Wayland High School graduate Jessica Merchant has been promoted to associate head coach for the Stanford University softball team.
“This change in title is well-deserved and overdue,” head coach Jessica Allister said. “From recruiting to working with hitters and infielders, Coach Merchant is an integral part of our program. Coach Merchant has a great rapport with our student-athletes which allows her to challenge them while making sure they feel supported.”
After Stanford captured its most overall and conference wins since 2014 in her first season with the Cardinal in 2018, Merchant helped lead the 2019 Cardinal to a 33-20 overall record, including eight wins in the Pac-12 Conference, to reach its first NCAA Tournament since 2013. The Cardinal’s 33 wins, two of which came over top 10 opponents, were the most in a season since 2013, and the winning record was the first since 2014. Working directly with the offense, Merchant saw the Cardinal bat .276 as a team while registering the most triples in program history (25).
In two seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford, Merchant has seen the Cardinal post a 57-51 overall record – a significant turnaround from the 49-104 record in the three seasons prior to her arrival alongside Allister and pitching coach Tori Nyberg.
Merchant spent seven seasons as an assistant under Allister at Minnesota. The pair helped lead the Gophers to a 290-107 record over those seven seasons, including a program-best 56-5 mark in 2017 when the Gophers earned the first No. 1 national ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll in program history.
Prior to her time at Minnesota, Merchant coached at Massachusetts (2007-2010) and her alma mater, Michigan (2006). She was named Miss Softball in Michigan as an all-state standout for coach Cheri Ritz and Wayland in 2001.
Merchant was a two-time NFCA All-American at Michigan and was a key factor for the Wolverines to win the 2005 NCAA championship – the first in program history. She graduated in 2005 with a degree in sport management and communication.