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University of Kansas

Kansas Athletics - Allen Fieldhouse
 1651 Naismith Drive Lawrence, KS 66045
Division 1 Kansas Midwest
Public Large National competitor
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Jennifer McFalls

Jennifer McFalls, most recently the assistant softball coach at the University of Texas, was named head softball coach at the University of Kansas, KU Athletics Director Jeff Long announced on Aug. 20, 2018.


McFalls helped lead Texas to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of her eight years as an assistant there (2011-2018), including a Super Regional in 2012 and the Women’s College World Series in 2013. Prior to going to Texas she served two stints as a collegiate assistant coach – one season at the University of Oklahoma (1998) and three seasons at Texas A&M University (1995-97).


McFalls served as the Longhorns’ defensive coach and recruiting coordinator. During her tenure the Longhorns registered some of the highest fielding-percentage and double-play numbers in the history of the program. She helped coach nine All-America selections, two Big 12 Conference Players of the Year and more than three dozen All-Big 12 players.


She played on the USA’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2000 Olympics, scoring the game-winning run in the USA’s victory over Japan in the gold-medal game. She also scored the only run in the USA’s 1-0 victory over Australia to send the Americans to the gold-medal game. She was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1994-2000, helping her teams to a gold medal in the 1999 Pan American Games and a gold medal at the 1998 World Championships.


McFalls has also been active off the field with USA Softball. She served on the USA Softball selection committee for five years and also as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2010 Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championship.


A four-year starter at shortstop for Texas A&M, McFalls earned first-team All-America honors in 1993 and led the Aggies in batting average, hits, total bases and slugging percentage in all four seasons. In 1994 she was named the school’s Female Athlete of the Year, and in 2001 she was inducted into the Texas A&M Hall of Fame.


“We are excited to name Jennifer McFalls as our new softball coach,” Long said. “She brings outstanding credentials as a coach in the Big 12 Conference and as a national-caliber player. Our student-athletes will benefit greatly from her knowledge and passion for the game of softball.”


McFalls has also coached at the professional level; in 2015 she earned coach-of-the-year honors as head coach of the Dallas Charge of the National Pro Fastpitch league. She also served as a head coach for five years at the high-school level in Texas, and has directed numerous softball clinics across the United States.

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Rich Wieligman

Rich Wieligman enters his second season as associate head coach for Kansas softball in 2019. Wieligman has 11 years of experience as a head coach, including leading Oklahoma State to the Women’s College World Series in 2011.


Wieligman served as the head coach at Oklahoma State for nine seasons (2007-15) and came to KU after a two-year stint at the University of Texas at Dallas (2016-17). He will primarily coach KU's outfielders and hitters.


"Having this opportunity to become a Jayhawk is such a great opportunity," Wieligman said. "I look forward to working with the program and continuing to build progress toward bringing championships to Kansas. At my core, I want to bring out the best in our student-athletes and to help them get better every day. With our first-class facilities and a dedicated coaching staff, there is no place better to pursue those goals than at KU."


The Kansas City-area native led the Cowgirls to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the 2011 Women's College World Series. Over those nine seasons, Wieligman won 275 games while coaching 24 all-conference selections, 19 all-region players and one All-American. In addition, he mentored 51 academic all-conference players and two Academic All-Americans.


In his two seasons at UT Dallas, Wieligman led the Comets to a 42-18 conference record, an American Southwest Conference (ASC) title and an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. Wieligman coached the first All-American at UT Dallas and was named the ASC's Coach of the Year in 2017 after guiding the Comets to best record in school history (36-10).


Wieligman played baseball collegiately at Lubbock (Texas) Christian University, earning his bachelor's degree in education in 1985. While at Lubbock Christian, Wieligman helped the Chaparrals to an NAIA National Championship in 1983 and was named an NAIA All-American in 1984.


Upon graduation from Lubbock Christian, he spent four years in the farm system of the Detroit Tigers as a first baseman/outfielder, reaching as high as the Triple-A level. Wieligman would later play in both Japan and the Dominican Republic before starting his coaching career.


Wieligman began his coaching career as an assistant baseball coach at his college alma mater before taking over as head baseball coach at Lubbock Christian High School. After working with the Boys & Girls Club of Midland, he began his softball coaching career as the head coach at Midland High School in 1993 before moving to the collegiate ranks.


Wieligman quenched his competitive drive as a player by joining a fast-pitch team, DR Engine, based in Odessa, Texas, and he. DR Engine won a national title in 1995 and 1997, with Wieligman being named the MVP of the 1995 ASA National Tournament. He also earned ASA All-America honors in 1997.


After serving as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for Baylor, he made his first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001 while at Texas Tech and then helped coach Texas A&M to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2003-06, including a trip to the super regionals in 2005. In 2005, the Wieligman-coached Aggie hitters lead the nation in team batting average (.336).


Wieligman is married to the former Jill Hodge. The couple has two children -- daughter Ashby (Rowan) and son Ryan. Ashby married Forrest Rowan in 2015.

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