ORLANDO – The UCF softball team has hired Olympic medalist and current Canadian National Team assistant coach Jenn Salling to join the staff. She will be an assistant coach for the Black and Gold ahead of the team's 2022-23 campaign.
"I'm happy to have Jenn back in the Kingdom and a Knight once again," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "She brings even more experience as a medal-winning Olympian and coach to the program. Her expertise with offense and defense will help us continue to succeed on the field. Her love, respect and understanding of the game will help us off the field as well."
Salling was Ball-Malone's first Volunteer Assistant Coach at UCF, with Ball-Malone beginning her tenure as a Knight on June 27, 2018. Salling came to campus soon after and was on staff from Aug. 2018 – Feb. 2019.
"First and foremost, I want to thank Coach Ball-Malone and the UCF athletic department for the opportunity to be a part of Knight Nation," said Salling. "I especially want to thank Coach Bear for entrusting me with the opportunity to join the UCF softball family, be a part of her staff and build upon the expectations and standards of excellence that it takes to be an NCAA Division I national champion. Her knowledge of the game and passion for human and player development is what I admire most about Coach Bear. She knows how to win, she knows what it takes to win and I wholeheartedly respect and believe in how she goes about the process to winning, both on and off the softball field."
Salling is currently with the Canadian National Team as an assistant coach, as well as serving as an Athletes Unlimited facilitator, the same professional softball team that recent UCF graduate assistant hire Shannon Saile is playing for this summer.
Salling made her debut with the Canadian women's national team as a player in 2006 when she competed in her first of five WBSC Women's Softball World Championships (2006, 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2018). She also represented Canada at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2020 and four Pan American Games, earning silver medals in 2007, 2011 and 2019 and gold in 2015.
At the 2019 WBSC Americas Olympic Qualifier, Salling hit for a .421 average and led Canada with 11 RBIs as the team booked its ticket to Tokyo 2020. In her second Olympic appearance, Salling led Team Canada with a .571 batting average and hit one homerun as the team won the bronze medal.
Salling began her college playing career in 2007, playing one year for the University of Oregon, batting .481 with 14 home runs. She was one of the top 10 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and was the only freshman to be named a finalist. She was also named a First-Team All-American that year. Salling transferred to the University of Washington in 2009 where she won a National Championship in her first season with the Huskies. During her three seasons with Washington, Salling was be named Female Athlete of the Year at the WESPYs in her senior year, a Second-Team Lowes Senior CLASS Award All-American, a First Team NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-America in junior and was twice named to the All-Pacific Region and All-Pac-10 Conference Teams.
After exhausting her collegiate eligibility, Salling was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 NPF Draft. She spent four seasons in the professional ranks playing for the USSSA Pride (2011, 2012, 2013) and the Pennsylvania Rebellion (2014). She helped the Pride win the NPF Championship in 2013.
Salling stepped away from the professional game for a bit and went on to be an assistant coach at Roosevelt University from 2013-14. From there, she became a graduate assistant manager in her return to Washington, going back for two seasons. She began her first stint as a Knight as a volunteer assistant coach from Aug. 2018-Feb. 2019 before returning to professional softball, where she played for the Canadian Wild from 2019-21.
Salling joins UCF's Ball-Malone, Assistant Coach Tyler Heil, Volunteer Assistant Coach Kaija Gibson, who were a part of the American Athletic Conference's Coaching Staff of the Year as well as the NFCA's Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Salling is the second new piece of the coaching staff this season, coming to Orlando for the upcoming season along with new Graduate Assistant Saile.
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