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Eastern Kentucky University

Richmond, KY 40475
Kentucky Midwest
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Jane Worthington

* 2002, 2004, 2018 OVC Coach of the Year


Jane Worthington is a rarity in college softball. Not only has she coached and been committed to the same university since 1993, but has also been the only coach EKU softball has ever known.


The 2024 season will be the 32nd for Coach Worthington at Eastern Kentucky University, the Washington, Utah native enters the season ranked 22nd in wins among active DI softball head coaches. She has guided the squad to three Ohio Valley Conference titles (2002, 2004, 2021) and three NCAA tournament appearances (2002, 2004, 2021).


During the 2021 season, Worthington led the Colonels to their third ever NCAA tournament appearance. The Colonels went 35-17 on the season, posting a 22-9 record in conference play.


In 2018, Worthington lead the Colonels to a record setting 45 wins on the year with a 19-3 conference record and a regular season OVC Championship. Worthington was named 2018 OVC Coach of the Year.


In 2014, Worthington tallied her 600th career victory when the Colonels downed Tennessee Tech on April 26. She has led Eastern to a spot in 23 of the 26 OVC tournaments since the event began in 1994.


Since taking over the helm of the Colonels’ program, Worthington has posted an impressive, winning record at 770-688 and an even more striking 374-250 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. She picked up her 700th career win against Western Carolina in 2018.


Throughout her career, Worthington has produced several standout players as four Colonels have been named OVC Player of the Year and four players have earned Freshman of the Year recognition. 46 All-OVC first team players and 43 second team selections have worn an EKU jersey as well.


Under Worthington’s guidance Leanna Pittsenbarger put together a record breaking career. Before the start of the 2015 season, Pittsenbarger was rated as the top NCAA Division I pitcher by Fastpitch News. She would go on to break the EKU record for career strikeouts.


In 2016, senior pitcher Hayley Flynn set a new program record with 26 strikeouts against Eastern Illinois. The hurler went on to become the first softball Colonel to ever sign a professional contract, playing for the Pennsylvania Rebellion.


During the 2017 season EKU boasted some of the top players in the league leading to more records being broken. In regular season Rachel Minogue claimed the batting crown with a .421, led in hits (69), was second in on-base percentage (.495), runs batted in (44), doubles (17) and total bases (98). The sophomore was only struck out nine times over 176 at-bats, making her one of the toughest to strike out in the league. She tied EKU’s single-game record for RBIs when she went 5-for-5 with a grand slam and eight runs driven in at Tennessee State on April 14. The First Team All-Conference selection concluded a stellar sophomore campaign by being named Second Team All-Region. Johnkyria Alston led the conference in doubles (19) and RBIs (46). Meanwhile, Krislyn Campos took sole possession of the single-season (48) and career (152) records.


Worthington believes that the only way to improve is to play the best possible teams in the country. Her Eastern squads have faced numerous nationally-ranked opponents, which includes a 6-5 upset over No. 5 Missouri four years ago. In 2015, the Colonels took on No. 3 Alabama and beat 23rd ranked South Alabama 1-0. EKU also faced top-15 teams Kentucky and Tennessee. Other notable games include a 4-3 victory over No. 7 South Carolina in 1995 and a showdown with top-ranked UCLA in the 2002 NCAA regionals.


Worthington has built the program from the ground up, starting in her first year at EKU with the construction of Gertrude Hood Field. Eastern’s first season of competition occurred in the spring of 1993 with Worthington leading the team to an 11-26 record. 24 years later she led the Colonels into a brand-new Gertrude Hood Stadium on April 8, 2017.


In just its third year, the program posted its first-ever winning season (31-29) and advanced to the finals of the OVC tournament. Worthington then led Eastern Kentucky to another winning season in 1998, ending with 38 wins, and reached a career milestone with her 200th victory in 2001.


The 2002 Colonels rolled through the league with a 16-2 conference record and captured the program’s first OVC title with a 7-4 victory over Tennessee Tech. That win also propelled Eastern Kentucky to its first-ever NCAA tournament.


Two years later, EKU posted its most wins ever (42) on the way to another NCAA tournament appearance. Worthington won OVC Coach of the Year accolades in both 2002, 2004 and 2018.


Prior to Eastern Kentucky, Worthington spent two years as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) and one year as an assistant at Livingston University in Alabama. Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Worthington taught junior high school in Idaho.


Worthington, a 1982 graduate of Utah State, helped the Aggies capture the 1981 national championship with a win over Cal-State Fullerton in the finals. Winning a championship as a player, Worthington knows what it takes to be a winner and has successfully instilled those beliefs in her players. As a result, a large number of her former players have followed her lead and entered the coaching profession.


A strong supporter in the growth of fast-pitch softball in Kentucky, Worthington has provided numerous opportunities for individuals to enhance their softball skills at clinics and camps. On a yearly basis, she hosts player development clinics and camps to help fast-pitch softball develop throughout the state. Worthington believes in giving all players the chance to increase their skills and attempts to keep costs low so that everyone interested can attend. In addition, she believes in devoting personal attention to each participant and as a result, tries to keep the number of participants low by scheduling multiple events.


In 1996, Worthington was given the state’s Citizen for Sports Equity Outstanding College Coach Award.


The Colonels’ coach also stresses the importance of academics and expects her players to excel in the classroom. Worthington feels that a balance can be achieved, and with good management skills, her student-athletes can succeed in the classroom and on the playing field. In 2013, Worthington was honored by the EKU Department of Athletics with the Coaches’ Academic Enhancement Award, which is given to a head coach who exceeds the standards and encourages academic excellence for his or her team. Hayley Flynn received the OVC Medal of Honor for recording a perfect 4.0 GPA in 2013-14. In 2002, Elise Burch became Eastern’s first softball Academic All-American.


After graduation, Worthington’s past players have entered the professional fields of law, criminal justice, education, business, aviation and coaching.


Worthington earned a master’s degree in Sports Studies from Miami (Ohio) in 1991.

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Zoe Schafer

Zoe Schafer was announced as an assistant coach on the EKU softball staff by head coach Jane Worthington on August 24, 2022.


Schafer joins EKU after a one-year stint at Tennessee Tech, where she was an assistant coach on Michelle DePolo's staff. In her year in Cookeville, Tenn., Zoe assisted in student-athlete development and recruiting efforts for the softball program. During the 2021-22 season, Tennessee Tech went 33-22 and made the second round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.


"I want to thank Coach Worthington and the athletic department leadership for giving me the opportunity to join the EKU coaching staff," said Schafer. "I am very excited to help continue the championship tradition of EKU softball. I have such respect for this program, having played against them in my collegiate career. I'm so excited about the talented players we have, and I am looking forward to getting to work with them both on and off the field."


Schafer's notoriety as a prominent college hitter impacted the Golden Eagles' effort last season, Tennessee Tech ended the year with 57 home runs and an overall .276 team batting average under her purview.


Zoe spent her playing career with SIUE, who was no stranger to EKU during the Colonels time in the OVC. She ended her career as the program leader in home runs and RBIs. She also comes in at second in program history in doubles and was the first player in school history to go two seasons without committing an error.


The Noblesville, Ind. product departed SIUE as one of the most decorated players in program history, earning three All-OVC selections (2018, 2019, and 2021), 2017 All-OVC Newcomer in 2017, and an All-Tournament nod in 2018. Off the field, Zoe excelled in her academics, earning the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in 2018 and served on the SIUE Student Advisory Committee chapter.

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Mollie Paulick

Mollie Paulick was hired as an assistant coach for the pitching staff in July 2023.


Paulick returned to EKU from Bellarmine, where she served two seasons as an assistant coach and interim head coach. At Bellarmine, she assisted with all phases of coaching the softball team along with taking on primary pitching coach responsibilities.


Before Paulick's coaching career, she was one of the best pitchers in EKU history from 2016-2021, where she owned a 72-28 record in the circle with a 2.35 earned run average and 655 strikeouts.


In 2021, Paulick capped her five-year career in Richmond leading the Colonels to their third conference championship in program history. EKU advanced to the NCAA Softball Knoxville Regional for the first time since 2004, where she tossed 4.2 innings with 2 strikeouts against No. 9 Tennessee.


In her last two seasons, the Centerville, Ohio native went 23-2 with a 1.75 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 163 innings pitched with two wins in the OVC Tournament against Austin Peay and SEMO.


In her sophomore season, Paulick finished the year with a 23-7 record and a career-high 182 strikeouts. Her 23 wins were just two shy of tying the EKU program record held by Jonelle Csora in 2002.


She was the recipient of EKU's Female Athlete of the Year in 2020 and earned multiple Ohio Valley Conference honors, including being named First Team All-OVC as a pitcher in 2018.

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Chris Prothro

Chris Prothro was chosen as Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball head coach on Sept. 30, 2020.


It didn’t take long for Prothro to turn the Colonels into champions. In 2022, EKU went 38-20 overall and claimed a share of the ASUN Conference West Division Championship with a 20-10 league mark. The 38 wins were the most in a season since the 1990 squad won 42. It was the program’s first conference title since 2012. The Colonels were picked to finish eighth in the ASUN Preseason Poll, but tied for the best overall conference record in the league.


EKU followed the championship campaign with 29 more wins in 2023, making it the winningest two-year period for the program since 1989 and 1990.


Two players earned considerable national attention during the 2022 season. Kendal Ewell was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given each year to the top amateur baseball player in the country. He also earned multiple national player of the week honors. Will Brian was chosen as an All-American by three organizations, was also a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award and was picked in the 10th round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. Brian was ranked by D1Baseball.com as the No. 6 reliever in the nation and Ewell was rated as the 34th-best outfielder.


Ewell and Brian joined catcher Will King on the 2022 ASUN All-Conference Team. King also earned a spot on the ASUN All-Tournament team after leading the Colonels to the semifinals.


Accolades poured in after the 2023 season for the Colonels as well. Shortstop Logan Thomason, who helped the team finish fourth in the nation in double plays turned, was selected as the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year. He and King earned all-conference recognition. Chase Alderman was chosen to the ASUN All-Freshman Team. King was on the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list for the second straight season and was chosen to the ABCA Rawlings Midwest All-Region Team.


The pipeline to the pros continued as well. King was picked by the Atlanta Braves in the 2023 MLB Draft. In addition, incoming freshman left-handed pitcher Bradley Stewart, who signed with EKU in the spring, was drafted in the 17th round by the Detroit Tigers.


The drafting of an incoming player speaks to the success Prothro and his staff have fostered on the recruiting trail. EKU’s 2023 recruiting class was recognized by Collegiate Baseball News and ranked higher than such programs as South Florida, Wake Forest, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas State, Middle Tennessee, Washington, South Alabama and Georgia Southern among others.


EKU won 17 more games in 2022 than the season before. Brian broke EKU’s single season individual saves record. As a team, the Colonels set a new record for fielding percentage (97.5 percent) and total saves (19). The 2023 Colonels set a new program record for walks drawn in a season, surpassing a mark that had stood for 42 years.


“Words can’t even express how excited I am to lead the EKU baseball program," Prothro said. "The pieces are in place for a championship level of success. We have amazing facilities, a first class student-athlete experience and outstanding leadership.”


The success in 2022 had EKU mentioned among the nation’s best to start the 2023 season. The Colonels were ranked 46th in Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 50 Division I Pre-Season Poll. It is the first time the program has received a pre-season ranking from the publication. EKU was the highest ranked ASUN team and was ranked higher than such programs as South Carolina (47), Alabama (49) and BYU (50). Others who did not crack the preseason top-50 include Washington, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Southern California, Coastal Carolina, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.


In his first season, Prothro led the Colonels to victories over No. 15 Georgia Tech and No. 7 Louisville in 2021. EKU also got the tying run to second base in the ninth inning at No. 2 Vanderbilt before falling by two. Four players earned postseason honors, the pitching staff led the league in strikeouts and defensively the team set what was then a new program record with a .972 fielding percentage.


Prior to taking the head coaching position at EKU, Prothro helped the University of South Alabama capture two conference championships, make two NCAA Regional appearances and compile a 152-104 record in five seasons as an assistant coach.


“Coach Prothro has done more than build a successful baseball team; he’s built a program,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Matt Roan said. “In fairly short order, Pro has won a division championship and the most games in a year since 1990, as well as stake claim to the three highest cumulative semester grade point averages on record. He is committed to winning the right way, prioritizes the total student-athlete experience, and he’s a competitor.”


As the recruiting coordinator at South Alabama, Prothro led the efforts that resulted in the 2018 recruiting class being ranked 25th in the nation. The 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020 classes also garnered recognition by national collegiate baseball publications.


Prothro joined the Jaguars staff in July of 2015. As the program’s hitting instructor, USA ranked first or second in every major statistical category in the Sun Belt Conference in 2017 as well as placing among the national leaders in runs scored per game, walks and home runs. He instructed two first team All-Sun Belt selections in three consecutive seasons, 2016-18. Prothro coached five players who were drafted over a three-year span, including the No. 10 overall pick in 2018.


With Prothro on the staff, South Alabama captured the 2016 Sun Belt Conference regular season title and the 2017 Sun Belt Tournament Championship. The Jaguars won two games in the Tallahassee Regional in 2016 before falling to top-seeded Florida State. USA beat No. 2 seed Mississippi State in the first round of the Hattiesburg Regional in 2017 and finished that season ranked 26th nationally.


From the summer of 2007 to 2015, Prothro served in a variety of roles at Nicholls State University. He was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator from 2011 to 2015. He spent six seasons as the pitching coach and two seasons as the hitting coach. In his final two seasons, he helped NSU win 66 games overall and 66 percent of its conference games. The 2014 and 2015 Nicholls recruiting classes were recognized nationally.


During his tenure as pitching coach, eight pitchers were drafted or signed by MLB organizations. He tutored the 2014 and 2015 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year and the 2015 Southland Conference Reliever of the Year.


Prothro was an assistant at North Iowa Community College during the 2006 season. He also was an assistant coach in the Northwoods Summer Collegiate League in 2006 and 2007, coaching 13 future MLB draft picks.


Prothro earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in history in 2005 at Arkansas State University, where he played for two seasons. He began his collegiate playing career at Northwestern State University. Prothro and his wife Candace have two children, Grayson and Rhyan.

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