ORLANDO – The UCF softball team has announced a pair of new additions to its support staff ahead of the 2026-27 school year, both coming from within the program’s 2026 on-field roster.
Former Knights catcher/first baseman Ashleigh Griffin and right-handed pitcher Lena Elkins will remain on head coach Cindy Ball-Malone’s staff as graduate assistants for the 2027 season following the conclusion of their collegiate eligibility in the spring of 2026.
The pair continue a strong recent trend of student-athletes to play under coach Ball-Malone remaining on staff in the graduate assistant role, joining former first baseman Shannon Doherty and right-handed pitchers Sarah Willis and Kaitlyn Felton.
Griffin recently concluded a five-year tenure on the Knights playing roster, becoming the first and only player in program history to appear in multiple NCAA Super Regionals with the Black and Gold.
“It means everything,” Griffin said. “I would do anything to be with coach Bear and work under her. She’s a great mentor, a great coach and someone I really look up to. I wanted to continue to stay with this program; I would give everything to UCF and I bleed black and gold.”
The Newnan, Georgia, native was a three-time CSC Academic All-District selection in 2024, 2025 and 2026, an AAC All-Conference Second Team selection in 2022, a unanimous pick to the AAC All-Rookie Team in 2022, and garnered All-Big 12 Conference Tournament honors in 2025.
She finished her collegiate career ranking among all-time program leaders in double plays turned (50, 3rd), walks (94, T-6th), RBI (128, 7th), defensive putouts (970, 7th), total fielding chances (1,040, 8th), sacrifice flies (7, T-10th), and home runs (18, 12th).
In four years on the field, Griffin compiled a career .282/.388/.427 (155-for-550) line, accompanied by 61 runs scored, 26 doubles, 18 home runs, 235 total bases, 94 walks and 128 RBI.
She notably lifted the Knights to the first Big 12 Conference Tournament win in program history in 2025, hitting a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of UCF’s tournament-opener against Utah, and was also the first player in program history to earn a Big 12 Player of the Week honor after homering in all three games against Houston April 12-14, 2024.
Elkins spent two seasons donning the Black and Gold after transferring from Charlotte following her sophomore season, having appeared in 33 total games spanning 65.2 innings of work.
“My two years with the team was such a great experience. The culture is great, the girls are great, and I want to be here again to help them get to the next level any way I can,” Elkins said. “Learning from a different perspective is the biggest thing for me; I get to learn from coach Bear and her pitching perspective, and also work with the girls who I played with the last two years. That’s going to be a great opportunity for me and I’m excited to stay here and keep working with everyone.”
She emerged as one of Ball-Malone’s go-to relief choices throughout the 2026 season, producing a 3.10 ERA in 40.2 innings with a .273 batting average-against. From Feb. 26 through April 25, Elkins tossed the third-most innings on the team (28.2) with a 1.47 ERA spanning her 13 appearances.
The right-hander notably helped lead the Knights to their 8-1 bounce-back win over then-No. 23 Arizona State in Tempe April 11, allowing just one run on five hits in four innings, and later spun 2.2 scoreless frames against Jacksonville State in the Black and Gold’s NCAA Tallahassee Regional-opening 2-1 win May 15.
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.