University of Kansas Women's Softball

Jennifer McFalls finished her eighth year at the helm of the Kansas softball program in 2025 after being hired by the University of Kansas on Aug. 20, 2018. McFalls also agreed to a contract extension following the 2023 season. In 2025, under the leadership of Coach Jennifer McFalls, Kansas softball faced the 33rd-toughest schedule in the NCAA, taking on four nationally ranked opponents: Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Arizona, and Oklahoma State. With McFalls at the helm, the Jayhawks secured a statement 3-2 win over No. 23 Oklahoma State, marking their first home conference victory and top-25 win of the season, their first since defeating No. 19 Baylor on March 17, 2024. It was also KU’s first regular-season win over the Cowgirls since 2021 and their first overall since the 2023 Big 12 Tournament. Kansas also went undefeated at the San Marcos Tournament from February 22–24, picking up three wins over the weekend with victories against Texas State University and East Texas. Coach McFalls led the team to a 3-0 sweep over rival Missouri on March 26, earning Kansas its first win over the Tigers since 2022. Earlier in the year, the Jayhawks delivered a record-breaking 23-0 win over East Texas, the largest margin of victory in program history. Kansas opened Big 12 play with a dominant series win over Baylor, highlighted by a 12-2 run-rule victory on March 9—their first-ever run-rule win against the Bears and the largest victory in series history. The series win also marked KU’s first conference-opening series victory since 2019. Offensively, Coach McFalls' squad ranked 77th out of 300 NCAA teams in home runs per game.  The 2024 season saw many milestones for Kansas as McFalls and her coaching staff helped lead the team to a record-high 28-25-1 season, marking Kansas' best performance since 2018. Among the highlights was a historic series sweep over No. 19 Baylor, the program's first Big 12 series sweep since 2005. The Jayhawks also achieved a remarkable seven-game winning streak, their longest since 1997. The team secured 27 total wins, the most since 2018, and dominated in conference play with three Big 12 series sweeps against Baylor, Houston, and Iowa State — a feat not accomplished since 2005. Additionally, Kansas earned ten Big 12 wins, the program’s best conference performance since 2001. These achievements underscored the program’s growth and resurgence under McFalls' leadership, setting a new standard for success.

Head Coach Jennifer McFalls announced the addition of Laura Heberling as the pitching coach for the Kansas Softball team in December, 2023. A 20-year coaching veteran with various experiences, Heberling was promoted to Associate Head Coach for the Jayhawks, July, 2025. Heberling came to KU from Maryland, where she served as pitching coach in 2023. Since joining the coaching staff at Kansas, Coach Heberling has guided the Jayhawk pitching staff to a 4.91 ERA and 74 total wins. Over her three full seasons, her pitchers have also held opponents to a .267 batting average. During her tenure, she has coached one all-conference selection: Olivia Bruno, who earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2025. In 2026, Heberling’s pitching staff has played a key role in several program milestones. The Jayhawks recorded the most conference wins in program history, as well as their highest overall win total since 2015, most home wins since 2016, and their first winning conference record since 2013

A four-year letter winner at the University of Texas, Kaitlyn Slack joined the Kansas softball coaching staff in the summer of 2023 after serving three years as a graduate assistant and volunteer coach. This is the first year Slack will be serving as a full-time assistant coach.

Justin Lewis was named assistant softball coach of Kansas in May 2024, He concluded his first season with the Jayhawks in 2025. Lewis comes to KU after servi...

Drake DeAngelo joins the KU Softball coaching staff as a graduate assistant for the 2024-25 season. Before coming to KU, DeAngelo spent five years as a stude...