University of Central Arkansas Women's Softball

Parsons enters her third season on David Kuhns staff at Central Arkansas and brings with her 19 years of Division I coaching experience. In her first two seasons at Central Arkansas, the Bears twice broke the program record for wins with seasons of 36 and 38 wins in 2012 and 2013.  In 2012 UCA broke 11 school offensive records, then followed by topping seven of them again in 2013. Previously, Parsons served on the Nicholls staff for 10 seasons, with the last eight being as a head coach. During her time there, Parsons guided the Colonels to the postseason four times out of the last six seasons and advanced to the Southland Conference Championship in 2008. In 2010, Parsons helped produce the Southland Conference Player of the Year, four All-SLC selections, one All-Region selection, two All-Louisianans and one All-American. Prior to her time at Nicholls, Parsons was an assistant coach at East Carolina University for seven seasons. With her pitching expertise, she helped a 2000 ECU pitching staff set school records for strikeouts (421) and wins (60). Parsons continued her top-notch guidance of pitchers in her time at Nicholls. The 2008 seasons saw the Colonel pitching staff lead the Southland with a .235 opponent batting average. In 2009, the Nicholls staff ranked second in ERA at 1.96 and held opponents to a cool .201 average. A former standout pitcher at ECU, Parsons holds nearly every individual Pirate pitching record including games pitched (157), wins (102) strikeouts (402) and shutouts (34). In addition, Parsons helped guide the Pirates to the ECAC Tournament during her senior season and was selected as an ECAC All-Star. She led the nation in wins (38) during her junior season and was second in the NCAA her final year at ECU with 32. Parsons, a Glen Burnie, Maryland native, received her bachelors degree in Leisure System Studies from in 1994 and her masters degree in Athletic Administration in 1996 from Eastern Carolina University. Jenny Parsons Associate Head Coach Associate Head Coach Jenny Parsons enters her third season on David Kuhns staff at Central Arkansas and brings with her 19 years of Division I coaching experience. In her first two seasons at Central Arkansas, the Bears twice broke the program record for wins with seasons of 36 and 38 wins in 2012 and 2013.  In 2012 UCA broke 11 school offensive records, then followed by topping seven of them again in 2013. Previously, Parsons served on the Nicholls staff for 10 seasons, with the last eight being as a head coach. During her time there, Parsons guided the Colonels to the postseason four times out of the last six seasons and advanced to the Southland Conference Championship in 2008. In 2010, Parsons helped produce the Southland Conference Player of the Year, four All-SLC selections, one All-Region selection, two All-Louisianans and one All-American. Prior to her time at Nicholls, Parsons was an assistant coach at East Carolina University for seven seasons. With her pitching expertise, she helped a 2000 ECU pitching staff set school records for strikeouts (421) and wins (60). Parsons continued her top-notch guidance of pitchers in her time at Nicholls. The 2008 seasons saw the Colonel pitching staff lead the Southland with a .235 opponent batting average. In 2009, the Nicholls staff ranked second in ERA at 1.96 and held opponents to a cool .201 average. A former standout pitcher at ECU, Parsons holds nearly every individual Pirate pitching record including games pitched (157), wins (102) strikeouts (402) and shutouts (34). In addition, Parsons helped guide the Pirates to the ECAC Tournament during her senior season and was selected as an ECAC All-Star. She led the nation in wins (38) during her junior season and was second in the NCAA her final year at ECU with 32. Parsons, a Glen Burnie, Maryland native, received her bachelors degree in Leisure System Studies from in 1994 and her masters degree in Athletic Administration in 1996 from Eastern Carolina University.

Kayla Lucas joined the Central Arkansas softball staff as a full-time assistant coach for the 2022 season after spending a year with the Bears as a volunteer assistant in 2021. And in those four years as a full-time staff member, it's been nothing short of success. Under Lucas's tutelage, the Bears have finished with a top-three seed in the ASUN every year since joining the conference, and have held a top-50 fielding percentage in the country as well, garnering a reputation for being a technically sound defense. In four seasons in Conway, Lucas has helped coach 28 All-ASUN athletes, including three-straight ASUN Defensive Players of the Year. Following the 2025 season and the retirement of longtime Bear Jenny Parsons, Lucas was named the fifth head coach in program history on May 28, 2025.  The 2025 season was a rebuilding year for the Bears, with four freshmen as full-time starters and a top-20 strength of schedule. Central Arkansas finished the season 28-27, improving steadily over the season and posting a 16-7 ASUN record, including three series sweeps. The Bears claimed 11 postseason honors, including Defensive Player of the Year (Madi Young) and Freshman of the Year (Addie Graham). With Lucas coaching the hitting and defense, the Bears posted a .289 batting average and turned an ASUN best 28 double plays. After graduating seven starters from the 2023 team, the Bears battled in 2024 after returning only three full-time starters and zero innings of pitching. With seven new starters and only three players logging all 53 games, the Bears went 15-7-1 in the ASUN to claim the league's third seed, and earned three all-conference nods and the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year (Kylie Griffin). Lucas and the Bears finished the 2023 season with a program-record 45 wins, claiming the ASUN regular season and tournament championships, earning the program's first outright titles as members of the league. The Bears also clinched their first regional appearance since 2015, defeating Long Island University for the school's first NCAA Tournament win. Lucas was instrumental in the defensive development for the Bears, helping the team to back-to-back seasons with a top-10 fielding percentage in the country. After finishing 7th in the country in 2022, the 2023 defense improved even more, thanks in part to the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year Madi Young. The 2023 team finished its season with the 5th-best fielding percentage in the country, helping an already great pitching staff put together the nation's 3rd-lowest ERA. The 2022 season, Lucas' first as a full-time assistant, saw the Bears repeat with 37 wins, earning an ASUN West Division Title in the program's first season with the conference. After falling in the semifinals of the ASUN Championship, the Bears would go on to take third place at the National Invitational Softball Championship, defeating Power Five teams like Virginia and Kansas. Under Lucas' guidance, freshman third baseman Kylie Griffin would be named to the ASUN's All-Freshman Team after hitting .339 with six extra base hits and five stolen bases. More impressively, the first-year started all 58 games at the hot corner and committed zero errors, successfully fielding all 95 opportunities. As a volunteer assistant for the 2021 season, she helped Central Arkansas to a 37-19 record and a Southland Conference Tournament Runner-Up finish.   Prior to UCA, Lucas spent five seasons as the head coach at Young Harris College. She coached the Mountain Lions to four NCAA Division II Softball National Tournaments, including an appearance in the National Championship game in 2019. Her 2019 squad posted a program-best 44 wins and earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The 2019 team finished with a No. 4 ranking in the NFCA NCAA Division II Top-25 poll. Under her guidance in 2019, her staff earned the NFCA NCAA Division II Southeast Region Staff of the Year.   Before the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19, her team was ranked No. 1 in the NFCA NCAA Top-25 poll. They started the season 19-3. During her tenure at YHC, she coached  48 PBC All-Academic selections, 21 All-PBC Conference honorees, seven CoSIDA Academic All-District III Softball first-team selections, 5 NFCA All-Region players, 3 D2CCA All-Region student-athletes, 1 PBC Freshman of the Year, 1 CoSIDA Academic All-America, and 1 PBC Elite 15 selection. She holds an overall record of 173-78.  The Marion, Arkansas, native received a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Central Baptist College. Lucas received her Master's degree in Exercise Science/Human Performance from Georgia College and State University.

Coach Schlotterbeck was hired as the UCA Assistant Softball Coach on June 20, 2025. The former Maryland and FAU standout was added as the program's pitching coach.   Schlotterbeck threw nearly 600 innings in her college career, playing four years at Maryland before wrapping up her playing career with a graduate year at FAU. She held a career ERA of 2.99, winning 57 games in the circle with three saves. She won double-digit games in each of her last three seasons, including seasons of 15 and 16 in 2023 and 2024. Her last season at FAU, the Owls won 41 games, and Shlotterbeck's 16 victories led the team.   In 2025, she transitioned to the coaching staff at FAU, and helped the Owls repeat as a 40-win team, claiming a record of 45-12, including a 23-4 showing in American Athletic Conference play. FAU was selected as the No. 2 seed at the Gainesville Regional, where the Owls defeated Georgia Tech before bowing out of the NCAA Tournament.    Education: High school- Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland. Undergrade- University of Maryland with a BA in Communications and minor in Leadership studies. Graduate- Florida Atlantic University with an MBA and MS in Sports Management.   Playing History: University of Maryland 2019-2023 Florida Atlantic University 2023-2024 WPF Texas Monarchs 2024   Coaching History: Graduate Assistant- Florida Atlantic University 2024-2025   Playing Career Highlights: At FAU: 2024 AAC Unanimous First Team All-Conference 2024 NFCA DI All-Region First Team 2024 Softball America All-American 2024 NFCA DI All-American Led the pitching staff with a 16-7 record in 144 innings pitched A dual-threat all season as she finished with a .293 batting average   At Maryland: - Named to the Big-Ten All Defensive team - Named to NFCA Midwest All Region Second Team - Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week (Week of 2/27) - Named Big Ten Player of the Week (Week of 4/3) - Named Extra Inning National Player of the Week (Week of 4/3) - Threw the first perfect game of her career against Texas A&M Commerce (2/24)   Played a professional season with the Texas Monarchs the summer of 2024   Family: Daughter of Chris and Jessica Schlotterbeck and is the sister of Isaac, Zoe, Lily, Nolan, and Phoenix.

Aaron Jackson was hired to the softball staff on August 27th, 2025. Jackson joined Central Arkansas after a five-year stint at Iowa State.   During his time with the Cyclones, Jackson coached the outfield, a group that produced two All-Americans, three All-Region players, and six All-Big 12 players as the Cyclones won 138 games over five years. With Jackson on staff, Iowa State had their best finish ever in the Big 12, finishing in third place in 2025, winning 15 conference games.   Prior to Iowa State, Jackson was a head coach for over a decade, with stops at Carroll College and Eastern Oregon University. At Carroll, he started the program from scratch, and built it to a Cascade Conference Division Champion by year three. He coached 16 all-conference award winners and six All-Region players. At Eastern Oregon, he led a squad that had ten all-conference performers, and his team was renowned for their academic success, finishing in the top-25 GPAs in the NAIA, with two NAIA Academic All-Americans.