“We are ecstatic to get Ashley in the Jennies softball program.” UCM Head Softball Coach Susan Anderson said. “She is very energetic, knowledgeable, and passionate about the game.”
In her first season as the assistant softball coach at Central Missouri is Ashley Olerich. She brings coaching experience from the high school and collegiate ranks, as well as a three-year Division I playing career.
Olerich comes to UCM after two seasons as an assistant coach at Johnson County Community College, helping the Cavaliers to NJCAA National Tournament appearances in both years. JCCC finished ninth in the nation in 2009 with a 35-13 record, before grabbing a fifth place finish in 2010 with a mark of 48-11. Both seasons the Cavaliers won conference and regional championships. In 2010, the NFCA named them the NJCAA-II Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.
From 2006-08, Olerich was an assistant coach at Olathe South High School, leading her squad to 16-2 and 17-3 overall records in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, respectively. A middle school teacher from 2005-09, she has also coached junior high basketball and volleyball.
She attended high school at Olathe South as well, earning first-team all-conference, all-metro and All-Johnson County honors. Olerich helped her squad to a third place finish in the state as a senior, and graduated in 2001.
Olerich was also a star player at JCCC and the University of New Mexico. In 2002, she was a pitcher and field player for the Cavaliers, earning first-team All-Region VI as a utility player. She also earned first-team East Jayhawk Conference honors as a designated hitter, and second-team honors as a pitcher.
She hit .385 in her lone season there, and was a key member of the 2002 team that posted a 55-9 mark, including a school record 35-game winning streak. That team also won conference and district titles on its way to an NJCAA National Tourney appearance. On the mound she was 13-3, tossed three no-hitters and posted an ERA of 0.81 to rank 10th in the nation.
She then moved on to play her final three years of eligibility for New Mexico, where she broke school records for putouts (1,153) and double plays turned (47) as a first baseman and pitcher. She ranks second in most games played in a season with 64, and sixth all-time in fielding percentage at .984. A two-time academic all-conference selection, she was voted one of the best defensive players in program history.
Olerich received her bachelor’s degree in education from UNM in 2005. Her husband Adam is an assistant baseball coach at Olathe South High School, assistant basketball coach at Shawnee Mission West High School, and head football coach at Mission Trail Middle School.