Utah State University Vice President and Athletics Director Scott Barnes announced Thursday that head softball coach Steve Johnson has received a contract extension to remain at USU through the 2019 season.
"Steve is building a foundation that gives our softball program an opportunity to sustain success,” Barnes said. "It takes time to build a softball program and after one season, Steve's vision and leadership has put us ahead of schedule in many aspects. We are delighted that he has committed to Utah State long-term."
This season, Utah State is 11-22 overall with a 3-3 record in Mountain West play, currently sitting fifth in the league standings. The Aggies are hitting .287 on the year, while ranking second in the conference in fielding at .954. USU is led by senior outfielder Sarah Chow and junior pitcher Noelle Johnson. Chow is batting .450 on the year to rank fourth in the Mountain West with a team-best 49 hits, ranking fifth in the league. Noelle Johnson is currently third in the conference in strikeouts with 96, third in innings pitched at 118.0 and fourth in total wins with nine.
In his USU debut, Johnson coached current sophomore second baseman Victoria Saucedo to Mountain West Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference honors, while helping Noelle Johnson to break the USU single-season strikeout record with 218 . Saucedo ended the year batting .371 with seven home runs, 31 runs batted in and 31 runs scored. Noelle Johnson finished the year with a 16-22 record as she had a 3.47 earned run average in 234.1 innings pitched. He also coached current senior outfielder Hailey Froton to set the USU single-season RBI record with 41. Froton has since set the all-time Utah State RBI record with 113 in her career.
The Aggies ended the 2014 season with a .251 batting average, improving from .237 the previous year. USU hit 32 home runs while advancing to 537 total bases, an improvement from the previous year of eight and 399, respectively.
Along with Saucedo’s all-conference honors, nine USU softball players earned academic all-Mountain West accolades, while four were named Mountain West Scholar Athletes at the conclusion of Johnson’s first season.
“I would like to thank Scott Barnes and Jana Doggett for their support and trust in the continued development and growth of our program," Johnson said. "We have a long-term plan for the program that is taking shape both on the field and in our future recruiting, and I am excited about the opportunity to continue building on that plan. Utah State University, the athletic department and Cache Valley are all special places, and my family and I are thrilled to be able to continue our time here.”
Aggie softball returns to the field this weekend, hosting UNLV in a three-game conference series. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, with games following at 3 p.m. on Friday, and 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Doug Hoffman is the associate athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.