A well known name throughout the NCAA will be the new pitching coach at Wichita State University.

Courtney Oliver, former associate head coach at conference rival Houston, was brought on by head softball coach Kristi Bredbenner, for the 2024 season.

Courtney Oliver is from Swansea, Massachusetts, and attended Hofstra University where she played softball from 2004-2008. During her time as pitcher there, she participated in the NCAA regionals all four years. Oliver was also a part of the Pride winning their 11th consecutive conference championship. Together, her senior class won four conference championships, were in two NCAA regional finals and became the winningest class in school history.

Oliver was a two-time First Team All-Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) player and two-time All-CAA Tournament Team selection. She had 40 RBI’s with a 10-3 mark and an earned run average of 1.12. At Hofstra she ranks in the schools top 10 in RBI’s at 117 and career strikeouts at 258. During her time here she collected 32 career wins with a pair of no-hitters.

Oliver earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and masters in communications from Hofstra.

She was head coach at another AAC rival, East Carolina University, from 2016-2021. At ECU, she mentored Erin Poepping, who went on to make the AAC All-Freshman Team with a season record of 12-16, earned run average of 3.26 and 95 strikeouts in 165.1 innings pitched.

From 2013-2015, she coached at North Carolina University where she helped them to their first top-25 finish in the 2015 season ranking at No.19. With the help of Oliver, pitcher Emily Weiman was named Atlatnic Coast Conference (ACC) Pitcher of the Year in 2013 and First Team All-ACC from 2013-2015. Weiman and shortstop Renada Davis later in their career were drafted by the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch Draft.

Before this she was a coach at her alma-mater Hofstra where in 2012 she took part in taking the Pride to the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional and where she was also apart of the the NFCA Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year. At Hofstra, she worked with Olivia Galati who,during her time there, achieved back-to-back CAA Pitcher of the Year awards, and in 2021 earned an NFCA First Team All-American accolade.

In 2010 she was the assistant coach at Boston University where she mentored Cassidi Hardy into the America East Pitcher of the Year that season.

For the 2023 season, the Wichita State pitching staff has a posted earned run average of 2.55, with 44 wins, a 1.25 staff WHIP and 208 strikeouts in 370.2 innings.