Sports

Clark Named Head Softball Coach

Bagnoli Named Golfweek AllAmeric an

Florida Atlantic University has named Jordan Clark as head coach of the Owls’ softball program. FAU Vice President and Director of Athletics Brian White made the announcement Friday.

Clark comes to FAU after a successful four-year stint as an assistant coach at Ohio State.

“I am thrilled to welcome Jordan to FAU,” White said. “She brings high-level coaching experience and is clearly prepared for the opportunity to lead this program. We were very impressed by her passion for the sport, commitment to the student-athlete experience and vision for FAU Softball. We are very excited about the future of the program under Jordan’s leadership.”

“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be named head coach at FAU,” Clark said. “To follow in the footsteps of a legend like Joan Joyce is a task that I do not take lightly. The legacy that Coach Joyce left on this program and on the sport of softball is immeasurable. I am excited to get to Boca Raton and to continue to build the program into a contender in both our conference and on a national stage. I would like to thank Brian White, Andy Seeley and Mary Giardina for this opportunity. I am pumped to get to work. Go Owls!”

During Clark’s tenure on the coaching staff, the Buckeyes were 104-63 and advanced to two NCAA Softball Regionals. For the past three seasons, Clark was largely responsible for the Ohio State offense, which finished No. 4 in the Big Ten in batting average and top five in both home runs and slugging percentage last season.

During her first year with the Buckeyes, Clark primarily worked with the infield, outfield and slappers. The Buckeyes turned 29 double plays and had a .967 fielding percentage, both improvements from the previous season. She helped lefty slapper Bri Betschel earn NFCA third team All-Midwest Region and second team All-Big Ten honors after increasing her batting average by more than 100 points.

With Clark’s tutelage, Niki Carver was a first team All-Big Ten selection and hit .415 in 22 conference games with a league-best .581 on-base percentage in 2022.

Prior to her time at Ohio State, Clark was a volunteer assistant at Arkansas for three seasons, where the Razorbacks took part in two NCAA Regionals (2017, 2018) as well as an NCAA Super Regional in 2018. Clark was a member of an NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year with Arkansas in 2018.

Clark played collegiate softball at Miami (Ohio) and finished her playing career with topfive program rankings in at-bats, runs, hits and walks. She was a two-year team captain, two-time All-Mid-American Conference performer and the 2012 recipient of the MAC’s Nan Harvey Sportsmanship Award. Clark helped Miami to a pair of MAC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament berths both in 2009 and 2012.

Prior to her time at Arkansas, Clark spent two years as an instructor with Diamond Athletics, where she provided one-on-one lessons and organized skills clinics. She also has high school and travel ball coaching experience.

For the first time in 36 years, Florida Atlantic University women’s golf has an AllAmerican. Golfweek in association with USA Today Sports announced on Monday that Letizia Bagnoli earned a nod as an Honorable Mention.

B a g n o l i r ewrote the r e c o r d b o o k i n h e r f i r s t s e a s o n a s a n O w l . T h e s e nior transfer from Wake Forest won four times, including her first three events. She tied the single season program record for wins with a seven-shot victory at the C-USA Championship in April. Below is a full list of accomplishments for the Italian from just the 2021-22 campaign:

Conference USA Player of the Year

Five-time C-USA Women’s Golfer of the Week (single season record)

Finished second at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional

Became the first in program history to play in the NCAA Division I National Championship

71.63 scoring average was the lowest in team history 20 rounds of par or better (new single season record)

1 1 8 b i r d i e s (new single season record) 3 e agles (new single season record) 4 . 0 1 p a r - f o u r scoring average (new single season record) 4 . 8 0 par-five scoring average (new single season record) 65 (-7) at the Hoover Invitational in September was the lowest round versus par in program history

Bagnoli is FAU’s first women’s golf All-American since 1986 when Karen Gray earned the honor for the third consecutive season.

As a team, under the direction of first-year head coach Heather Bowie Young, the Owls won two tournaments and finished a programbest T3 at the Conference USA Championship. Bowie Young expects most of this year’s roster back in the fall including Bagnoli.