Rocha Named NFCA Assistant Coach of the Year

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma associate head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha has been named the Easton/NFCA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year, the organization announced Tuesday.

The honor is Rocha's second career national assistant of the year award and first as a member of the Oklahoma staff, previously earning the honor at Florida in 2015.

Under Rocha's guidance, the Oklahoma pitching staff put together an exceptional season to help OU win the program's third straight and seventh national title, pacing the country in earned run average (0.96) and shutouts (school-record 35 in 62 games). The quartet of Jordy Bahl, Kierston Deal, Nicole May and Alex Storako held individual ERAs under 1.15 and combined to strike out 460 batters while allowing opponents to bat just .162.

Additionally, the staff threw four no-hitters and one perfect game in 2023, surrendering just 53 earned runs as the OU offense generated 501 runs. In the 27 games that the OU staff allowed a run across, the group limited the damage with no opponent scoring more than seven in 2023 (done once, next highest was four runs, done three times).

Three Sooner pitchers were named All-Big 12 in Jordy Bahl, Nicole May and Alex Storako, while Bahl claimed NFCA First Team All-America honors, Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and Most Outstanding Player at the Women's College World Series.

The honor is OU's second Easton/NFCA DI Assistant Coach of the Year since the award's inception in 2014, as Rocha joins former pitching coach Melyssa Lombardi (2017) in taking home the accolade.

The winners of each division's assistant coach of the year were nominated by NFCA member coaches and selected by a panel of their peers on the NFCA Awards Committee.

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