A national champion and national coach of the year, Jessica Pistole was named the fifth head coach in USD softball history in July 2019.
Prior to joining the Toreros, Pistole spent five seasons as the head coach of NAIA national champion Southern Oregon. She became the winningest coach in Southern Oregon history and led the Raiders to the NAIA World Series in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Southern Oregon's national championship in 2019 was also a program first.
The 2019 NAIA National Coach of the Year and two-time Cascade Conference Coach of the Year transformed the program at Southern Oregon into one of the country's best during her tenure. She led the team to a program record 33 wins in her first season, a conference title in her second year, and three straight NAIA World Series appearances in the following seasons. Pistole has produced a postseason record of 33-13.
Pistole led Southern Oregon to its first NAIA national championship in 2019 with a school-record 52 wins. During the postseason run, Pistole's team took down the No. 5 and No. 1 ranked teams before beating 10-time national champion Oklahoma City in the finals.
Pistole's teams have captured three CCC regular-season championships (2016, 2018, 2019) and three CCC Tournament championships (2017-19). The championship-level success was strengthened by the offense under Pistole’s leadership. The team batting average increased in five straight seasons (.307, .319, .323, .338, .359) while it was among the top-10 in the nation in stolen bases in three of the five years.
On-the-field success was not the only place where Pistole’s teams thrived. The Raiders won in the classroom as well, earning NAIA Scholar Team honors every year of her tenure.
Pistole has developed championship teams at all levels of her coaching career. Prior to leading Southern Oregon, she coached at Twin Falls High School for two seasons and won an Idaho 4A state title. Pistole also successfully served as the head coach at Biola University and William Jessup University, where she launched the softball program. She also spent one season as an assistant coach at Utah State.
Pistole prepped at Del Oro High School in Loomis, California, and was recruited to Biola University, where she was a dual-sport athlete. She played volleyball and softball for four years and was named a NAIA All-American in softball with a career 0.88 ERA and a .340 batting average. Pistole won the GSAC Pitcher of the Year award in 2001 and earned three All-GSAC honors during her career. She graduated from Biola in 2002 with a degree in health psychology.
Pistole and her husband, Bryan, have four children.
