Sarah Caffrey Named Head Softball Coach at Bucknell
8/21/2020 6:30:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Sarah Caffrey, a former standout pitcher at Jacksonville University who has spent the last five years as the lead assistant coach at Penn State, has been named head softball coach at Bucknell by director of athletics and recreation Jermaine Truax.
Caffrey has coached in the collegiate ranks since graduating from Jacksonville in 2012. She started as a volunteer assistant at Texas Tech, then spent two years as the first assistant at Utah State, where she helped All-Mountain West pitcher Noelle Johnson break the school's single-season strikeout record.
In August 2015, Caffrey was hired at Penn State, where she served as the Nittany Lions' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Amanda Lehotak, who was also Caffrey's college coach at Jacksonville. At Penn State, Caffrey also had duties in the areas of scouting, academic enhancement, external relations and camps. She was part of a staff that brought in the nation's 11th-ranked recruiting class in 2019, according to Extra Innings Softball, and that season she mentored a pitching staff comprised primarily of first-year players to the lowest team earned-run average and most strikeouts in eight years. In the abbreviated 2020 season, sophomore Bailey Parshall ranked eighth nationally in strikeouts and 15th in strikeout-to-walk ratio.
This past summer, Caffrey served as Penn State's interim head coach in the midst of a change in leadership.
"I am extremely excited to welcome Sarah to the Bucknell Athletics family," said Truax. "Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program, and I appreciate her holistic approach to enhancing her student-athletes' collegiate experience. The Bucknell softball program is well-positioned to compete for Patriot League championships, and Sarah is prepared to lead the way."
"I would like to thank Jermaine Truax, Michelle Manning and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me to be the next head coach of Bucknell Softball," said Caffrey. "It is an incredible honor to be a part of such a well-respected program and athletic department. I am excited to meet our student-athletes, staff, other coaches and the entire Bucknell family. I can't wait to get to Lewisburg and get to work."
Caffrey, formerly Sarah Sigrest, is a native of Daphne, Alabama and is a member of the Daphne High School Hall of Fame. She earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science at Jacksonville and a master's degree in sports and physical education from Utah State in 2015.
Caffrey is Jacksonville's all-time wins leader with 68, with a school-record 27 of those wins coming in 2011 when she was named Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year while leading the Dolphins to a conference championship and their very first NCAA Tournament appearance. Her ERA of 1.10 was the eighth-best in the nation that season, and she became the first hurler in school history to strike out 200 batters in a season. Caffrey also continues to hold the Jacksonville records for career strikeouts (613) and saves (6), while her 1.97 career ERA ranks second.
Caffrey takes over a Bucknell softball program that posted five straight winning seasons from 2015-19, prior to the 2020 campaign being shut down early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bison went 27-8 in Patriot League play in the two most recently completed seasons in 2018 and 2019.
Caffrey becomes the eighth head coach in Bucknell softball history, which dates back to 1979.
Caffrey has coached in the collegiate ranks since graduating from Jacksonville in 2012. She started as a volunteer assistant at Texas Tech, then spent two years as the first assistant at Utah State, where she helped All-Mountain West pitcher Noelle Johnson break the school's single-season strikeout record.
In August 2015, Caffrey was hired at Penn State, where she served as the Nittany Lions' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Amanda Lehotak, who was also Caffrey's college coach at Jacksonville. At Penn State, Caffrey also had duties in the areas of scouting, academic enhancement, external relations and camps. She was part of a staff that brought in the nation's 11th-ranked recruiting class in 2019, according to Extra Innings Softball, and that season she mentored a pitching staff comprised primarily of first-year players to the lowest team earned-run average and most strikeouts in eight years. In the abbreviated 2020 season, sophomore Bailey Parshall ranked eighth nationally in strikeouts and 15th in strikeout-to-walk ratio.
This past summer, Caffrey served as Penn State's interim head coach in the midst of a change in leadership.
"I am extremely excited to welcome Sarah to the Bucknell Athletics family," said Truax. "Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program, and I appreciate her holistic approach to enhancing her student-athletes' collegiate experience. The Bucknell softball program is well-positioned to compete for Patriot League championships, and Sarah is prepared to lead the way."
"I would like to thank Jermaine Truax, Michelle Manning and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me to be the next head coach of Bucknell Softball," said Caffrey. "It is an incredible honor to be a part of such a well-respected program and athletic department. I am excited to meet our student-athletes, staff, other coaches and the entire Bucknell family. I can't wait to get to Lewisburg and get to work."
Caffrey, formerly Sarah Sigrest, is a native of Daphne, Alabama and is a member of the Daphne High School Hall of Fame. She earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science at Jacksonville and a master's degree in sports and physical education from Utah State in 2015.
Caffrey is Jacksonville's all-time wins leader with 68, with a school-record 27 of those wins coming in 2011 when she was named Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year while leading the Dolphins to a conference championship and their very first NCAA Tournament appearance. Her ERA of 1.10 was the eighth-best in the nation that season, and she became the first hurler in school history to strike out 200 batters in a season. Caffrey also continues to hold the Jacksonville records for career strikeouts (613) and saves (6), while her 1.97 career ERA ranks second.
Caffrey takes over a Bucknell softball program that posted five straight winning seasons from 2015-19, prior to the 2020 campaign being shut down early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bison went 27-8 in Patriot League play in the two most recently completed seasons in 2018 and 2019.
Caffrey becomes the eighth head coach in Bucknell softball history, which dates back to 1979.
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