Fresno State moves fast, hires Stacy May-Johnson to run softball program
Fresno State has a new softball coach, but few softball players and Stacy May-Johnson, who takes over the Bulldogs’ program after two seasons at Utah Valley, might have to start recruiting from the transfer portal.
Fresno State on its athletics website lists 19 players on its 2022 softball roster and seven of them are in the transfer portal, according to sources.
May-Johnson could face some challenges there, but athletics director Terry Tumey said she stood out in a fast-moving search to replace Linda Garza, who had taken a leave of absence after an on-field incident with a player at midseason and resigned June 15.
“I think the thing we really appreciated about Stacy is her ability to build a program at Utah Valley that truly is on the verge of so much success, to do it in a short manner and to do it in a way in which it still has all the tenets that we look for in a great program,” Tumey said.
“There’s the student experience piece, the academic elements and then the success on the field. Those types of things stand out immediately. I think the thing people are sometimes shortsighted with, they just look at win-loss records and think that’s the litmus test for a great program and candidly, the experience of the student-athletes in a great program goes far beyond the win-loss record.”
May-Johnson had a winning percentage of .507 in her two seasons at Utah Valley, leading a program that had a winning percentage of just .322 in the five seasons before her arrival.
She also has coached at Eastern Kentucky, Purdue, Louisville and Iowa, and played at Iowa where she was a three-time All-Big Ten selection as an infielder. May-Johnson also played professionally for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league and internationally on U.S. teams that won a gold medal at the Pan American Games and a World Cup of Softball championship,. The Reno native graduated from Iowa in 2007 with a B.S. in physics and a B.A. in accounting and earned a master’s in physics from Louisville in 2009.
“I want to thank President (Saul) Jimenez-Sandoval, Terry Tumey, David Hall and the rest of the Fresno State community for this opportunity,” May-Johnson said in a news release from the athletics department.
“I’m excited to lead the proud Bulldog program and build upon the incredible history that so many former legends have established. I look forward to getting out on the field with our current student-athletes and working toward our next championship.”
Fresno State in 2021 won a Mountain West Conference title, staying on a winning course after Garza took a leave April 9 before a series at Colorado State and when they were 21-7.
The Bulldogs were led by ace Hailey Dolcini, who went 22-5 with an ERA of 1.12 and was honored as the conference pitcher of the year. She also ranked No. 1 in the NCAA with 14 shutouts and threw two perfect games, the 16th and 17th in program history.
Pitching coach Jodie Cox was interim coach after Garza went on leave and led the Bulldogs in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017, losing two of three games in the Los Angeles Regional including a 5-4 loss to No. 1 seed UCLA after leading 1-0 going into the seventh inning.
“We’re really excited about Stacy and what she can bring to Fresno State,” Tumey said. “After having a championship experience last year we think there’s room for continued success in that same vein moving forward.
“Let’s keep building and hopefully we can get back to some of that rarefied air that we were in back when we were going beyond just an appearance in the NCAAs and making some real noise in the NCAA Tournament.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 12:35 PM.