Whitney Jones (softball)

Last updated
Whitney Jones
Current position
TitleHead Coach
Team Appalachian State Mountaineers
Conference Sun Belt
Record0–0 (–)
Biographical details
Born Upland, California
Alma mater University of Washington ('14) University of Tulsa (Master's) ('16)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2014–2016 Tulsa (grad. asst.)
2017 Garfield High School
2018-2021 Washington (volunteer asst.)
2021-2022 UCF (asst.)
2022-2024 Ohio State (Assoc. HC)
2024-present Appalachian State
Head coaching record
Overall0–0 (–)

Whitney Jones is an American college softball coach and is the current head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers softball team. [1]

Contents

Playing career

Jones played at Upland High School and was a two-year team captain while leading her school to a pair of league championships. While at Upland High she was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-League selection, adding all-area honors her junior year. [2]

Jones committed to play college softball at the University of Washington. In four years as a player at Washington, Jones was a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic performer and was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention in 2014. [3] As a player with the Washington Huskies softball team, she appeared in super regionals during the 2011, 2012, and 2014 NCAA tournaments and a Women's College World Series in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Coaching career

Following a graduate assistantship with the athletic department at the University of Tulsa, Jones was hired as the Garfield High School softball team head coach. As Garfield High School's head coach in 2017, her squad posted a 19–8 record and made the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association state championship game. Jones was named the 3A Metro Coach of the Year. [4]

After the 2017–2018 season at Garfield High School, Jones rejoined the Washington Huskies as a volunteer assistant coach and served in that role for four seasons. [5] [6] At Washington, Jones was responsible for coaching the outfielders for all four seasons of her coaching tenure. Her group hit over .300 in each of those four seasons and committed just 20 errors over that span. Her outfielders had four members named to an All-Region team and had five named to All-Pac-12 Teams. [5] In 2021, Jones reunited with former Washington assistant Cindy Ball-Malone who was the head coach at UCF. Jones spent one season serving as an offensive assistant coach. During that season, she helped lead UCF to the program's first-ever Super Regional appearance in the 2022 NCAA tournament. From 2022 to 2024, Jones served as the associate head coach of The Ohio State Buckeyes softball team. Reflecting on her coaching philosophy in an Ohio State Black History Month profile, Jones stated, "Using my positionality for the greater good, not just stats, will be the ultimate success for me. My goal by the end of all of this is to impact change over the lives of all those I encounter." [7]

On May 22, 2024, Jones was announced as the new head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers softball team. [4]

Personal life

Jones is the daughter of Carl Jones who played Triple-A baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization from 1986 to 1988. [2]

Head coaching record

NCAA DI

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Appalachian State Mountaineers (Sun Belt)(2024–present)
2024–25 Appalachian State Mountaineers 0–00-0
Appalachian State:0–0 (–)0–0 (–)
Total:0–0 (–)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References

  1. McLeod, Justin (May 22, 2022). "Appalachian State Hires Whitney Jones as Head Coach". D1Softball. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Whitney Jones Bio". gohuskies.com.
  3. "Whitney Jones Bio". ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
  4. 1 2 "App State Names Whitney Jones as Softball Head Coach". AppStateSports.
  5. 1 2 "Whitney Jones bio". ucfknights.com.
  6. Evans, Jayda (April 21, 2017). "Former Washington Husky softball player Whitney Jones having immediate success at Garfield". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  7. "Black History Month Profile: Whitney Jones". ohiostatebuckeyes.com.