A mainstay in the UCF softball team’s lineup throughout the last five seasons, former first baseman Shannon Doherty will remain with the squad in a new role next spring.
Following the conclusion of her collegiate playing career, Doherty will join head coach Cindy Ball-Malone’s support staff as a graduate assistant ahead of the spring 2025 season.
“I wanted to stick around for a lot of reasons, but the main reason is that UCF is a place I call home, and has helped me develop as an individual so significantly,” Doherty said. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my time at UCF, coach Bear and the program. It’s my turn to continue to make an impact on the other side of things.”
The Coral Springs, Florida, native spent her entire five-year playing career donning the Black and Gold, and completed her on-field tenure as one of the more decorated players in program history.
The 2024 All-Big 12 Second Team selection concluded her final season ranking within the top 10 on a plethora of all-time UCF career leaderboards, including total defensive putouts (1,371, 2nd), on-base percentage (.422, 3rd), home runs (35, 3rd), RBI (161, 3rd), fielding percentage (.994, 3rd), total defensive chances (1,412, 3rd), slugging percentage (.499, 6th), runs scored (119, 9th), and total hits (212, 9th).
Among her accomplishments this spring, she became the 12th player in program history to eclipse 200 career hits with UCF before also coming through with a key go-ahead three-run home run in the largest NCAA tournament comeback win in program history against the Auburn Tigers May 17.
“I’m looking to bring everything I gave on the field, but in a new role,” Doherty continued. “I take a lot of pride in my leadership, and I’m excited to help some of the new girls come into their captain roles and share some of my experiences with them as well as helping them through challenges they’ll face with that.”
Prior to UCF’s addition to the Big 12 Conference in the summer 2023, Doherty earned All-Conference Rookie Team (2021), All-Tournament Team (2022) and All-Conference First Team (2023) honors throughout her time competing in the American Athletic Conference.
In garnering All-Conference First Team recognition in her final season in The American, Doherty appeared in and started 60 of UCF’s 61 total games at first base, marking her third consecutive season with at least 60 appearances and her second straight campaign with at least 60 starts.
She also became the second player in program history to earn the Order of Pegasus award, the highest honor that can be achieved as a student at UCF, for her efforts in the areas of academic achievement, outstanding university involvement, leadership and community service.
“I’m looking forward to the growth that this program will see in the near future, especially in the Big 12,” Doherty added. “We have some unfinished business as a program in the conference, and we learned a lot last year. I’m excited to see this team take everything that we learned from our first year in the Big 12 and run with it, and go further than this program ever has before.”
She recorded a trio of electrifying walk-off hits in helping lead her squad to the first NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history in 2022, and in her first full season following her COVID-19-shortened freshman campaign, hit a team-leading 11 home runs accompanied by 37 RBI in her sophomore 2021 slate.
“I’m looking forward to learning from the staff and learn about coaching,” Doherty said. “Coaching is something that I want to do in my future, I want to stay in the game and be a coach at the collegiate level. I’m excited to learn and develop myself on that side of things, and gain all the experiences, and learn and grow as much as I can.”