University of Massachusets Athletics
Victoria Hayward Joins UMass Softball Coaching Staff
July 01, 2015 | Softball
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts head softball coach Kristi Stefanoni has announced the hiring of former NFCA All-American Victoria Hayward as an assistant coach.
She spent the 2015 softball season as a graduate assistant at Louisiana State under head coach Beth Torina. The Tigers opened the year with 25-consecutive victories and spent three weeks as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, before ending the season with a 52-14 record and a third-place finish at the Women's College World Series. LSU's coaching staff was named the Division I South Region Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
"Victoria's leadership and experience as one of the top softball players in the nation will prove beneficial to us as a coaching staff and program," Stefanoni said. "She is driven and very focused on what it takes to help lead a program to success. Her experience internationally will not only help our current players but give us a chance to recruit outside the country. I'm excited to have her join our UMass family."
"Victoria's skills in the outfield and as a left-handed hitter at the plate will benefit us across the board," Stefanoni added.
Hayward hit .351 in her career which ranks 12th all-time at UW. She also legged out seven triples to place 10th in school history. She led the team in runs scored her final three seasons, totaling 176 to rank seventh in Huskie annals. UW won four NCAA Regionals during her career and advanced to the Women's College World Series in 2013. She was a teammate of current UMass pitching coach Kaitlin Inglesby.
"It is truly an honor to be named a coach of the Minutewomen, in the tradition of Elaine Sortino," Hayward said. "I want thank Kristi Stefanoni and the UMass athletics department for this opportunity and am looking forward to being reunited with my UW teammate Kaitlin Inglesby in Amherst."
As a senior in 2014, Hayward hit a team-high .414 as UW went 37-15 overall and 13-9 in Pac-12 play. For her efforts, the center fielder was named First-Team All-America and First-Team All Pac-12. She stole a league-best 28 bases and didn't commit an error all season.
In 2013, the Huskies compiled a 45-17 mark and finished tied for third in the country. Hayward paced UW with a .372 avg, 73 hits, 57 runs, six triples and 22 stolen bases en route to First Team All-Pacific Region and First-Team All Pac-12 plaudits.
As a sophomore in 2012, Hayward earned Second-Team all-league honors after hitting .337 and led the Huskies with 49 runs and was second with 21 steals. She also posted a career-best 13-game hitting streak that season. Hayward played her way onto the Pac-10 All-Freshman team in 2011 thanks to a .287 avg, .303 slugging pct. and .351 on-base pct.
Hayward was a three-time Academic All Pac-12 honoree -- earning second-team honors in 2012 and 2013 -- who graduated from Washington in 2014 with a degree in communications and political science.
The Mountain View, Calif., native was born in Toronto, Ontario before earning a pair of all-state honors and an UnderArmour All-America award at Mountain View High School.
Hayward was the 19th overall selection in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Pennsylvania Rebellion.