Kent State University

Kent State University Department of Athletics
MAC Center, P.O. Box 5190 Kent, OH 44242

Division 1 Ohio Midwest

Public Very Large National competitor

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Coaches

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Jessica O’Donnell

Jessica O’Donnell was named the seventh head coach in Kent State Softball program history on June 21, 2023.

O’Donnell brings 12 years of coaching experience with her to Kent State, including the last five as head coach of the Saint Francis University Red Flash in Loretto, Pennsylvania. She has had tremendous success at Saint Francis, leading the Red Flash to three Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season and tournament titles. In five seasons, she led the Red Flash to two 40-plus win seasons and won over 78 percent of her conference games.

During her five seasons in Loretto, O’Donnell coached two NEC Pitchers of the Year and a pair of NEC Players of the year. Sixteen student-athletes earned first-team all-conference honors, six earned all-rookie accolades and three were named first-team all-region. Eight program records were broken during her tenure, she was the fastest to 100 career wins at Saint Francis and here 131 victories are second all-time. Success was not limited to the diamond, 31 student-athletes earned Scholar-Athlete honors from the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

Prior to her time in Loretto, O’Donnell was the Associate Head Coach and Camp Director at Villanova. During her five years with the Wildcats, she was part of a staff that engineered a 17-win improvement and had a pair of 30-plus win seasons. She also had previous coaching stops at Francis Marion University and the Community College of Baltimore in Catonsville, Maryland (CCBC).

The Pasadena, Maryland native played collegiately at CCBC as well, earning all-conference, all-region and NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors before transferring to the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC). She was a three-year starter at shortstop for the Retrievers. O'Donnell was a three-time member of the America East Honor Roll and was a team captain in 2009. She graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor's Degree in American Studies from UMBC and is working towards a Master's in Human Resources from Saint Francis University.

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Elysse Petrie

Elysse Petrie joined the Kent State staff as an assistant coach in July 2023 and will primarily work with the pitching staff

Petrie was on head coach Jessica O'Donnell's staff the past two seasons at Saint Francis University. The Red Flash captured Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season championships during both of Petrie's seasons in Loretto as well as a conference tournament title in 2022.

Saint Francis' pitching staff ranked in the top-20 nationally in ERA (2.12) and shutouts (13) during her first season and followed with a single-season program record 343 strikeouts this past spring. Overall, Red Flash hurlers totaled three NFCA All-Great Lakes Region and four All-NEC First Team honors under Petrie's tutelage. Rachel Marsden was named NEC Pitcher of the Year in 2022 and Grace Vesco earned NEC Tournament MVP that same season.

Petrie began her coaching career as a graduate assistant for two seasons at the University of Indianapolis, where she was part of the 2021 NFCA Division II Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year. The Greyhounds won more than 80 percent of their games during those two years. Indianapolis captured Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) regular season and tournament championships in 2021 on its way to an appearance in the NCAA DII Midwest Regional final. The Greyhounds' 25-game winning streak was the longest in Division II that season.

In addition to assisting with scouting, recruiting, daily practices, and team travel arrangements, Petrie worked with the pitching staff and helped Kenzee Smith earn 2021 NFCA Division II National Freshman of the Year honors. Smith was also a NFCA First Team All-American and was named a finalist for NFCA Division II Pitcher of the Year.

As a student-athlete, Petrie was a two-time All-SAA Honorable Mention performer at Centre College and ranks in the top-10 in program history in ERA (3.26), innings pitched (272.2), strikeouts (140), appearances (60), games started (41), complete games (26), wins (15) and shutouts (3).

Petrie is a 2017 graduate of Centre College with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She earned her Master of Science in Sports Management at the University of Indianapolis.