Triton Alum Shelby Thompson Named Softball Pitching Coach

LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego head softball coach Nikki Palmer has introduced the addition of former Triton standout Shelby Thompson as this system’s pitching coach.

A UC San Diego alumna, Thompson returns to La Jolla after spending the previous two seasons on the teaching workers at Utah State, the place she most not too long ago served as interim head coach following almost two years as an assistant coach.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Shelby back to UC San Diego,” mentioned Palmer. “It means so much to me, bringing an alumna home, but more importantly, the job she did while having to manage an opportunity that she didn’t sign up for at Utah State was beyond impressive. We look forward to all the knowledge and skills she gained in the past few years over there, applying them to our very, very talented pitching staff. Big things are in the future for her and our program.”

During her time at Utah State, Thompson helped information the Aggies to their first Mountain West Tournament look since 2011 and assisted in recruiting nationally acknowledged expertise, together with Division I Top 100 recruits in consecutive recruiting courses. She additionally helped develop a number of all-conference picks and performed a key function within the development of this system’s pitching workers. In March 2026, Thompson stepped into the function of interim head coach, overseeing all features of the Division I program whereas main the staff by means of the rest of the season.

Prior to her collegiate teaching profession, Thompson labored as a pitching teacher in San Diego, offering individualized instruction and serving to athletes enhance their mechanics, confidence and general efficiency.

As a scholar-athlete at UC San Diego from 2020-24, Thompson established herself as a frontrunner inside the Triton program whereas incomes her bachelor’s diploma in International Business.

“UC San Diego will always feel like home,” Thompson mentioned. “This place has been a huge part of shaping the coach and person I am today, and it’s an incredible privilege to return and pass that same investment forward to the next generation of Triton softball. I’m grateful for the trust placed in me and excited to help our athletes become the best versions of themselves on and off the field while competing at the highest level and contributing to a culture that shaped some of the most meaningful years of my life.”

Thompson rejoins the Tritons as this system continues to construct on its current success and can oversee the event of a proficient pitching workers getting into the 2027 season. Her familiarity with UC San Diego, mixed with useful Division I teaching expertise, makes her a robust addition to Palmer’s workers because the Tritons put together for the upcoming season.

About UC San Diego Athletics

After 20 years as one of the crucial profitable packages in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a brand new period in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 staff and almost 150 particular person nationwide championships throughout its time in Divisions II and III and helped information 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A complete of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, whereas 39 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the educational beliefs of one of many world’s preeminent establishments, graduating at a mean fee of 90 %, the very best fee amongst public establishments in NCAA Division I or II.