JoAnne Ferguson enters her third season as head softball coach at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Ferguson comes to Pomona-Pitzer from George Washington University, where she served as Head Coach for the past two seasons.
In 2005, George Washington's third year of the
program and Ferguson's first at the helm, she led the Colonials to
a program-best 10 victories, their first Atlantic 10 Conference win
and a season-high five conference victories overall as GW finished
sixth in the nine-team league. Ferguson's athletes also excelled in
the classroom as five individuals earned National Fastpitch Coaches
Association (NFCA) Academic Scholar-Athlete accolades and one
athlete was named to the A-10 Academic All-Conference team.
Prior to George Washington, Ferguson served as the head softball
coach at Kenyon College, a Division III school in Gambier, Ohio,
from 2000-04. During her tenure at Kenyon, the team posted a
59-73-1 record, including a 17-15 mark in 2004, the squad's first
winning season. The 2004 campaign also marked the second time in
the program's previous three years that it qualified for the North
Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. For her efforts, Ferguson was
named the 2004 North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
In 2000, she guided the team to a single-season record 18
victories. Ferguson coached 17 all-conference performers, six
all-region selections, four All-NCAC Tournament selections and one
league newcomer of the year at Kenyon.
A native of Clarksburg, MD, Ferguson began her coaching career as
an assistant at the University of Virginia from 1997-2000, while
earning her master's degree in sports psychology. During that time
she helped lead the Cavaliers to appearances in three consecutive
ACC championship games.
In the off-season, Ferguson spends her time working at several
coaching clinics. She has worked as an instructor at the Ohio State
Softball Camp each year since 2001 and the University of Virginia
Softball Camp each season since 1997. In 2001-02, she served as the
director of the Kenyon College Winter Fastpitch Softball
Clinic.
In 2003, Ferguson served as the president of the North Coast
Athletic Conference Softball Coaches. Prior to her appointment, she
was the group's vice president in 2002-03. Ferguson is also an
active member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)
and the Women's Sports Foundation.
As a player, Ferguson was a switch-hitting catcher and first
baseman for Shippensburg University from 1992-1996. The Raiders
posted a combined record of 103-67-1 during her four years on the
squad. Ferguson finished her career with a .275 batting average and
was an All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) performer.
She was also the team's captain during her senior campaign.
Ferguson graduated from the school in 1996 with a bachelor's degree
in psychology and a minor in coaching.
