Jessica Strong joins the Shippensburg University softball staff for the 2017-18 season as a full-time assistant coach.
Strong arrives at Shippensburg after spending two seasons at Division III Moravian College, a squad that posted a combined 73-12 record in her time on the staff. Among Strong’s many responsibilities included integral roles coordinating the team’s recruiting efforts and travel arrangements in addition to serving as the first-base coach. Her primary coaching focuses were with the team’s outfielders and catchers – a group that included 2017 Diamond Sports Division III Catcher of the Year Janae Matos.
In her time with the Greyhounds, Strong was a valuable offensive instructor who was regularly responsible for drills and technical skill instruction. In each of her two seasons, Strong helped coach 10 All-Conference performers and three National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region performers. The 2016 Moravian squad won the Landmark Conference Championship and reached the NCAA Regional Finals.
Prior to Moravian, Strong spent two seasons coaching at her alma mater, Armstrong State University, while also serving as the school’s graduate assistant and area coordinator for housing and residence life.
The 2013 Armstrong squad finished the season ranked No. 3 in the NFCA Division II poll, posting a 44-10-1 record while winning a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) championship, NCAA regional championship, and two games at the NCAA Division II Softball Championships. She and her colleagues were named the 2013 NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year at Armstrong. In 2014, the Pirates won 36 games, another NCAA regional championship, and finished the year ranked No. 5 in the NFCA Division II poll.
On the field, in three seasons playing at Armstrong State, Strong posted a .330 career batting average, slugged 13 home runs and totaled 95 RBIs. Strong earned 2009 Academic All-America honors at the conclusion of a season in which she received All-PBC honors as an outfielder and was named her team’s Co-MVP. In the classroom, Strong was a 2009 PBC All-Academic Team selection after twice earning PBC Presidential Honor Roll designations.
Strong has also worked as a softball instructor with 7 Deadly Spins Fastpitch. She has served as the lead instructor for 10-week winter skills programs in addition to other works with clinics. In her four-plus years of coaching, Strong has amassed significant experience as a clinician and camp instructor, including an invitation to work the Gerry Mauro Collegiate Elite Training Camp and the Angelo Matz Collegiate Skills Training Clinic.
A native of Fountain Valley, California, Strong earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Sciences from Armstrong State in 2009, graduating summa cum laude, before earning her master’s degree in Education, Curriculum and Instruction in 2012.
