ORLANDO – On the heels of one of the top two strongest seasons in UCF softball’s program history, the quartet at the helm was bestowed national recognition for leading the charge.
Head coach Cindy Ball-Malone and assistants Noah Sanders, Stacie Pestrak and Shannon Saile were recognized Friday afternoon as the 2026 ATEC/NFCA Division I Gulf Regional Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the squad to a 41-win season and the second NCAA Super Regional berth in program history.
This year’s recognition represents the second time a staff at UCF was tabbed as an NFCA Regional Staff of the Year, joining Ball-Malone’s 2022 coaching staff that led the Knights to their first NCAA Super Regional berth, as well as the American Athletic Conference’s regular-season and tournament championships.
The Knights’ 41 wins this spring clinched the program’s first 40-plus-win season as a member of the Big 12 Conference, and the Black and Gold also authored their first winning Big 12 Conference record with a 14-9-1 mark against league opponents.
UCF set a myriad of single-season records throughout what proved to be the greatest offensive season in program history, including home runs (73), total RBI (354), grand slams (6), total bases (825), runs scored (383), team average (.320), team on-base percentage (.416), and team slugging percentage (.532). The Knights also saw five different players eclipse double digit home runs in a single season for the first time in program history.
Along the way, the Black and Gold earned eight wins over opponents ranked in one of the four major top 25 polls (NFCA, USA Softball, Softball America or D1Softball), setting a new single-season program record for ranked wins.
The Knights first toppled then-No. 10 LSU during the Clearwater Invitational, clinched the first series win in program history over then-No. 12 Oklahoma State, and later bested then-No. 23 Arizona State and then-No. 24 Kansas during regular-season action.
UCF’s eighth ranked win of the spring represented one of, if not the, biggest victory in program history, having toppled the No. 9 overall seed Florida State Seminoles, 4-2, in Game 7 of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional May 17 to clinch its spot in the NCAA Super Regional round.
The Knights saw six members selected to post-season All-Big 12 Conference teams, in Sierra Humphreys and Isabella Vega (First Team), and Aubrey Evans, Izzy Mertes, Beth Damon and Samantha Rey (Second Team).
Five Knights were later recognized with NFCA All-Gulf Region selections, in Humphreys (First Team), Vega, Damon and Kendall Yarnell (Second Team), and Mertes (Third Team).
Humphreys, meanwhile, after earning First Team spots on both the All-Big 12 Conference and NFCA All-Gulf Region squads, brought back to Orlando the highest honor of them all, becoming the second Knight in program history and the first since 2015 to earn NFCA All-America status, with her appointment to the Third Team.
The second baseman set single-season career bests in average (.379), on-base percentage (.454), slugging percentage (.712), runs scored (48), total hits (67), doubles (15), home runs (14), total bases (126) and RBI (57), and matched her previous season best in walks (26) throughout a prolific junior campaign as she led her squad to the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional against the No. 8 overall seed UCLA Bruins.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.