After spending two years as a graduate assistant with head coach Cindy Ball-Malone’s support staff in 2023 and 2024, former National Championship-winning right-handed pitcher Shannon Saile concluded her second season as a full-time member of UCF’s coaching staff in 2026.
“I’m excited to move into this position after being here for two years learning under coach Ball-Malone,” Saile said previously about the opportunity to join the staff in a full-time capacity. “Getting to know these girls and this pitching staff, I’m thrilled to stay on staff. This opportunity represents a lot of answered prayers to continue here and grow with this culture, and that was really important to me.”
Having shepherded the Knights’ staff full-time over the last two seasons after serving in her graduate assistant role in the previous two campaigns, UCF pitchers have accrued the following throughout Saile’s four-year tenure in Orlando:
- Four consecutive seasons with a sub-3.30 final team ERA
- All-America selections from two national publications
- One NFCA National Freshman of the Year top 10 finalist
- Five NFCA All-Region selections
- Three All-Big 12 Conference selections
- One AAC Pitcher of the Year selection
- Six Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors
- Two Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors
- Four AAC Pitcher of the Week honors
UCF in 2026 brought a sub-3.00 ERA into the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional, entering play against the high-powered UCLA Bruins offense with a 2.96 mark through 59 games, and finished the year ranking within the top four in the Big 12 Conference in team ERA for the third consecutive season.
The Knights’ 5.92 hits allowed per seven innings ranked second fewest in the Big 12 Conference as well, and the squad also finished within the league’s top five in WHIP (1.48) for the third consecutive year.
The team was led for the second straight year by redshirt sophomore right-hander Isabella Vega, who in her second collegiate season threw her first career perfect game and garnered All-Big 12 Conference and NFCA All-Gulf Region honors for the second consecutive campaign.
Behind Vega, who concluded her season with a 3.18 season ERA, a .210 batting average-against in 152 innings, and her third career Big 12 Pitcher of the Week recognition, each of UCF’s other four pitchers who tossed at least 40 innings, three of whom were freshmen, also finished the year with respective season ERAs below 3.70.
Throughout Saile’s first year overseeing the Knights pitching staff in 2025, the program produced a 3.07 team ERA in 398.2 innings, its lowest since the group produced a 2.84 mark in 2023. The Black and Gold also recorded 22 complete games, 11 shutouts, 288 total strikeouts and a .251 batting average-against.
The Knights’ staff was among the more dominant corps in the league throughout the 2025 campaign, ranking among the top four in the Big 12 Conference in team WHIP (1.34, 3rd), shutouts (11, 3rd) and ERA (3.07, 4th).
UCF pitchers were well represented in national and conference honors as well, led by Vega.
The Bradenton native was named to two national Freshman All-America teams (D1Softball and Softball America), was a top 10 finalist for the NFCA’s National Freshman of the Year award, and garnered NFCA All-Gulf Region First Team, All-Big 12 Conference First Team, All-Big 12 Conference Freshman Team, one Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week, two D1Softball National Freshman of the Week, and two Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors.
Senior right-hander Kaitlyn Felton also earned her first two Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors, becoming the first player in the league in 2025 to earn multiple conference weekly honors. The pair both threw their first career no-hitters in 2025 as well, ensuring the Knights would record multiple no-hitters for the fourth straight season.
After the 2024 Knights earned just one Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week award in the team’s first year in the league, Felton and Vega pushed that total to four in 2025.
“One of the biggest compliments for Shannon is how connected the pitching staff was with her, and how much belief they felt she had in them just by their motivation,” Ball-Malone said of Saile. “They always felt like she believed in them, and they wanted her to be around. She has instilled that belief, competitiveness and empowerment.”
Prior to joining UCF as a graduate assistant ahead of the 2023 campaign, Saile enjoyed tremendous success throughout her own five-year collegiate career. She began her career with the Florida International Panthers, posting an aggregate 1.71 ERA in 389.1 innings pitched with 507 total strikeouts between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Following her second season at FIU, Saile transferred to Oklahoma, where she spent her final three collegiate seasons and won a pair of National Championships, the first as a pitcher in 2021 and the second in 2022 as a graduate assistant.
With the Sooners, Saile earned selections to the 2021 NFCA All-Region First Team, 2021 All-Big 12 First Team, 2021 Big 12 All-Tournament Team, and 2019 All-Big 12 Second Team, as well as a pair of Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors in 2021.
She finished her career ranking second in Oklahoma’s program history in strikeouts per seven innings (9.75) and saves (11), and sixth in lowest career batting average-against (.172).
Saile posted an ERA below 2.00 in each of her three seasons in Norman as well, striking out 347 total hitters and throwing three shutouts and 11 complete games.
She made three appearances in the 2021 Women’s College World Series, throwing a season-high eight innings against James Madison in Oklahoma’s tournament-opener June 3 before making two more appearances against the Dukes June 6 (3.2 IP, 3 R) and Florida State Seminoles June 8 (3 IP, 1 R).