Regional Champions, Women's College World Series Appearance Texas A&M 2008 57-10 Big 12 Regular Season Champions, Big 12 Tournament Champions, NCAA Regional Champions, NCAA Super Regional Champions, Women's College World Series Appearance, Coach of the Year Texas A&M 2009 33-22 NCAA Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2010 44-16 NCAA Regional Final Appearance Texas A&M 2011 44-15 NCAA Regional Champions, NCAA Super Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2012 41-18 NCAA Regional Final Appearance Texas A&M 2013 42-18 NCAA Regional Champions, NCAA Super Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2014 37-22 NCAA Regional Final Appearance Texas A&M 2015 40-20 NCAA Regional Final Appearance Texas A&M 2016 39-10 NCAA Regional Final Appearance Texas A&M 2017 47-13 NCAA Regional Champions, NCAA Super Regional Champions, Women's College World Series Appearance Texas A&M 2018 44-18 NCAA Regional Champions, NCAA Super Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2019 28-27 NCAA Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2020 17-9 Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic Texas A&M 2021 32-23 NCAA Regional Appearance Texas A&M 2022 31-28 NCAA Regional Appearance UC Santa Barbara 2023 26-22 UC Santa Barbara 2024 20-28 UC Santa Barbara 2025 36-26 Inagural Big West Tournament Champions, NCAA Regional Appearance Total 40 seasons 1382-789-2 (.636) UC Santa Barbara 3 seasons 82-76 (.519)

Amy Hayes joined the Gauchos in August of 2022 following a 14-year run at Bradley University, which included the first two NCAA Tournament trips in program history and 295 wins, making her the school's all-time winningest head coach. This past season, she surpassed the 500-win milestone, ending the year at 508 in her career. Her 140 victories in Missouri Valley Conference play rank ninth all-time.After initially joining Bradley as an assistant for the 1997 season, Hayes would return to The Hilltop over a decade later, beginning her tenure as head coach ahead of the 2009 season. From the moment she returned, her teams didn't waste any time reaching new heights, immediately claiming the program's first-ever MVC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth. The Braves' record book has seen many other changes since then, including new all-time marks for longest road win streak, single-season home runs and conference wins, a number of repeat All-Region and All-Conference selections, and a second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014.Prior to Bradley, Hayes served as the head coach at Portland State (2006-08) and Boston University (2001-04), leading both schools to the Big Dance as well. In 2006, she similarly led Portland State to its first ever conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in her first year with the team. In four seasons with Boston, the Terriers made two NCAA Tournament trips, winning back-to-back America East Conference Championships and three regular season titles.The Decatur, Illinois, native made yet another trip to the NCAA Tournament as an assistant coach at Oregon in 2005. She was also an assistant for three years at Virginia Tech (1998-00), where her teams boasted an impressive 127-69 record.She began her coaching career at Maroa-Forsyth High School, where she was the head coach during the 1993-94 school year. The year before that, she was a graduate assistant on the staff at Evansville, where she graduated with a degree in sociology and a specialization in anthropology in 1992.As a player at Evansville, she earned First Team Midwestern Collegiate Conference honors following her senior year. She also competed in New Zealand at the Women's Major Level from 1987-97.Aside from her on-field coaching accomplishments, Hayes has done much more for the game of collegiate softball. She is an active member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, where she served as the chair of the diversity committee and as a member of the Hall of Fame committee.She also served as the MVC representative on the NCAA Division I Head Coaches Committee and on both the regional and national ranking committees. In her first year at Bradley, Hayes and her staff founded POPS (Peoria Organizing Pride in Softball), with a mission to increase continuity and strengthen the softball presence in the greater Peoria area through education and developmental instruction.

Rachel Huggins joined the Gauchos as an assistant coach in July of 2023. "I am excited to add Rachel Huggins to our staff," said Head Coach Jo Evans. "Rachel is a talented hitting coach, who has been coached and mentored by Chris Malveaux, one of the top hitting coaches in our game right now. She is passionate about hitting, always learning and growing, and is known for her work ethic and her ability to build relationships with her hitters. She is a worker, a curious learner, a grinder, and a team player. I'm excited for Rachel to take our offense to the next level."  Huggins joins the Gauchos after serving on the staff at Eastern Illinois during the 2023 season. During her short stint with the Panthers, Huggins helped coach EIU to its first-ever NCAA Regional appearance while the team posted several offensive numbers that rank within the top ten of the program's history. Prior to Eastern Illinois Huggins was an assistant coach at Bradley for six seasons under former Bradley head coach and now current UC Santa Barbara assistant coach Amy Hayes. While at Bradley she helped develop the Braves into a nationally ranked unit each season and in 2019 set the school offense record for home runs in a single season while ranking 13th in slugging percentage and 22nd in scoring in the country. 

Joy Jackson joined the Gauchos as an assistant coach in September of 2022."I'm thrilled to have Joy Jackson back on my coaching staff and on the field," said head coach Jo Evans. "She is a loyal, trusted assistant who has been an integral part of our success through the years. Joy will be involved in running the defense and coaching first base. This rounds out our coaching staff and I couldn't be more excited to grow UCSB Softball with these three talented women."After serving alongside Evans at Utah as a student assistant coach (1990-91) and a full-time assistant coach in 1996, she made the move with Evans to Texas A&M where she served on the staff for the past 26 seasons. Jackson was promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach in 2004, a role she continued in until spending the last three years as the Aggies' director of operations and camps director.During her time at Texas A&M, Jackson coached 17 Aggie outfielders to All-Big 12 selections – including the entire Aggies' outfield in 2004 and 2005 – and five outfielders to the All-SEC Team.While she was completing her degree in health science as a student at Utah, Jackson was also an assistant coach for Murray High School, which she helped reach the Utah High School State Tournament in her first season in 1991. After becoming the high school's head coach in 1992, she brought the team back to the state tournament while at the same time helping guide Utah to an NCAA Regional Tournament appearance as a volunteer assistant coach.From 1993-95, she was an assistant coach under Melinda Fischer at Illinois State, helping lead the program to a Missouri Valley Conference title and its first NCAA Tournament trip in seven years in her last year with the team.Jackson was a four-year letterwinner at Utah from 1986-89, where she played third base and outfield. During her sophomore season, she was instrumental in leading the Utes to the NCAA Tournament after claiming the 1987 High Country Athletic Conference title. As a senior, she was named to the All-Region First Team as the Utes' captain.The youngest of four children and the only girl, Jackson was raised in Plain City, Utah.