Ohio Softball Head Coach Kenzie Roark Announces Retirement

FOLLOW OHIO SOFTBALL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

ATHENS, Ohio—Kenzie Roark announced her decision to retire from coaching after serving as the Ohio softball head coach for the past four seasons.

"I'm very thankful for my time here in Athens. The people and the relationships are undoubtedly what I will miss the most," said Roark. "To every player I have ever coached, I am eternally grateful for the part I was allowed to play in your journey. To all of my former colleagues, I am so thankful to each of you for the friendship and guidance during my career."

Roark led the 2022 team to the Mid-American Conference Tournament, marking the first MAC Tournament since 2019. With a 17-10 MAC record, the Bobcats were seeded second.

Ohio was represented by 11 student-athletes on the 2022 Academic-All MAC team and four girls earned All-MAC honors. Under Roark's guidance, sophomore Annalia Paoli (Point Marion, Pa.) was named NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team while junior Sophia Bernard (Canton, Ohio) was named 2022 Academic All-District Softball Team by CoSIDA. Paoli was also named MAC Player of the week three times; graduate student Megan McMenemy (Westerville, Ohio) was named MAC Player of the Week once.

The 2019 squad finished 34-21, registering 12 wins and eight losses against MAC opponents. The No. 3 Bobcats finished the MAC tournament with two MAC All-Tournament Team honorees, freshman Charlee Pond (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and senior Alex Day (Hilliard, Ohio).

Day, alongside sophomore Katie Yun (North Canton, Ohio), earned First Team All-MAC honors, senior Morgan Geno (Chillicothe, Ohio) was named Second Team All-MAC while redshirt senior Michaela Dorsey (Grove City, Ohio) was the 2019 recipient of the Nan Harvey Award. Geno, Yun and Day all earned NFCA All-Mideast Region honors, Yun was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District Team by CoSIDA and six student-athletes earned Academic All-MAC honors. Geno was named MAC Player of the Week twice while Yun earned the title once.

"On behalf of the Ohio athletics department, I would like to thank Kenzie Roark for her leadership of our softball program over the past four years." said Director of Athletics Julie Cromer. "Kenzie was a positive influence for her student-athletes and for our department. We wish her the best."

Prior to Ohio, Roark served as USC Upstate's pitching coach for four seasons. She helped coach a team to three NCAA Tournament appearances (2015-17). USC Upstate won the Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championship in 2015 and 2017 and won the ASUN Tournament Championship from 2015-17. The Spartans also complied three 40-win seasons during her time there, including a 45-13 record in 2017.

Under Roark's guidance, the Spartan pitching staff had the ASUN's top ERA in three-straight seasons from 2015-17. In 2017, they ranked sixth nationally with a 1.42 ERA, and in 2015, the staff was ranked 25^thnationally, with a 2.46 ERA. Roark coached two ASUN Pitchers of the year in Holly McKinnon (2017) and Lexi Shubert (2015). She also coached three ASUN All-Conference pitchers and one ASUN All-Freshman Team performer. She also had three pitchers named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team and one ASUN Tournament MVP.

Roark helped coach McKinnon to a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Third Team All-Region honor in 2017, and an NFCA Second Team All-Region recognition for Shubert in 2015. In 2015, Shubert won 34 games, which second in the nation. She tossed 33 complete games, which is tied for second-most all time in a single season in the ASUN.

Roark came to Upstate after serving as the pitching coach at East Tennessee State from 2012-14. She assisted in all phases of the program, including heading up the pitching staff. She helped lead the Lady Bucs to their most wins since 2010 in 2014.

Roark began her coaching career as a student assistant at Virginia Tech from 2011-12 after completing a standout career with the Hokies. She was part of a coaching staff that was named the 2012 NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year and helped guide the Hokies to a 2.52 team ERA.

Roark was the ace of the staff for three of her four years at Virginia Tech and was an Atlantic Coast Conference All-Tournament and Player of the Week selection during her career. As a freshman, she was the No. 2 pitcher behind All-American Angela Tincher and helped lead the Hokies to the ACC Championship and an appearance in the 2008 College World Series.

Roark ended her collegiate playing career as one of the all-time great pitchers in Virginia Tech history. In addition to her team's accomplishments, Roark ranks second all-time with 155 career appearances, fourth with 510 strikeouts and 661.1 innings pitched, and sixth with 51 wins and a .254 opponent batting average.

"I'd like to thank Julie Cromer and Amy Dean for trusting me to lead this program for the last four years," said Roark. "I'm very proud of what we've done here."

#OUohyeah

Ohio Softball Head Coach Kenzie Roark Announces Retirement

Players Mentioned

Sophia Bernard

Megan McMenemy

Annalia Paoli

Katie Yun

Footer