Knights Add Kaija Gibson as Volunteer Assistant Coach

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF softball team has added Kaija Gibson to its staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Gibson is fresh off her five-year career as a student-athlete at Washington, which is where the Knights' newest hire, Whitney Jones, was a volunteer assistant coach at for the last four seasons.

"I heavily recruited Kaija while I was a coach at Washington," said head coach Ball-Malone. "Despite recruiting her I never had the opportunity to coach her. In a way, it's just been a long, extended recruiting process ever since I started recruiting her in 8th grade. I'm excited to finally get the chance to work with her."

Gibson was a utility player for the Huskies over her five-year career. The Redmond, Wash. native hit her first career grand slam in her final season, tallying a .277 batting average and 12 RBI along the way. She only made two errors in her time on the diamond, earning an impressive .995 career fielding percentage. Gibson was just as impressive off the field, earning NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete and Pac-12 All-Academic First Team nods in 2019 and then landing on the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll the following year.

"For Kaija to take a chance and move across the country to be our volunteer assistant is awesome," said Ball-Malone. "She has a huge passion for wanting to be at the College World Series and compete for a title. She's shown in her time as a player and since she's been here with us that she will fulfill any role to make that happen."

The Knights have strong ties with Washington's softball program, as three members of the current coaching staff spent time there in one way or another. Ball-Malone was an assistant coach at Washington in 2011 and 2012 which is when Jones was a student-athlete there. Jones went on to return as a volunteer assistant coach from 2018-21 and was a coach to Gibson, who began her playing career in 2017.

"I am thrilled that both Kaija and I's softball paths get to continue down the same road here at UCF," said Jones. "Her experiences as a student-athlete at the highest level and her ability to connect on many levels of the game will greatly impact our program. She's eager to learn and passionate about impacting the people around her. I'm excited to see her thrive in our profession."

Gibson's roots to Washington go even further as she served as a Husky bat girl in 2008 and eventually attended Redmond High School which is less than a half-hour drive to the university's campus. The Huskies made it to the super regionals of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and finished the year at No. 10.

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